He is an internationally-known bestselling author. What took me aback was the difference in fan demographic. Back at home in Colombia, and generally across Latin America, there are those who love Coelho and those who would not be caught dead with any book of his in their hands. Certainly my aunts and grandmothers. In the other camp live those who despise the author.
To be fair, a lot of what has been written against Coelho has the subtle smell of bestseller-shaming. But the general perception is that Coelho writes self-help books wrapped around fables that are easy to read and digest.
They are uplifting books with enough empowerment in them to make you feel capable, but light enough to require a second and third subsequent fix to keep the high going. None of my literature-studying friends in Colombia can take Paulo Coelho seriously, yet the same demographic in America seems to derive inspiration from his work.
The bookseller at the cash register told me that his books were kept hidden with Kerouac and Bukowski because they were stolen at a similar rate. Young men who write, she told me, stole Coelho and Bukowski at the same time.
Young men who write in America and my mother was a cross section of a Venn diagram I had never expected to find.
The people who come looking for his books are mostly young people who might want self-help but are also looking for a narrative or poetic book. Only 20 copies of the book in Spanish have been sold over the past year in that same store. How many books by Clarice Lispector? The Second Death of Clarice Lispector. Meanwhile, in Colombia we have bookstores like Wilborada that choose not to carry Coelho.
Is Paulo Coelho considered as a good or a bad writer? Related Questions. Is it true that in the Queen took up Limbo dancing? In Arts. Is Barry Gib the only man alive able to reduce Gene Le Belle to crying like baby for mercy by singing falsetto?
Is it true that Robin Gibb swinging a cat by the tail inspired Barry Gibbs falsetto? Is the worst falsetto in the history of music Barry Gibb? Yes it is In Arts. How do you dry brush? I kind of like this : Why go with all the dramatics of hating, and not just appreciate the beauty that's encrypted within the plainness of his words?
This is nice. Was for me anyway. But if someone doesn't want to go further than that Well, pooie Louie. You can't expect everyone to want to be or be able to be as intelligent as you.
By that I mean-there are different circles of people who have different views of life and of good literature based on their tastes and intellectual ability. And that can't be changed. Other circles celebrate other writers, ones that are up to your standards.
Ill fated intellectual journey will be if you start reading that rubbish. And I guess intellectuals hate him so much because to them it seems that the writing doesn't respect the reader, it's condescending because it makes everything super simple.
And smartasses hate when their smartness isn't noted. I can't recommend 'good books', but I can recommend good books. The demons by dostoievsky. Il desprezio by Moravia. Golden Temple by Mishims. Life, instructions of use by Perec. The infance of Nivasio Dolcemare by Savinio. I can tell about books I have read.
But now seriously though,why do you think people would give a damn about such a negative opinion? Not even worth reading the rest when you put THAT much hate into it. I read 5 of his books Mediocrity as best but mediocrity sells. Maybe because masses of people are not really interested in real literate work. On Facebook , you see hundred of people posting his "wise quotes" as the ultimatum way of living, if you analyze those phrases, they are either copies of other people's quotes transformed in a more lame language or they are just simple grandma phrases that we all learned while growing up, nothing mystical or mysterious much less wise or worthy.
Exactly what I was thinking about. The same messages are transformed in all of his books. I'm reading The zahir and I've got bored in the last chapters. I only dislike him for the bordem he made me feel and his poor style and language.
Celeste I feel what you have been through man. I have just finished that piece of crap called zahir. I had to finish it coz once I start a book I have to read till the end. But on the other hand this made me see how populism takes over the talent.
This kind of bullshit could not have sold that much had the people realized that popularisim does not guarantee talent. I saw his tweets too and it is totally ridiculous how he keeps interacting with his "fans" there. I read the alquimist too and ot is totally overrated. I have one of his kind in my county called Elif Safak, I am happy for you guys she didnt go global I totally agree.
All he writes is pretentious,super cliched pseudo philosophical crap. PS:The only thing the universe has conspired so far is making paulo famous. They would need to go to Emergencies I supose. If Coelho was the wise man he is suposed to be by his fans the first thing he would do is stop writing. And the next one go voluntarily to jail.
As father would say"Bollocks anyway". I donot understand how someone can hate Paulo coelho.. There are only a few writers i admire so much Khalid Hosseini, Jeffrey Archer i think that the problem with all the haters is that they do not understand what he writes about.
When I read 'His books are as complicated as shoelaces. Anyone above the age of three should be able to get them. Then, I read them again a few months ago. Both times I fully understood and hated them. I think those who dislike Coelho and his works are those who want concrete answers. I have read two of his books- The Alchemist which encouraged me to read another book written by him and Aleph. The Alchemist is book that reminds us of the things we already know in an expanded manner.
The fact that famous people like Will Smith and Pharell Williams consider their elite status now benefited from the book is a proof that the book is not complete bullshit.
Aleph, on the other hand, somewhat roots from The Alchemist since it mentioned a line from the latter. Nevertheless, Aleph provided new insights not mentioned in The Alchemist. I do not hate his haters because I think that Coelho is simply not the author for you. I had the chance to meet him in person and I have to say I was so disappointed by his arrogance I found nothing spiritual about him, and was so disappointed as I actually liked the Alchemist Very interesting you say that.
I was up in the jungle recently and I showed the local tribe his photo. Their answer His face is a lie. Just read the Aleph, as someone else had dumped it in my hotel. No surprise why! Pure dribble!!!
If you have ever met me in person you should know that I am a milliant Paulo Coelho hater. What is it about Paulo Coelho that evokes such strong emotions from within me? The simple answer is I hate Paulo Coelho because he is a bad writer. While this is true, it doesn't quite explain the repulsion. I didn't fully understand why either until I became familiar with the concept 'literary fiction'.
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