The Witch of Portobello

"Another uncanny fusion of philosophy, religious miracle and moral parable." - Publishers Weekly

"The Brazilian-born author of "The Alchemist" returns with this masterly novel about Athena, the illegitimate daughter of a Transylvanian gypsy adopted by well-to-do Lebanese parents." - Seattle Times

"Spiritualists and wanderlusts will eagerly devour The Alchemist author's firey diatribes about love, fear and the search for all things meaningful." - Washington Post

"We fell in love with The Devil and Miss Prym and believe the author's use of different voices contributing to the story line in this new novel [The Witch of Portobello] even surpasses that beautiful read...It's a very fast read. I'm a slow reader, but I read this spellbinding masterpiece in two nights. I think the magical, lyrical and fascinating Athena will immediately become literature's first lady!" --Jake Reiss of Alabama Booksmith as quoted in Publishers Weekly - Publishers Weekly

"[Coelho's] special talent seems to be his ability to speak to everyone at once. The kind of spirituality he espouses is to all comers....In the memoirs, and in the introductions to his novels, he emphasizes his own flaws and failures, forgives himself for them, and, by extension, forgives his readers theirs. Coelho's plots tend to be allegorical, and his readers often say that they see their own lives in his own books....The writing is unadorned and pleasant to read..." - The New Yorker