Posthegemonic Comments
Hi Jon,
Could define "New Age" for me please?
Ashea, Wikipedia is a good a place as any to start.
But in general, I'd say "New Age" refers to a range of contemporary spiritual beliefs that range from belief in the power of crystals to certain forms of indigenism, from interest in ley lines to yoga and t'ai chi.
And note that Amazon classifies Paulo Coelho's books under the "New Age" category.
hello!
I also love the work of Paulo Coelho!!!! Do you know that he has a newsletter?
http://www.warriorofthelight.com...engl/
index.html
You can also go to his blog and comment with other readers your
impressions... http://www.paulocoelhoblog.com
it's simply wonderful!
Best wishes!
Ah, look... Judging by Aart's comments, Paulo Coelho's fans (if this is not a bot run by his publishers) simply don't bother to read the posts on which they're commenting.
heh heh, could be run by his publishers.
Ok, I thought The Alchemist was about a Muslim boy who went to Mecca, which didn't seem so New Age to me. But I will read it again and get back to you on that.
Thanks for the definition.
See you Friday!
oh wow, I'm an idiot. He's christian and he goes to Egypt. Nevermind.
i am not a publisher.
wish you the best!
anoche descubri que hay una version en castellano gratis del alquimista, en la pagina oficial de paulo esta en ruso tambien si queres. en ingles hay solo fragmentos, claro.
http://www2.uol.com.br/paulocoelho/
voy a devolver mi ejemplar
je. Sí, porque no necesita vender más libros...
I like that he blends his Catholicism with New age principles...it gives the 85 million someones who bought his book a chance to open their eyes to their ideas about "God", the world, and themselves. It seems kind of more like a self-help book than a fiction work doesn't it? Anyway I the ideas behind it are important to Coelho and some 85 million people (as you said the theme is universal), so it can't be all bad - at least not in my opinion.
Hmm, I'm not entirely sure how Catholic the book is; I suspect the Vatican wouldn't be too impressed. I doubt the Pope welcomes a belief system that simply encourages us to follow our own inclinations. Not that this makes it "bad" necessarily, of course.
perhaps the point is if any of us wrote a book that 85million people bought we'd have an over inflated sense of importance too. But more importantly the Alchemist works because not everyone has time nor apptitude to digest, understand and work through the levels of knowledge high-minded intelligensia/philosophers/cultural theorists are exposed to on a daily basis. Sometimes people want tripe, and they want it to make them feel warm and fuzzy(!). in this post hegemony world of ours what can they truly know apart from the simple, western ideals that dreams are good, progress is inevitable (also supposedly good too), that are hearts are what we live for, and when life is really bad we shouldnt worry too much because the good things are here with us all along. its not that i disagree with you but this book's message fits perfectly in a neoliberal world designed to fcuk over everyone who isn't already wealthy - with all the history that entails. but fair dues to you, the Alchemist is all you say too. Ive read it twice. first time i was young and in love. it was great. Second time i was older and meaner. It stunk. Maybe its like popcorn, good at first, annoying after a while
if you had the opportunity to have a conversation with none other than the %&*#ing SUN in your lifetime, would you insist on Educating it as to what IT does not know!?!?: "But you don't know about love... etc. etc." ....brutal!! i couldn't handle that whole scene. pretty ridiculous. Coehlo totally lost me in the latter part of the second half... i'm not buyin it!!
y en lo que se refiere a la nostalgia por la ninez y la idea de que sabemos lo que es nuestra 'leyenda personal' cuando estamos jovenes pero crecimos a olvidarla... !estoy de acuerdo de que eso es mierda!
estoy muchisimo mas consciente de quien yo soy y que es lo que quiero en la vida ahora, en mi edad adulta. de hecho, cada dia me siento que estoy creciendo y aprendiendo mas y mas, acercandome a mi 'leyenda personal' si existe. pero seguro que siempre esta cambiando, como yo.
la idea de que todos crecemos y 'get caught up in the rat race' y olvidar lo que es 'verdaderamente importante en la vida' es demasiado 'familiar', como dice ud. lo mas que repitimos esta idea, lo mas es verdad. Coehlo asume (insiste) que todos somos robotes.
...hmm, !seguro que el hecho de que compramos 30 millon copias de este libro no le convencera de otra manera!
ok, last post. was just responding to someone's blog and managed to articulate a point i've been trying to make:
i feel that Coehlo 'preaches' too much; that he expects his readers to hang off every one of his words -especially his Capitalized Words. 
i feel that he assumes a sort of superior position from which he is 'passing down' his 'great wisdom' to us readers, uneducated lemmings of some sort. i've read similar books such as 'the celestine prophecy' that held similar premises but engaged their readers in a much less condescending manner. we are meant to connect with the character of the shephard and learn as he does, hence all of the questions he asks (some ridiculous btw!). ...so hmmm, in this case, maybe Coehlo visualizes himself as the alquemist himself! .. up on his high white horse! LOL! now it makes sense.
Rhiannon, yes, Coelho does want to come across as The Alchemist, no doubt. Though also as Santiago, The Searcher... The story is, after all, about the process by which Searcher becomes Alchemist. Which is a kind of Alchemy itself.
In theory, there's nothing wrong with this, of course. The question would be why it's so grating to some (certainly to me), but not to others. Why the 85 million who flock to buy his books to learn that they don't have to be sheep don't feel all the more sheeplike for doing so.
Thanks for the link to the Coehlo website.
Hilarious.
Did you know he spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos last month?
The world is run by the illiterate.
Hey Jon,
Go blow a rat's ass!
Paulo Coelho's literature is insperational and makes a person want to strive for something bigger and better than what they are.
Good essay, but you suck!
With simpathy,
Luc's Afro
Luc, you're clearly living proof of Coelho's powers of inspiration.
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