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‘Aleph,’ as described in the book is a place where time and space converge.
Elif, her şeyin başladığı, zaman ve mekan kavramlarının olmadığı yerdir. Burada ne geçmiş vardır, ne gelecek, herşey şimdide birleşir.”
Seni seviyorum demeyi sadece seni affediyorum diyebilenler becerir
From his home in Geneva, Mr. Coelho spoke about his new book, his feeling of connection to Jorge Luis Borges and his leisure time spent networking with his fans on Facebook and Twitter. Following are edited excerpts.
Q. The protagonist of your new novel, “Aleph,” sounds familiar: best-selling author, world traveler, spiritual seeker. How autobiographical is this book?
A. One hundred percent. These are my whole experiences, meaning everything that is real is real. I had to summarize much of it. But in fact I see the book as my journey myself, not as a fiction book but as a nonfiction book.
Q. The title of the book, “Aleph,” mirrors the name of a short story by Borges. Were you influenced by him?
A. He is my icon, the best writer in the world of my generation. But I wasn’t influenced by him, I was influenced by the idea of aleph, the concept. In the classic tradition of spiritual books Borges summarizes very, very well the idea of this point where everything becomes one thing only.
Q. When did you decide to become a writer?
A. It took me 40 years to write my first book. When I was a child, I was encouraged to go to school. I was not encouraged to follow the career of a writer because my parents thought that I was going to starve to death. They thought nobody can make a living from being a writer in Brazil. They were not wrong. But I still had this call, this urge to express myself in writing.
Q. Your most famous book, “The Alchemist,” has sold 65 million copies worldwide. Does its continuing success surprise you?
A. Of course. It’s difficult to explain why. I think you can have 10,000 explanations for failure, but no good explanation for success.
Q. You’ve also had success distributing your work free. You’re famous for posting pirated version of your books online, a very unorthodox move for an author.
A. I saw the first pirated edition of one of my books, so I said I’m going to post it online. There was a difficult moment in Russia; they didn’t have much paper. I put this first copy online and I sold, in the first year, 10,000 copies there. And in the second year it jumped to 100,000 copies. So I said, “It is working.” Then I started putting other books online, knowing that if people read a little bit and they like it, they are going to buy the book. My sales were growing and growing, and one day I was at a high-tech conference, and I made it public.
Q. Weren’t you afraid of making your publisher angry?
A. I was afraid, of course. But it was too late. When I returned to my place, the first phone call was from my publisher in the U.S. She said, “We have a problem.”
Q. You’re referring to Jane Friedman, who was then the very powerful chief executive of HarperCollins?
A. Yes, Jane. She’s tough. So I got this call from her, and I said, “Jane, what do you want me to do?” So she said, let’s do it officially, deliberately. Thanks to her my life in the U.S. changed.
Q. And now you’re a writer with one of the most prominent profiles online. Are you a Twitter addict?
A. Yes, I confess, in public. I tweet in the morning and the evening. To write 12 hours a day, there is a moment when you’re really tired. It’s my relaxing time.
Q. That seems to be the opposite approach of writers like Jonathan Franzen who blindfold themselves and write their books in isolation.
A. Back to the origins of writing, they used to see writers as wise men and women in an ivory tower, full of knowledge, and you cannot touch them. The ivory tower does not exist anymore. If the reader doesn’t like something they’ll tell you. He’s not or she’s not someone that is isolated.
Once I found this possibility to use Twitter and Facebook and my blog to connect to my readers, I’m going to use it, to connect to them and to share thoughts that I cannot use in the book. Today I have on Facebook six million people. I was checking the other day Madonna’s page, and she has less followers than I have. It’s unbelievable.
Q. You’re bigger than Madonna?
A. No, no, no. I’m not saying that.
Between March and July 2006, letting himself be guided by signs, he travelled to various continents – Europe, Africa and Asia – on a journey through time and space, through past and present, in search of himself.
The novel starts with Paulo talking to his Master about the dissatisfaction in Paulo’s life and the stagnation of his spiritual growth. As per the suggestion from his Master, Paulo sets off onto a journey starting from Africa, and then to Europe and Asia via the Trans-Siberian Railway. Most of the novel or rather the book describes about the author’s experiences during the train journey he took with his publishers and a girl whom he meets in the journey.
The girl who insists that she will join the journey with him – as Paulo soon will find out that – is Hilal whom he loved five hundred years ago in a different incarnation. What follows is a very personal account where the author talks about the relationship with Hilal in the previous incarnation. Hilal in this life is a gifted violinist. Hilal is not the actual name of the real world character, but a changed name in the novel for privacy reasons.
Initially, Hilal’s joining the journey is not appreciated by the publishers, but eventually they understand that Paulo will be accompanied by her in the entire trip. Paulo will experience The Aleph for the first time in the train looking into the eyes of Hilal and discovers the details about the past life. The relation between the author and Hilal is expalined in detail.
Another important character in the book is Yao, the translator for Paulo in the journey. There are many interesting conversations between Yao and the author.
Paulo also talks in length about love and forgiveness.
Paulo describes about a technique he uses to know about his past lives. Though the technique seems to be very easy, and Paulo learned this while reading a book on the same subject, he warns us about not using it without really knowing what we are attempting at.
If you do not believe in reincarnation and related theories, then reading this book is not a good option for you.
If you have never read Paulo Coelho before, I would say you start with his other books, either The Alchemist or The Zahir will be a good starter.
I read Pualo Coelho not for his teachings, but for the beauty of few sentences that leave a lasting impression on me. Even though the novels are translated into English, the magic of his words in few places is overwhelming. My favorite book by Paulo is The Zahir. I have read this book two times.
Personally for me, The Zahir is really good when compared to The Aleph. But both are very different in the story-line and the subject matter too.
If you believe in reincarnation and related theories, you will enjoy reading this book.
Aleph is a really good read if you are a fan of Paulo Coelho’s previous books.
J., the teacher says: ‘Our life is a constant journey, from birth to death. The landscape changes, the people change, our needs change, but the train keeps moving. Life is the train, not the station.’ The author experiences the same as he undertakes the long journey in the Trans-Siberian railway.
Aleph is currently a bestseller all over the world. Is the global success of your books proof that everyone shares the same fears and dreams, and people are not as different as we sometimes think?
Questions. I think people all over the world have the same questions. I would not say fears and dreams – probably also – but when I write a book I concentrate on my personal questions.
What I realise from reading tweets and comments from social communities is that although we don’t share the same answers – and we don’t – we share the same questions.
This is something that helps a lot. I don’t feel alone as a writer. Because you always ask yourself, ‘I’m writing this for myself, but does anyone else know what I’m talking about?’ And they do.
What I realise from reading tweets and comments from social communities is that although we don’t share the same answers – and we don’t – we share the same questions.
This is something that helps a lot. I don’t feel alone as a writer. Because you always ask yourself, ‘I’m writing this for myself, but does anyone else know what I’m talking about?’ And they do.
Having brought inspiration to so many, it might surprise some readers ofAleph to discover that you were undergoing your own crisis of faith.
Faith is not a straight line. It’s like if you climb a mountain. You have your ups and downs.
I need faith to believe in God. Atheists also need faith to not believe in God. Like everybody else I have my moments of doubt.
I need faith to believe in God. Atheists also need faith to not believe in God. Like everybody else I have my moments of doubt.
Like The Alchemist, Aleph recounts a physical journey, which is ultimately a spiritual one. Why did you have to travel across a continent to discover something inside yourself?
In 2006 I was in my comfort zone; bestselling author all over the world, looking like I had no more challenges in life. And this is not good because life is a constant challenge. People tend to stay in the comfort zone because it is safe but if you don’t accept challenges you are dead!
Discussion Questions
1. Aleph is a novel full of rituals, starting with Paulo and J.’s opening invocation around the sacred oak. However, Paulo’s reaction to them varies wildly; sometimes they frustrate him (the oak), sometimes he embraces them (the shaman’s midnight chant on the edges of Lake Baikal), and other times he criticizes them for being empty (Hilal’s offering at the church in Novosibirsk). Why do you think this is? Do you think this has to do with the rituals themselves or is Coelho trying to express something deeper about the nature and purpose of ritual? What value can ritual have in your own life?
1. Aleph is a novel full of rituals, starting with Paulo and J.’s opening invocation around the sacred oak. However, Paulo’s reaction to them varies wildly; sometimes they frustrate him (the oak), sometimes he embraces them (the shaman’s midnight chant on the edges of Lake Baikal), and other times he criticizes them for being empty (Hilal’s offering at the church in Novosibirsk). Why do you think this is? Do you think this has to do with the rituals themselves or is Coelho trying to express something deeper about the nature and purpose of ritual? What value can ritual have in your own life?
2. During his initial argument with J., Paulo says: “We human beings have enormous difficulty in focusing on the present; we’re always thinking about what we did, about how we could have done it better, about the consequences of our actions, and about why we didn’t act as we should have. Or else we think about the future, about what we’re going to do tomorrow, what precautions we should take, what dangers await us around the next corner, how to avoid what we don’t want and how to get what we have always dreamed of” [p. 9]. Do you agree? Why do you think J. prescribes travel as a way for Paulo to better focus on the present instead of his past or future?
3. While he’s waiting for a sign that he should embark on the journey J. suggests, Paulo thinks about the nature of tragedy. “Tragedy always brings about radical change in our lives, a change that is associated with the same principle: loss. When faced by any loss, there’s no point in trying to recover what has been; it’s best to take advantage of the large space that opens up before us and fill it with something new. In theory, every loss is for our own good; in practice, though, that is when we question the existence of God and ask ourselves: What did I do to deserve this?” [p. 15]. Many of Aleph’s characters are dealing with extreme personal tragedy, from Hilal and her history of sexual abuse to Yao and the death of his wife. Do their experiences and struggles to move forward support or contradict Paulo’s statements?
4. Paulo frequently refers to Chinese bamboo after reading an article about its growth process: “Once the seed has been sown, you see nothing for about five years, apart from a tiny shoot. All the growth takes place underground, where a complex root system reaching upward and outward is being established. Then, at the end of the fifth year, the bamboo suddenly shoots up to a height of twenty-five meters” [p. 22]. How does this function as an important metaphor for spiritual growth? What do you think are the best ways to build a “complex root system” of your own?
5. Coelho writes, “To live is to experience things, not sit around pondering the meaning of life” and offers examples of people who have experienced revelations in various ways [p. 62]. Do you agree? What people or writings are you familiar with that support (or disprove) his point of view?
6. In “The Aleph,” Borges’s narrator asks, “How, then, can I translate into words the limitless Aleph, which my floundering mind can scarcely encompass? Mystics, faced with the same problem, fall back on symbols:.... one Persian speaks of a bird that somehow is all birds; Alanus de Insulis, of a sphere whose center is everywhere and circumference is nowhere; Ezekiel, of a four-faced angel who at one and the same time moves east and west, north and south.” How does Coelho attempt to explain the Aleph? Why do you think Coelho has Paulo and Hilal discover it on a train car? Do you think its location has a larger significance for the story?
7. What images, memories, and emotions most powerfully capture the mystery and the magic of the Aleph that Paulo and Hilal experience on the train [pp. 73–75]? How do they affect them each as individuals? In what ways does it change and deepen their relationship?
8. What role does Yao serve in Paulo’s quest? Are there similarities between Yao, Paulo, and the answers they seek? What does each learn from the other?
9. When Yao suggests that Paulo beg for money with him, he explains, “Some Zen Buddhist monks in Japan told me about takuhatsu, the begging pilgrimage.... This is because, according to Zen philosophy, the giver, the beggar, and the alms money itself all form part of an important chain of equilibrium. The person doing the begging does so because he’s needy, but the person doing the giving also does so out of need. The alms money serves as a link between those two needs” [pp. 89–90]. How does this relationship apply to the balance of power between Paulo and Hilal? Between Paulo and his readers?
10. The origin of Paulo’s deep-seated sense of guilt comes stunningly to life in his description of the Inquisition and his participation as a priest [pp. 153–167]. What insight does this vignette offer into horrors and injustices committed in the name of religious beliefs? Compare and contrast the religious attitudes here with those portrayed in the present-day sections of Aleph. What do Paulo’s references to the Koran [p. 39], the Bible [pp. 40, 107], Ueshiba, the founder of the Japanese martial art of aikido [pp. 132, 137, and 193], and shamanism [pp. 220–29] demonstrate about human beliefs and aspirations across cultures and time?
11. Discuss the erotic and romantic elements of the encounters between Paulo and Hilal—both real and imagined—leading up to his final gift of roses at the airport. Would you classify theirs as a love story? Why or why not? What different types of love does Coelho explore?
12. Were you familiar with the concept of past lives before reading Aleph? Is it necessary to believe in past lives to grasp the book’s message and meaning?
13. What do you think Coelho means when he writes, “Life is the train, not the station” [p. 112]? What about when he says, “What we call ‘life’ is a train with many carriages. Sometimes we’re in one, sometimes we’re in another, and sometimes we cross between them, when we dream or allow ourselves to be swept away by the extraordinary”
"Hell is when we look back during that fraction of a second [at the end of life] and know that we wasted an opportunity to dignify the miracle of life. Paradise is being able to say at that moment: I made some mistakes but I wasn't a coward. I lived my life and did what I had to do."
Go and reconquer your kingdom, which has grown corrupted by routine
To live is to experience things, not sit around pondering the meaning of life."
"Travel is never a matter of money but of courage."
"I remember the many occasions on which help has come from precisely those people whom I though had nothing to add to my life."
"Travel is never a matter of money but of courage."
"I remember the many occasions on which help has come from precisely those people whom I though had nothing to add to my life."
When faced by any loss, there's no point in trying to recover what has been; it's best to take advantage of the large space that opens up before us and fill it with something new."
"That is what marks out the warrior: the knowledge that willpower and courage are not the same things. Courage can attract fear and adulation, but willpower requires patience and commitment."
"When a sense of dissatisfaction persists, that means it was placed there by God for one reason only: you need to change everything and move forward."
"No life is complete without a touch of madness..."
"When a sense of dissatisfaction persists, that means it was placed there by God for one reason only: you need to change everything and move forward."
"No life is complete without a touch of madness..."
- Hayat ancak ölünce uyandığımız bir rüyadır. Yaşadığımız müddetçe zaman akar gider. Zamanı notalardan okuyan bir müzisyenim ben. Zaman olmasa müzik de olmazdı”
- “Dejavu, çabucak aklımızdan silinen bir sürprizden çok ötedir, çünkü anlamsız olsa da kafamızı meşgul etmez. Oysa dejavu, zamanın geçmediğinin bir kanıtıi daha önce gerçekten yaşanmış olup, şimdi tekrarlanmakta olan birşeye doğru sıçramadır”
- “Biz birşeyi arıyorsak, o şey de bizi arıyordur.”
- “İki insan bir ömür boyu birlikte yaşayabilir, çalışabilir ya da hayatlarında tek bir kez karşılaşıp, ebediyen ayrılabilirler. Çünkü onları bu dünyada biraraya getirecek olan şeyin doludizgin gittiği fiziksel mekana yolları düşmemiştir. Bazen de onları neyin yaklaştırdığını anlamadan kendi yollarına giderler, fakat Tanrı isterse, aşkı bir kere tatmış olanlar tekrar biraraya gelebilirler.”
- “Etrafında ne varsa kullanabileceğin bir strateji geliştirmelisin. Mücadeleye hazırlanmanın en iyi yolu, verebileceğin karşılıkları sınırsız hale getirmektir."
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