Paulo Coelho - a master storyteller

Having read four of this man's books, namely, The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello, By the river Pidera I wept and The Devil and Miss Prym, I am struck by his storytelling capacity. The way he drives the plot is amazing. Even more amazing is the message the stories convey. Recently, I came to know that he even advocates P2P sharing of his own books, what those demmed publishers often term as piracy. In my thesaurus Coelho is a free culture advocate.

Well, his free culture apart, optimism blossoms on every page he's penned. Though most of the stories initially take a tragic twist, in an attempt to capture all the irony and injustice in this world, Coelho then turns the plot towards the hidden strength in mankind - the will to go on, inspite of the odds, despite losses and overwhelming circumstances. Coelho also adds a spicy mix of spiritual thought into his well designed plot that makes it more interesting for people with a religious inclination.

His books have never ceased to fascinate his millions of fans across the world, and needless to say, I'm one of them. What is more interesting is his feminist approach to the plot, which in fact, is not so common. Four of his books are to be read this week, Brida, The Winner stands alone, Like a flowing river and Veronica decides to die.

Books always transfer us to imaginary worlds that are never interrupted by the hustle and din of the office or work. They allow us to glimpse at the ideal face of mankind, something we may never really see in our lifetime. But something, that does give us the courage to go ahead, the will to strive, the passion to thrive and above all, the passion to believe in dreams!