Brida by Paulo Coelho: A Book Review

• The plot is well- written. You never get lost while reading. Words are simple but then the meaning runs deep. Although the ending is a cliff hanger, the story is clear and the problems presented in the story were resolved. 

• If you are like most women who like to search for answers to the unending questions that trouble your very existence, then you would probably like the book. The main character has the courage to dive into whatever it is so as to look for the answers she's been crazy to have. Since she likes to know more about magic, powers and mysticism, she doesn't mind getting dirty throughout the process. Along her way, she doesn't realize that she will ultimately receive an answer to her puzzling question that many people want to know as well-- Is a soul mate for real? And how will you know if it is? Will you eventually end up with your soul mate? Is it possible to have two soul mates at the same time? As she discovers surprising truths about power, magic and love in general, she is astonished and taken aback by how life plays with her destiny. 

• Brida's story is an inspiration to women, so to speak. It is, in one way or another, encouraging us to go for what we really want. It is reminding us to have the courage and the guts to pursue our heart's desire no matter what the cost. It therefore suggests that we should be responsible of the consequences that might occur since we are the ones who made it happen in the first place. It's further message is letting the world know that magic exists, and it's up to you if you are open enough in order to reach the invisible world through the lens of what's visible and tangible. 

• I admire Mr. Coelho for being such a brilliant author! He definitely knows how to make a great story out of simple words. He has so much wisdom in him that reflects in the book. You can read a nugget of wisdom almost every page. Moreover, his book is full of strong feelings and emotions that pull the reader inside the book and see for himself what's going on. Of course , it's not just this book I'm praising him for. I've also read The Alchemist before Brida so I certainly know how good his writings are. *Yet another masterpiece!*

• My rating for this book is eight out of ten stars.

"The other day, I spoke to you about once of the great secrets of magic: the Soul Mate. The whole man's life on the face of Earth can be summed up by that search for his Soul Mate. He may pretend to be running after wisdom, money, or power, but none of that matters. Whatever he achieves will be incomplete if he fails to find his Soul Mate."

" The soil needs the seed, and the seed needs the soil. The one only has meaning with the other. It is the same thing with human beings. When male knowledge joins with female transformation, then the great magical union is created, and its name is Wisdom. Wisdom means both to know and to transform."

"That is what the forest taught me. That you will never be mine, and that is why I will never lose you. You were my hope during my days of loneliness, my anxiety during moments of doubt, my certainty during moments of faith. -- Knowing that my Soul Mate would come one day, I devoted myself to learning the Tradition of the Sun. Knowing that you existed was my one reason for continuing to live."

 "Our soul divides into two, and those new souls are in turn transformed into two and so, within a few generations, we are scattered over a large part of Earth. -- We form part of what the alchemists call the Anima mundi, the Soul of the World. The truth is that if the Anima mundi were merely to keep dividing, it would keep growing, but it would also become gradually weaker. That is why, as well as dividing into tow, we also find ourselves. And that process of finding ourselves is called Love. Because when a soul divides, it always divides into a male part and a female part."

"An anonymous text from the Tradition says that, in life, each person can take one of two attitudes: to build or to plant. The builders might take years over their tasks, but one day, they finish what they're doing. Then they find they're hemmed in by their own walls. Life loses its meaning when the building stops. Then there are those who plant. They endure storms and all the many vicissitudes of the seasons, and they rarely rest. But, unlike a building, a garden never stops growing. And while it requires the gardener's constant attention, it also allows life for the gardener to be a great adventure. Gardeners always recognize one another, because they know that in the history of each plant lies the growth of the whole World."