Books : The Fifth Mountain

Rating: - Why the confusion? It wasn't written in Arameic
I am amazed at the large number of people who cannot tell fiction from non-fiction, and then hold the author accountable for the deceit they have suffered. Maybe this is why some writers title their books "xxxxxx, A NOVEL", so that no one gets confused. Paulo Coelho should have been advised to tackle on the words "a novel" after The Fifth Mountain, so that people did not think he was writing Elijah's biography.

Leaving aside the fact that this is a work of fiction, I think the book portrays very well how life must have been in the Middle East so many centuries ago. The story is very moving, and comes to show how man's struggle with choices is as old as life on the planet itself. A worthy read for sure.

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Rating: - Coelho's simple writing with a strong message
The Fifth Mountain speaks of Elijah the prophet who is known both to Judaism and Christianity. The Prologue by Coelho explains his primary reason for this story, which may on the surface convey a similar outcome to the 'Alchemist' yet touches on many different messages.

I loved the message that one does not always understand the reasons for the unavoidable yet in the bigger picture it all comes to light. Each person has their own unavoidable situations, as unavoidable as the weather. It is how we choose to react and the meaning we give to them which drive us to success or failure.
In many ways this philosophical idea may be compared with Viktor Frankl's Logotherapy. The meaning attached to the situation leads one to different outcomes.

Another important message is one of destiny. If one believes in a destiny or a chosen path much like Elijah the prophet, one is still required to do the actions and work towards the goal or outcome. Even if it is written in the stars that one is meant for greatness, it does not necessarily mean that one does not have to work towards it.

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Rating: - A Mountain of choices
A beautiful book even though the style of writing is not always easy.

The prophet Elijah is tried by the Lord. He has to leave Israel and ends up in the town of Sarefat, which is called Akbar by its inhabitants. there he is taken into the house of a widow, but he is only accepted by the inhabitants after he has resurrected her little son. But he remains the outsider, the one to blame in case of adversities. And in the meantime Elijah fights his own fight with the Lord. One day the twon is destroyed by the Assyrians and the widow, the woman Elijah loves, also dies. And then Alijah's true power is emerging: together with the old aged, the widows and the orphans he rebuilds Akbar.

This is a novel about choices that people (have to or can) make in their lives: everybody has the moral duty to make the best of his or her life, even when the choices may sometimes be painful.

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Rating: - Interesting reading
In "By river piadra I sat down and wept", the author tells a small fable. A catholic priest goes to latin america, meets 3 native Indian priests, rebukes their custom and preaches them how to pray in the catholic way. After a few days he sees them performing miracle and realizes that he was infact trying to preach highly developed spiritual souls. Religion is definetly not required for the spiritual growth of an individual. Everyone will anyway find their own paths. This is what I thought was Paulo's philosophy.
Here in "The fifth Mountain", Paulo seems to potray the fanatical side of the Judo-christian faith with Elijah trying to condemn the religion of Akbar's people and proclaiming his own to be the true faith. Ignoring the socio-political issues and considering just the spiritual side of the issue, I strongly feel this is pure hypocrasy and an attitude of a spiritually immature personality.
Inspite of that, I love this book. Life is a never ending strrugle and we are bound to loose all that we love. The capacity to keep moving, without any self pity is what is needed for efficient living. This is what is called as "the detachment" in the eastern philosophies. Paulo does a wonderful job in sending this message across.

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Rating: - Different from his other books and still excellent
Many people have a difficult time trying to understand this book because it is so different from Coelho's other works. It takes us on an exploration of the inner struggles of a prophet. The journey is worth making.

The Fifth Mountain is based on the story of Elijah's exile in the Sidonian town of Zarephath, as found in chapter 17 of First Kings. Coelho's tale begins in what appears to be a fleshing out of the basic Biblical story with some historical color and personal interest. Elijah doubts his calling to be a prophet and is resentful of the angels to instruct him in his responsibilities. However, the story takes several strange twists that are difficult to figure out at first. One of the stranger twists is the destruction by the Assyrian Army of the city that gives shelter to Elijah.

Elijah survives the terrible destruction of the city and eventually realizes that it is his responsibility to help build up the city. This addition by Coelho to the Biblical story doesn't seem to make much sense, unless one reads chapter 1, verses 10 and 11 in the Book of Jeremiah. It is here that God is instituting Jeremiah as a prophet and describes his role as "tearing up and knocking down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant." One of Coelho's insights to the story of Elijah was to show how Elijah came to understand his responsibilities as God's prophet-not just to condemn but to build up as well.

This book is an historical novel in its detail and story development, unlike Coelho's fable (The Alchemist). It is more complex than his other stories and certainly different. It is also engaging at many levels. Along with Veronkia Decides to Die, this is my favorite of Coelho's books. I highly recommend it.