Sighting: Paulo Coelho
The Brazilian author PAULO COELHO was born in 1947 in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Before dedicating his life completely to literature, he worked as theatre director and actor, lyricist and journalist.
Coelho wrote song lyrics for many famous performers in Brazilian music, such as Elis Regina and Rita Lee. Yet his most well known work has been done with Raul Seixas. Together they wrote such successes as Eu nasci há dez mil anos atrás (I was born ten thousand years ago), Gita and Al Capone, amongst other 60 songs.
His fascination with the spiritual quest dates back to his hippie days, when he travelled the world learning about secret societies, oriental religions, etc.
Paulo Coelho
Alchemist of Words
HP LINK
Pauolo Coelho Official Site
[Muito Obrigado Ana]
you're welcome :)
Posted by: ana | September 13, 2007 at 03:00 AM
It's nice to see a brazilian author getting international recognition. As a brazilian I'm proud of that! Paulo Coelho works have a lot of mixed feelings here in Brazil. Many people consider his works as a kind of sub literature, not worthing the time to read the books.
Posted by: Rodrigo Stulzer | September 13, 2007 at 06:49 AM
So far I've read _The Light Warrior Handbook_ (not sure about the title in English), and I have _The Alchemist_ on deck, but while checking other Coleho's books I found 2 cases of serious plagiarism: One was Richard Bach's, and the other was Anthony de Mello's.
No reference to these authors; I guess this will delay the reading of The Alchemist.
Juan in Andalucía
Posted by: Juan in Andalucía | September 14, 2007 at 04:52 AM
Very funny the comment of Juan in Andalucia. If this was the case, probably Richard Bach had already noticed it, and take legal measures. It is easy to point the finger, so I defy Mr. Juan to quote the passages where he found the plagiarism.
Posted by: Pilar Piedra | September 15, 2007 at 11:11 AM
As you wish:
"A cloud does not know why it moves in just such a direction and at such a speed. It feels an impulsion... This is the place to go now.
But the sky knows the reasons and the patterns behind all clouds, and you will know, too, when you lift yourself high enough to see beyond horizons"
Richard Bach: _Messiah's Handbook_
The story that appears in _By the River Piedra..._ can be found in Anthony de Mello's _Contact with God_ with more detail. The very same story.
I don't know whether R. Bach will bother about Coelho; De Mello died in the 80s, and he's been ignored (and condemned) by the Catholic church (he was a Jesuit priest).
Oh, and I live by the bassins of the River Piedra, BTW.
Nihil Sub Sole Novum
Juan
Posted by: Juan in Andalucía | September 15, 2007 at 05:52 PM
It seems I'm not alone:
http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?p=438204
I enjoyed the Paulo Coelho book I read, and will eventualy read _The Alchemist_, but I also had to give my opinion.
Juan
Posted by: Juan in Andalucía | September 15, 2007 at 06:07 PM
I found this too:
http://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=pt&u=http://revistaepoca.globo.com/Epoca/0,,EPT980656-1664,00.html&sa=X&oi=translate&resnum=1&ct=result&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dpaulo%2Bcoelho%2Bplagio%26hl%3Den
Posted by: Juan in Andalucía | September 16, 2007 at 07:51 AM