Title: A writer's gift dies by drowning in cliches
Product review: I read The Alchemist years ago and liked it. Paulo Coelho is a mystic and in The Alchemist, mysticism has a proper place in the story. In contrast, in The Witch of Portobello, the characters and plot are mere skeletons whose sole purpose is to preach a kind of pagan mysticism (Coelho favored the Christian variety earlier, he seems to have switched). The characters for the most part speak in cliched phrases about love, being true to oneself, and finding a deeper meaning in life. Sadly, here Coelho uses his otherwise considerable writer's gift to make these cliches sound profound and new, mostly by restating them over and over in different turns of phrase. If you are a "follower" by nature and into paganism or New-agey spiritualism, you might like this book. Otherwise, you will wonder what happened to the Coelho you once enjoyed reading.
Would you say this review depicts the product in a flattering or unflattering light?
