Author: Paulo Coelho
Publisher: Harper Collins
Year: 2013
ISBN: 9780007520503
Rating:
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Paulo Coelho has always been an author whose books have myriad shades of oxymoron. While I became a big fan of ‘Alchemist’ on one hand, ‘Veronika decides to die’ made me sink to morbid melancholia. ‘Manuscript in Accra ‘was something which I picked up with certain degree of apprehension.

My fears of a repeat of tragic novel were quickly put to rest. Instead, it is pleasantly uplifting. I usually do not prefer comparing novels, however, this one begged to be discussed for its close resemblance with the ‘Prophet’ by Khalil Gibran. In fact it mirrored it so well suggesting it to be a sequel.

The book is an immaculate cocktail of Fiction and Philosophy without any mundane reiterations. It touches upon various circles of life and greatly influences the thinking of a common man. The protagonist in his multitude sermons touches upon sensitive topics of anxiety, difficulty, love, sex solitude, patience, inner soul, success and defeat.

The book could successfully uplift any person who is even remotely disappointed with critical matters of life. It throws light on neutralizing fear and extricating oneself by abnegating expectations. It is crisp, concise and concrete.

This is no ordinary book. It has the right ingredients which blend wisely to take the reader to the next level of spirituality. However, one must not be surprised if it fails to make an impact among teenagers who read more for entertainment rather than seeking a lecture on life.

This is the kind of book which I would gift my grandfather, yet want to buy for myself as well. It helped me transform into believing that my problems are only as big as I make them in my mind. The book surely acts as a beacon for those sailors of life whose reason and passion are the rudder and sails of a struggling ship making its way to shore of success.

The book marvelously defines success, ‘It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace’. It made me wonder how many people in this world are actually successful.

The passages of this book are thought provoking and at times it compels the reader to transcend from a narrow outlet of happiness to develop a peripheral vision. All of us are gifted with the ability to make decisions but the circumstances determine the legitimacy of our decision. The book is slim and content is vivid and I would go on to recommend it as a must read. I would end this review of what I consider the best lines from the book, ‘Let us be masters of tongue and not the slaves of our words’.

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Farrukh Kidwai

Writer at IndiaBookStore

Love to read Non-Fiction, Auto biographies, A software programmer but not a very good one, an adventurist

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