This is without doubt one of the most memorable books I’ve read ever and I don’t know anyone who hasn’t enjoyed it as much as I did.  You’ll find it easy reading and you won’t put it down until you’ve finished it.

Synopsis

A chance meeting in Rio takes Maria to Geneva, where she dreams of finding fame and fortune, yet ends up working the streets as a prostitute. In Geneva, Maria drifts further and further away from love while at the same time developing a fascination with sex.

Eventually, Maria's despairing view of love is put to the test when she meets a handsome young painter. In this odyssey of self-discovery, Maria has to choose between pursuing a path of darkness, sexual pleasure for its own sake, or risking everything to find her own 'inner light' and the possibility of sacred sex, sex in the context of love.

Reviews

'Has a strange and potent chemistry of its own.' The Observer

'Coelho has a deceptively simple but elegant writing style which sits well with this strange but gripping tale.' Glasgow Evening Times

 'Refreshing and insightful...an uplifting read.' What's On In London

'A simply-told fable for our times, highlighting the quest for personal spiritual enlightenment.' Belfast Telegraph

About the Author

Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in August 1947. He attended law school there but abandoned his studies in 1970 to travel throughout Mexico, Peru, Bolivia and Chile, as well as Europe and North Africa.   Two years later he returned to Brazil and began writing popular music lyrics. After a brief imprisonment in 1974 for alleged subversive activities against the Brazilian government, Coelho worked for five years for the recording departments of Polygram and CBS. Between 1981 and 1986 he studied with the order of RAM, an ancient, religious Spanish society. Now a literary phenomenon, he has sold over 65 million books world-wide and has been translated into 60 languages. He has received numerous literary awards from a variety of countries and his books have become permanent fixtures on the bestseller lists of countries as diverse as Brazil, the UK, the USA, France, Italy, Germany and Greece.   Click here to download Paulo Coelho's podcasts about his books.   Author photo © Paul Macleod 2007   More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation