'The Pilgrimage'

Review

The Pilgrimage
by Paulo Coelho

1995

It is with great discomfort that I report back poorly for the read that is The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho. Having read The Alchemist, I turned around and borrowed this with great excitement, awaiting the juicy details which lay within, especially those regarding the trail I will set out on next year.

Maybe it is because The Alchemist was written on the success of its predecessor and reading them out of sequence has left a gap. It could be that the spiritual searching found within its pages are not the random kind that I'm looking for, having already discovered spiritual truths for myself. Or it could be that it reminds me of the mystical writings of Carlos Castaneda, a hybrid-reality style of writing that moves between reality and mysticism with no pointed direction or conclusion. A mixture of all these perhaps had me sighing within the first few chapters and finally putting it down saying "get over it mate".

It is yet another work for spiritual over acceptance, the kind which agree with everything and infringe on nothing. Very suitable in these times where to agree in a blanket sort of way is the politically correct way of believing in something more. This sort of belief, like Bahá'í, reminds me of putting all your favourite things in a blender, whipping it, and finding that it was always be brown. The fence-sitting colour, the shade of non-existent conviction.

But for an explored review into spirituality this may be just your thing.