Manuscript Found in Accra by Paulo Coelho – Blog Tour and Book Review
by
Patty
-
April 18, 2013
About the Book:
Hardcover: 208 pages
Publisher: Knopf (April 2, 2013)
The latest novel from the #1 internationally best-selling author of The Alchemist.
There is nothing wrong with anxiety? Although we cannot control God’s time, it is part of the human condition to want to receive the thing we are waiting for as quickly as possible.Or to drive away whatever is causing our fear. . . . Anxiety was born in the very same moment as mankind. And since we will never be able to master it, we will have to learn to live with it—just as we have learned to live with storms.
July 14, 1099. Jerusalem awaits the invasion of the crusaders who have surrounded the city’s gates. There, inside the ancient city’s walls, men and women of every age and every faith have gathered to hear the wise words of a mysterious man known only as the Copt. He has summoned the townspeople to address their fears with truth:
“Tomorrow, harmony will become discord. Joy will be replaced by grief. Peace will give way to war. . . . None of us can know what tomorrow will hold, because each day has its good and its bad moments. So, when you ask your questions, forget about the troops outside and the fear inside. Our task is not to leave a record of what happened on this date for those who will inherit the Earth; history will take care of that. Therefore, we will speak about our daily lives, about the difficulties we have had to face.”
The people begin with questions about defeat, struggle, and the nature of their enemies; they contemplate the will to change and the virtues of loyalty and solitude; and they ultimately turn to questions of beauty, love, wisdom, sex, elegance, and what the future holds. “What is success?” poses the Copt. “It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace.”
Now, these many centuries later, the wise man’s answers are a record of the human values that have endured throughout time. And, in Paulo Coelho’s hands, The Manuscript Found in Accra reveals that who we are, what we fear, and what we hope for the future come from the knowledge and belief that can be found within us, and not from the adversity that surrounds us.
About the Author:
One of the most influential writers of our time, Paulo Coelho is the author of many international best sellers, including The Alchemist, Aleph,Eleven Minutes and The Pilgrimage. Translated into 74 languages, his books have sold more than 140 million copies in more than 170 countries. He is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Letters, and in 2007, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace.
My Opinion: This book was so not what I was expecting. Perhaps had I known more about Mr. Coelho I would have known what I was getting. Perhaps had I read the synopsis more closely. I don’t know. I was expecting a story, what I got was so much less and yet so much more. As I’ve stated many a time in the course of my reviews I am not one for sussing out deep meaning within the pages of books. I read to be educated, to be entertained or to just get away from things for a bit. I don’t read to look for allegorical meanings in things or to sit and think philosophical thoughts. My mind does not work that way; it’s kind of a “shortest distance is a straight line” kind of mind although it has been known to take the occasional meander along the winding road. I read Manuscript Found In Accra through rather quickly and then realized it’s really not a book to be read in the traditional sense. It’s a book to be picked up now and again and thought about at moments when you want to do a bit of sitting and thinking. After the initial set up of the finding of the manuscript – which I must admit is what had me so excited to read the book. I was all up for a story about old papyri and Biblical controversy. – it segues into the the questions and answers from this young philosopher, the Copt. He gives his thoughts on what are really eternal questions regarding war, peace, love, luck, sex, life, etc. The purpose is to carry the sense of Jerusalem forward to a time when it lives again in Peace. As if any of us will see that in our lifetimes. I can’t say I liked this book and I can’t say I didn’t. This is a very hard one for me. It is the most different book I’ve read since I started reviewing books. It certainly made me think and I suppose that is it’s purpose. Rating: 3 You can see the Manuscript Found in Accra Tour Schedule You can purchase Manuscript Found in Accra at Amazon.com
Disclosure: I received a free copy of Manuscript Found in Accra from TLC Book Tours for my honest review. I received no compensation for this post.
Happily living in the small city of Brattleboro, Vermont, Patty Woodland is navigating the urban life of sidewalks and neighbors in New England. She will share life in her small city, the books she reads, and as always, the delicious food she cooks and bakes.
