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I liked this book. Darker themes, but probably better than the Alchemist overall for me.

I skipped large parts of this as I was interested more in Coelho's life as an author than I was of his earlier life. The parts I read were certainly interesting. The book didn't do much for my opinion of Coelho as a person. In that respect it felt far more like an unauthorised biography than an authorised one. Kudos to the Coelho for allowing the biographer to paint him as he saw fit.

I'm enjoying this book, although I'd have liked it more if it were a third of the size. It contains a lot of long-winded analogies with a slightly patronising, written-for-children feel. Having said that, verbose analogies are a pet hate of mine, and the other third of the book is filled with plenty of Eastern wisdom. Good if, like me, you are not overly familiar with Hindu philosophy / belief systems.

I've read this book before. It's probably the first "self-help" book I ever bought (decades ago), and I found it inspiring at the time. It's very much a spiritual self-help book aimed at a secular or new-age audience (trusting in life / the Universe, etc.). But it's also full of wisdom on how to deal with different elements of life. From the author of "Feel the Fear and Do it Anyway."