Books : The Witch of Portobello: A Novel (P.S.)

Rating: - Terrible! I'll never waste my time on another book by this author!
Unless you enjoy reading prose that could very well have been constructed by a student in middle school, stay away!

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Rating: - A Decent Read
My enjoyment of this book was based more on the plot itself than the philosophy or the characters. I enjoyed the structure of the novel as well, told from various perspectives of the title characters friends, families, and acquaintances. The Witch of Portobello, or Athena, is not the most sympathetic character, but I think everyone can relate at some point in our lives to an empty, unfulfilled feeling. This meaninglessness in Athena's life motivates her to explore different ways to fill her void, through motherhood, dance, and even locating her birth mother.

I enjoyed some characters narratives more than others. Particularly Athena's adoptive mother, who tries so hard to provide a stable life for her daughter and tries to understand Athena's precociousness. I did not, however, care at all for Athena's "teacher," Edda, who seemed a bit self-serving and I didn't take any stock in her touchy-feely earth-goddess mumbo jumbo, which seemed to go on paragraph after paragraph. In general, I thought the whole belief system lacked any cohesiveness, although I was intrigued at Athena's power. The ending has quite an interesting development, and I don't want to give anything away, but it clearly indicates that the people who thought they new Athena so well had only scratched the surface of her life. That mystery, that arm's-length distance she kept, added intrigue to her image.

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Rating: - quoting father Fontana
I struggle to explain.. maybe the following would put this book into perspective
", but the fact is that, to a greater or lesser extent , all creative human beings have such experiences, which are known as 'possession by the sacred'. suddenly for a fraction of a second, we feel that our whole life is justified, our sins forgiven, and that love is still the strongest force, one that can transform us forever.
..."
i am anthea and she is me

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Rating: - Witch of Portebello
I enjoyed this book because the story unfolded in a unique way, through interviews with the various characters. It shed light on ancient traditions giving tribute to the Feminine Divinity which is so relevent to our times. I really like Paulo Coelho's easy reading syle of writing and have read several of his books which always have little lessons and hidden meanings. Great read!

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Rating: - I still prefer The Alchemist
I enjoyed this book overall, and thought that the story of Athena and her personal journey were wonderful. It gave me hope about being different than what society expects of you however, I found the conclusion of her story to be a little lacking of the depth that I am used to getting from Paulo Coelho.

I thought the addition of hearing from some unexpected characters at the end was very good and thought provoking.

I dove head first into this book and couldn't put it down but found I had to force myself to finish it when I felt the story begin to drag in what would normally be the climax.