I spotted this novel in a bookshop and was surprised that the author of The Alchemist appeared to be writing 'chick lit'. I was just starting to prepare for two weeks of exams, so I bought it as a bit of a treat to read when I finished them. I read it in a day and a half.
The book tells the story of Linda who is a thirty something, rich, bored, Swiss journalist and mother. She has a fling with an old school mate. There's not a huge amount of plot; most of the book is Linda's inner thoughts. Sex scenes are interspersed with quotes from the Bible, ramblings about love and jealousy, and some sound advice.
Coelho does a good job of getting into a woman's head in all but the sex scenes. Having knelt down and performed oral sex on her boyfriend Linda thinks, "the fact is, it was better for me than him". Really?!
Overall the book is very much 'of its time'. It looks at how people search for meaning and happiness in all the wrong places and have little concern for anyone but themselves."He put me on all fours like a dog" is on one page, and on the next, "to love abundantly is to live abundantly. To love forever is to live forever. Eternal life is coupled with Love."
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