Aleph
Paulo Coelho
Another stunning novel by the author of The Alchemist.
Aleph marks a return to Paulo Coelho’s beginnings. In a frank and surprising personal story, one of the world’s most beloved authors embarks on a remarkable and transformative journey of self-discovery.
Facing a grave crisis of faith, and seeking a path of spiritual renewal and growth, Paulo decides to start over: to travel, to experiment, to reconnect with people and the world. On this journey through Europe, Africa, and Asia, he will again meet Hilalthe woman he loved 500 years beforean encounter that will initiate a mystical voyage through time and space, through past and present, in search of himself.
Aleph is an encounter with our fears and our sins; a search for love and forgiveness, and the courage to confront the inevitable challenges of life.
Paulo Coelho
Aleph
Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa
Dedication
For J. who keeps me walking,
S. J. who continues to protect me,
Hilal, for her words of forgiveness in the church in Novosibirsk.
O Mary, conceived without sin,
pray for those who turn to you.
Amen.
A certain nobleman went into a far country to
receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
Luke 19:12
Epigraph
The Aleph was about two to three centimetres in diameter, but all of cosmic space was there, with no diminution in size. Each thing was infinite, because I could clearly see it from every point on the universe.
Jorge Luis Borges, ‘The Aleph’
Thou knowest all – I cannot see.
I trust I shall not live in vain,
I know that we shall meet again
In some divine eternity.
Oscar Wilde, ‘The True Knowledge’
Contents
Cover (#uc187f2cf-e703-537e-ab88-f70c4eeb1196)
Title Page (#u51a3a933-b2d9-59fc-a1cb-05e3ca83366b)
Dedication
Epigraph
King of My Kingdom
Chinese Bamboo
The Stranger’s Lantern
If a Cold Wind Blows
Sharing Souls
9,288
Hilal’s Eyes
The Ipatiev House
The Aleph
Dreamers Can Never Be Tamed
Like Tears in the Rain
The Chicago of Siberia
The Path to Peace
The Ring of Fire
Believe Even When No One Else Believes in You
Tea Leaves
The Fifth Woman
Ad extirpanda
Neutralising Energy without Moving a Muscle