Brida – By Paulo Coelho
The master of mystical story telling Paulo Coelho comes out with another piece of work which his followers will easily lap up and read. As usual the storyline of the book has a hunt for enlightenment, to gain access to knowledge which can only be acquired through introspection and perseverance. Brida is not necessarily a masterpiece like the Alchemist but an enjoyable read with its central character being a seemingly naive nymphet who is perplexed by her sixth sense which repeatedly takes her back to thoughts which she does not seem to be able to piece together. She embarks on a journey to discover the meaning of these shadows, which seems to haunt her, by looking for a mentor who can help her fulfill her desire to understand what may be magic.
Magus is the spiritual guru who leaves her to experience some supernatural incidents to guide her into a soul searching path where she comes across a witch by the name of Wicca. Wicca opens the door to an unknown world where there is magical potions, chants and other remnants of witchcraft which Brida gets to experience first hand. Bringing her closer to a reality which Brida is still not aware of but is unknowingly becoming more and more entrenched in, Magus is awaiting his soulmate who he instantly recognized in Brida.
The storyline does not have many hues to it other than grayish annotations of mysticism and witchcraft with prolonged paragraphs dedicated to giving details of the ceremonies that the witches conduct. It may lose you somewhere in between but for the longing to know whether Brida recognizes her soulmate the way he has recognized her. An end which is quite unexpected leaving you satiated in case you are not a person interested in the art of witchcraft but capable of arousing deep curiosity of the paranormal side of our world for those who care to know.
This book is a definite buy, and if you can spend money on buying military kit insurance then you can for this book too.