Warrior of the light A manual

Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

This companion volume to Coelho's popular The Alchemist is an odd hybrid-a self-help manual with fictional overtones; a series of aphorisms and platitudes set within the frame of the sketchiest of parables. In the parable, a boy meets a beautiful woman at a beach, who proceeds to tell him about a hidden undersea temple near a vanished island. The boy fails in his initial attempt to find the temple, though he hears its bells ring, but later, as a grown man, he again meets the woman, who hands him an empty notebook and directs him to write about the "Warrior of the Light," a being who is "capable of understanding the miracle of life, of fighting to the last for something he believes in-and of hearing the bells that the waves set ringing on the seabed." Some of the aphorisms that follow have a specific spiritual source-Lao Tzu, Gandhi, Jesus and Rabbi Nachman of Breslov, among others, are quoted. Coelho provides general spiritual inspiration, but he also offers guidance in more mundane matters, explaining the specific motivations behind childish, immature behavior, cowardly moments, feelings of spiritual emptiness and the reluctance to change. Some of these passages are original, but others merely repackage common inspirational fodder. The volume preserves the basic spiritual tone of The Alchemist, but readers expecting comparable depth and substance will be disappointed. (Mar.) Forecast: The price of this tiny hardcover may be a stumbling block for buyers; a cheaper paperback might have been a better bet. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by Library Journal Review

A guidebook for good living on the tenth anniversary of The Alchemist. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

Brazilian Coelho (renowned for The Alchemist, 1993) has sold over 35 million copies worldwide and been translated into 54 languages. His latest may end up in the same enviable boat. Each Coelheo offering is slightly different in form but similar in voice--a voice that can be uplifting or chock-a-block with placebos of the religio-saccharine. The author's best is The Fifth Mountain (1998), about the prophet Elijah's battle for monotheism and his rise to heaven--still alive--in a chariot of fire. This time out, Coelho compiles parables and meditations first published over a three-year period in a column called "Maktub" in Folha de São Paulo and other newspapers in Brazil and elsewhere. The compilation is framed by a brief parable--or, if compared to Tolstoy's steel-etched parables, by a bit of fluff. A strange woman tells a boy from a fishing village, "Just off the beach to the west of the village lies an island, and on it is a vast temple with many bells." The boy spends many fruitless seasons sifting on the beach and becomes the butt of jokes from his mates as he waits to hear the bells. Only when the beauty of the seagulls' cries, the roar of the sea, and the wind blowing through the palm trees become one to him does he at last hear them. The woman returns and hands him a blue notebook full of blank pages and tells him that, as a Warrior of the Light, one who understands the miracle of life and yet still has a child's eyes, he must write down the path that led to his being a Warrior. Sample: "Sometimes Evil pursues a Warrior of the Light, and when it does, he calmly invites it into his tent . . . . When he has heard everything, he gets up and leaves. Evil feels so weary and empty after all this talk that it does not have the strength to follow him"). Feeble. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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Warrior of the Light A Manual Chapter One A Warrior of the Light knows that he has much to be grateful for. Angels help him in his struggle; celestial forces place each thing in its place, thus allowing him to give it his best. His companions say: "He's so lucky!" And the warrior does sometimes achieve things far beyond his capabilities. That is why, at sunset, he kneels and gives thanks for the Protective Cloak surrounding him. His gratitude, however, is not limited to the spiritual world; he never forgets his friends, for their blood, mingled with his on the battlefield. A Warrior does not need to be reminded of the help given him by others. He is the first to remember and he makes sure to share with them any rewards he receives. All the world's roads lead to the heart of the Warrior; he plunges unhesitatingly into the river of passions always flowing through his life. The warrior knows that he is free to choose his desires, and he makes these decisions with courage, detachment and -- sometimes -- with just a touch of madness. He embraces his passions and enjoys them intensely. He knows that there is no need to renounce the pleasures of conquest; they are part of life and bring joy to all those who participate in them. But he never loses sight of things that last or of the strong bonds forged over time. A Warrior can distinguish between the transient and the enduring. A Warrior of the Light does not rely on strength alone, he makes use of his opponent's energy too. When he enters the fight, all he has is his enthusiasm, the moves, and strikes that he learned during his training. As the fight progresses, he discovers that enthusiasm and training are not enough to win: what counts is experience. Then he opens his heart to the Universe and asks God to give him the inspiration he needs to turn every blow from his enemy into a lesson in self-defence. His companions say: "He's so superstitious. He stopped fighting in order to pray; he even shows respect for his opponent's tricks." A Warrior does not respond to these provocations. He knows that without inspiration and experience, no amount of training will help him. Warrior of the Light A Manual . Copyright © by Paulo Coelho. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved. Available now wherever books are sold. Excerpted from Warrior of the Light by Paulo Coelho All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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