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Book Reviews of The Pilgrimage

The Pilgrimage
The Pilgrimage
Author: Paulo Coelho, Alan Clarke (Translator)
ISBN-13: 9780062512796
ISBN-10: 006251279X
Publication Date: 5/1/1995
Pages: 272
Rating:
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 36

3.7 stars, based on 36 ratings
Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

2 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Pilgrimage on + 36 more book reviews
from back cover:
The Pilgrimage recounts the spectacular trails of Paulo Coelho and his mysterious mentor, Pestrus, as they journey across Spain in serach of the miraculous sword - on a legendary road traveled by pilgrims of San Tiago since the Middle Ages. Part adventure story, part guide to self-mastery, this compelling tale delivers a powerful brew of magic and insight.
katknit avatar reviewed The Pilgrimage on + 355 more book reviews
Another of those "path to enlightenment" accounts (ala Shirley MacLaine, Lynn Andrews, Carlos Castenada) in which the candidate is put through a harrowing and confusing series of trials by his enigmatic spiritual guide. The recognition of life's great truths, which the pilgrim has actually known all along but refused to acknowledge, is the ultimate goal and the way to know oneself and the purpose of one's life. That's what this book is about, with little information about what it is like to walk this famous route or arrive at the cathedral destination.
Described as dazzling and poetic, I wonder if something was lost in translation, as this reads in a somewhat sophomoric and clunky fashion. Books of this sort have their place, and for those who have not encountered any of them before, The Pilgrimage can open the mind.