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Summary
Summary
New York Times Bestseller
"In Brida, my third novel, which I wrote just after The Alchemist, I tell the story of a young woman who dives into sorcery and her experiences with different magical traditions. I explore many themes that are dear to me, such as the Great Mother, pagan religions, and the perceptions of love."
-- Paulo Coelho
This is the spellbinding tale of Brida, a beautiful young Irish woman, and her quest for knowledge. On her journey, she meets a wise man who teaches her about overcoming her fears, and a woman who teaches her ancient rituals. They see in her a gift, but must let Brida make her own voyage of discovery.
Author Notes
Paulo Coelho was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 24, 1947. As a teenager, he wanted to become a writer, but his parents wanted him to pursue a more substantial and secure career. At the age of 17, his introversion and opposition to his parents led them to commit him to a mental institution. He escaped three times before being released at the age of 20. Once released, he abandoned his ideas of becoming a writer and enrolled in law school to please his parents. He stayed in law school for one year.
In 1986, Coelho walked the 500-plus mile Road of Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, a turning point in his life. On the path, he had a spiritual awakening, which he described in his book The Pilgrimage.
Before becoming a full-time author, he worked as theatre director and actor, lyricist, and journalist. He wrote song lyrics for many famous performers in Brazilian music including Elis Regina, Rita Lee, and Raul Seixas. His first book, Hell Archives, was published in 1982. He has written over 25 books since then including The Alchemist, Brida, The Fifth Mountain, The Devil and Miss Prym, Eleven Minutes, The Zahir, The Witch of Portobello, Like a Flowing River, and Adultery. He received numerous awards including Las Pergolas Prize, The Budapest Prize, Nielsen Gold Book Award, and the Grand Prix Litteraire Elle. In 1996, he founded the Paulo Coelho Institute, which provides aid to children and elderly people with financial problems. In 2007, Coelho was named a Messenger of Peace to the United Nations.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
A young Dublin woman searches for her soul mate in this murky spiritual quest from popular bestselling Brazilian novelist Coelho (The Witch of Portobello), first published in 1990 and available in English in the U.S. for the first time. Brida O'Fern, 21, discovers she has occult powers and seeks out two masters who will validate her abilities and teach her how to become a true witch. One, the Magus, twice her age, is a teacher in the Tradition of the Sun, who recognizes Brida as his own soul mate, and urges humility. The other is Wicca, her teacher of the Moon, a mature, wealthy woman who advocates senses-altering sex, and who is eager to know what the Magus, with whom she once had a relationship, sees in Brida. For her part, Brida is already in love with Lorens, a modest, unassuming physics student who gradually comes to embrace her spiritual view of the world despite his scientific background. Brida's initiation into magic involves a choice between the two men while staying true to her gift. The relationships and occult elements don't quite mix, and Coelho steers a cluttered path between Christian and pagan visions. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Booklist Review
Coelho's loyal fan base will welcome the U.S. publication of Brida, another mystical pilgrimage from the master of the genre. Readers familiar with The Alchemist (1993), The Zahir (2005), and The Witch of Portobello (2007) will recognize the common themes mysticism, discipleship, and a quest for fulfillment that are incandescently woven into the fabric of most of his fiction. Brida O'Fern, a young Irishwoman, embarks on a voyage of self-discovery, ultimately resulting in a spiritual awakening and an acceptance of her own supernatural powers. While seeking initiation into the Tradition of the Moon, an ancient Wiccan ritual, she also discovers her soul mate and learns that love is the most divinely liberating emotion to be recognized and valued on the path to true wisdom and knowledge. Slighter than some of Coelho's philosophically meatier novels, Brida is still a journey well worth taking; librarians should expect high demand.--Flanagan, Margaret Copyright 2008 Booklist
Kirkus Review
New Age savant Coelho (The Witch of Portobello, 2007, etc.) whitewashes witchcraft. This true-to-life tale of Brida, a young Irish sorcerer's apprentice whom Coelho met during a pilgrimage, was originally published in the author's native Brazil shortly after his breakout work, The Alchemist (1988). Twenty-one-year-old Brida seeks out the Magus, a wizard exiled to a forest, to learn magic. The Magus immediately recognizes Brida as his Soul Mate, but since Brida is unschooled in the Tradition of the Moon, the feeling isn't mutual. After an initial trial (an overnight stay, alone, in the Magus' woods) proves her worthy, Brida's path toward witchy enlightenment leads her to another teacher, Wicca, who guides Brida through the tarot and a series of trances, immersing her in the eclectic ragout of bromides that is spirituality according to Coelho. This benign rubric incorporates ancient Celtic pantheism (this is the only apparent reason for the setting, Ireland, because for all the local color the story could happen anywhere) but also the teachings of Saint Paul, Saint Augustine and Saint John of the Cross. The closest Wicca's queens of the night get to wickedness is hand wringing over their misunderstood sisters who were burnt at the stake. These witches call upon the Virgin Mary to stand by whenever they invoke the power of the Serpent, and they eschew the ultimate sin of attempting to control humans. In fact, that very sin consigned the Magus to his sentence of loneliness: He used Black Magic to drive away his rival for a woman--not even his Soul Mate, just a brief fling. An intriguing episode featuring one of Brida's past lives, during the persecution of the Cathar heretics, is all too brief. This patchy mlange of vaguely Gnostic sounding aphorisms and not much action--climaxing with a BYOB witch-initiation party--will mostly appeal to Coelho's diehard devotees. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
Masterful spiritual storyteller Coelho published Brida in 1990, two years following the publication of one of his most popular works, The Alchemist. Here translated into English, Brida follows the mystical experiences of a young Irishwoman named Brida O'Fern as she enters the world of witchcraft. Traveling from Dublin to the wild woods, Brida searches for her first teacher, the Magus, a man who recognizes her as his soul mate. The Magus starts her on her spiritual path through a test of faith before passing her to another teacher, Wicca, who helps further develop her mystical skills. As Brida grapples with lessons challenging her to remember her past lives and find her true path, she must also deal with her current lover and her growing attraction for the Magus from the woods. Blending the beliefs of pagan and Christian religions, Coehlo pulls through the common threads of love, faith, and the journey of the soul. Devotees of his works will spark demand for this interesting novel. Recommended for popular fiction collections.--Joy St. John, Henderson Dist. P.L., NV (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Excerpts
Excerpts
Brida A Novel Chapter One "I want to learn about magic," said the girl. The Magus looked at her. Faded jeans, T-shirt, the challenging look adopted by all shy people precisely when it's least needed. "I must be twice her age," he thought. And despite this, he knew that he had met his Soul Mate. "My name's Brida," she went on. "Forgive me for not introducing myself. I've waited a long time for this moment and I'm more nervous than I thought I would be." "Why do you want to learn about magic?" he asked. "So that I can find answers to some of the questions I have regarding life, so that I can learn about the occult powers, and, possibly, how to travel back into the past and forward into the future." It wasn't the first time someone had come to the forest to ask him this. There was a time when he'd been a Teacher who was known and respected by the Tradition. He'd taken on several pupils and believed that the world would change if he could change those around him. But he had made a mistake. And Teachers of the Tradition cannot make mistakes. "Don't you think you're rather young?" "I'm twenty-one," said Brida. "If I wanted to start learning ballet, I'd be considered too old." The Magus made a sign for her to follow him. They set off together through the forest, in silence. "She's pretty," he was thinking as the shadows cast by the trees rapidly lengthened and shifted as the sun sank lower on the horizon. "But I'm twice her age." This, he knew, meant that he might well suffer. Brida felt irritated by the silence of the man walking beside her; he hadn't even deigned to respond to her last remark. The forest floor was wet and covered in fallen leaves; she, too, noticed the shadows changing and the rapid approach of night. It would be dark soon and they didn't have a flashlight with them. "I have to trust him," she told herself. "If I believe that he can teach me magic, then I also have to believe that he can guide me through the forest." They continued walking. He appeared to be wandering aimlessly, from one side to the other, changing direction even when there was no obstacle in his path. More than once they walked in a circle, passing the same place three or four times. "Perhaps he's testing me." She was determined to see this experience through to the end and tried telling herself that everything that was happening--including those circular walks--was perfectly normal. She had come a very long way and had hoped for more from this encounter. Dublin was over ninety miles away, and the buses to the village were uncomfortable and left at absurd times. She'd had to get up early, travel for three hours, ask the people in the village where she might find him, and explain what she wanted with such a strange man. Finally, someone had told her in which part of the forest he could usually be found during the day, but not without first warning her that he'd already tried to seduce one of the village girls. "He's an interesting man," she thought to herself. They were climbing now, and she found herself hoping that the sun would linger a little longer in the sky. She was afraid she might slip on the damp leaves. "Why do you really want to learn about magic?" Brida was pleased that the silence had been broken. She gave him the same answer she had given before. But he wasn't satisfied. "Perhaps you want to learn about magic because it's mysterious and secret, because it provides answers that few human beings ever manage to find in a whole lifetime, or perhaps because it evokes a romantic past." Brida said nothing. She didn't know what to say. Afraid to give an answer the Magus might not like, she rather wished he would lapse back into his earlier silence. At last they came to the top of a hill, having crossed the entire forest. The ground there was rocky and bare of vegetation, but at least it was less slippery, and Brida could follow the Magus without difficulty. He sat down on the highest point and asked Brida to do the same. "Other people have been here before," said the Magus. "They, too, came to ask me to teach them about magic, but I've taught everything I needed to teach. I've given back to humanity what it gave to me. Now I want to be alone, to climb mountains, tend plants, and commune with God." "That's not true," replied the girl. "What isn't true?" he asked, surprised. "You might want to commune with God, but it isn't true that you want to be alone." Brida regretted having spoken. She had spoken on an impulse, and now it was too late to correct her mistake. Perhaps there were people who wanted to be alone. Perhaps women needed men more than men needed women. The Magus, however, showed no sign of irritation when he spoke again. "I'm going to ask you a question," he said, "and you must be absolutely honest in your answer. If you tell me the truth, I'll teach you what you ask. If you lie, you must never again return to this forest." Brida gave a sigh of relief. He was going to ask her a question. She simply had to tell the truth, that was all. She had always assumed that a Teacher would demand really difficult things of someone before taking them on as a pupil. "Let's suppose that I do start teaching you what I've learned," he said, his eyes fixed on hers. "Let's suppose that I start to show you the parallel universes that surround us, the angels, the wisdom of nature, the mysteries of the Tradition of the Sun and the Tradition of the Moon. Then one day, you go into town to buy some food, and in the middle of the street, you meet the love of your life." Brida A Novel . Copyright © by Paulo Coelho. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. Excerpted from Brida by Paulo Coelho All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
