Paulo Coelho
Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist born on August 24, 1947, in Rio de Janeiro. Raised in a middle-class family with aspirations for him to become an engineer, Coelho faced significant resistance when he pursued his literary ambitions, leading to a turbulent adolescence that included time in a mental institution. After abandoning law school, he traveled extensively and began his writing career by composing song lyrics. His spiritual awakening during a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela greatly influenced his writing style, which blends philosophical themes with clear, simple prose.
Coelho's works often explore spirituality, self-discovery, and the pursuit of dreams. He is best known for his bestselling novel "The Alchemist," which has sold over 65 million copies worldwide and has been translated into more than fifty languages. Despite mixed reviews from literary critics, his novels have garnered a vast international readership and he has received numerous awards. Coelho has also engaged in social initiatives, founding the Paulo Coelho Institute to support vulnerable communities in Rio de Janeiro. He remains a prominent figure in contemporary literature and continues to publish new works regularly.
Subject Terms
Paulo Coelho
Brazilian novelist, lyricist, and nonfiction writer.
- Born: August 24, 1947
- Place of Birth: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Biography
Paulo Coelho, a lyricist and novelist, was born on August 24, 1947, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. His middle-class parents, who wanted their son to become an engineer, educated him in Jesuit schools. They became troubled by his adolescent rebelliousness and his literary aspirations, however, and they sent him to a mental institution, where he received electroconvulsive therapy. Coelho attended law school in Rio de Janeiro but did not finish. Instead, he left school in 1970 and traveled extensively throughout Latin America, Europe, and North Africa.
He returned to Brazil in 1972 and composed lyrics for popular songs, particular for singer Raul Seixas. At the time, Coelho was involved with the Alternative Society, a black-magic sect with an anarchic strain. In 1974, he was imprisoned briefly after being accused of antigovernment activities against the Brazilian dictatorship. He became a recording executive for CBS Records in Brazil, but he lost this job in 1980. Committed to pursuing a nomadic lifestyle, he explored various religions and focused on his literary pursuits. He experienced a spiritual awakening during a fifty-six-day pilgrimage along the Camino (Road) to Santiago de Compostela in northwestern Spain, and this experience inspired much of his later work.
A Catholic with syncretic beliefs, Coelho is known for his clear, simple prose style and his blending of philosophical and religious concepts. His mystical, lyrical fables explore issues of spirituality and the search for self-discovery and dream fulfillment. He has been both praised and criticized for advocating an individualist philosophy of success. Although poorly received by literary critics, his novels have been bestsellers in numerous countries, including Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Italy. He has received several awards in various countries and maintains a large international following on social media. In 2007, he was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace for his work to foster multiculturalism and to alleviate poverty.
His dream-like fable O alquimista (1988; The Alchemist: A Fable about Following Your Dream, 1993) sold more than 65 million copies worldwide and was translated into more than fifty languages. O diario de um mago (1987; The Diary of a Magus: The Road to Santiago, 1992; The Pilgrimage, 1998) is a fictionalized narrative of his experiences during his arduous journey along the Road to Santiago. It was developed into a computer game by the Arxel Tribe, an international computer game company. His novel Veronika decide morrer (1998; Veronica Decides to Die, 2000) deals with issues of suicide and depression and was loosely based on Coelho’s teenage experiences in a mental institution. The novel was nominated for the prestigious International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award. Coelho’s other novels include Na margem do rio Piedra eu sentei e chorie (1994; By the River Piedra I Sat down and Wept, 1996), La quinta montana (1996; The Fifth Mountain, 1998), O demonio e a Srta. Prym (2000; The Devil and Miss Prym, 2000), Onze minutos (Eleven Minutes, 2003), O zahir (2005; The Zahir: A Novel of Obsession, 2005), and A bruxa de Portobello (2006; The Witch of Portobello, 2007). His nonfiction book As valkirias (1992; The Valkyries: An Encounter with Angels, 1995) describes his journey through the desert with his wife Christina. In the 2010s, Coelho continued to be prolific, publishing a book every one to two years, including O Aleph (2010, Aleph, 2011), Manuscrito encontrado em Accra (2012; Manuscript Found in Accra, 2013), Adultério (2012; Adultery, 2014), and A Espiã (2016, The Spy, 2016).
A film adaptation of Veronica Decides to Die was screened at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival and later released in theaters across Europe, Brazil, and the United States. Coelho optioned the film rights for The Alchemist in the early 1990s, but the project lay dormant for more than two decades until The Weinstein Company announced in 2008 that it would produce the long-awaited film. In 2015, Coelho himself became the subject of a film, the biopic The Pilgrim: Paulo Coelho's Best Story. Coelho continued to publish works throughout the late 2010s and early 2020s. Some of his most notable works from this period included Hippie (2018), O Caminho de Arco (The Archer, 2020). He next published Maktub (2023), a companion to The Alchemist.
In the mid-1990s, Coelho founded the Paulo Coelho Institute to aid the children and elderly members of a Rio de Janeiro favela, or slum.
Author Works
Long Fiction:
Arquivos do inferno, 1982
O diario de um mago, 1987 (The Diary of a Magus: The Road to Santiago, 1992)
O alquimista, 1988 (The Alchemist, 1993)
Brida, 1990 (English translation, 2008)
O dom supremo, 1991
Maktub, 1994
Veronika decide morrer, 1998 (Veronica Decides to Die, 2000)
Paulo Coelho: Confissoes de um peregrino, 1999 (Paulo Coelho: The Confessions of a Pilgrim, 2001)
O demonio e a Srta. Prym, 2000 (The Devil and Miss Prym, 2000)
Historias para pais, filhos, e netos, 2001 (Fathers, Sons, and Grandsons, 2001)
Onze minutos, 2002 (Eleven Minutes, 2003)
O zahir, 2005 (The Zahir: A Novel of Obsession, 2005)
A bruxa de Portobello, 2006 (The Witch of Portobello, 2007)
O vencedor está só, 2008 (The Winner Stands Alone, 2009)
O Aleph, 2010 (Aleph, 2011)
Manuscrito encontrado em Accra, 2012 (Manuscript Found in Accra, 2013)
Adultério, 2014 (Adultery, 2014)
A Espiã, 2016 (The Spy, 2016)
Hippie (2018)
O Caminho de Arco (2020)
Maktub (2023)
Nonfiction:
Os simbolos do tempo, 1985 (with Fernanda Ferreira)
As valkirias, 1992 (The Valkyries: An Encounter with Angels, 1995)
Manual do guerreiro da luz, 1997 (The Manual of the Warrior of Light, 2002)
Bibliography
Coelho, Paulo. "Best-Selling Author Gives Away His Work." Interview by Julie Bosman. The New York Times, 26 Sept. 2011, www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/books/paulo-coelho-discusses-aleph-his-new-novel.html. Accessed 16 Oct. 2024.
Gamerman, Ellen. "Paulo Coelho, Fiction's Digital Alchemist." Wall Street Journal. Dow Jones, 14 Aug. 2014. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.
Goodyear, Dana. "The Magus." New Yorker. Condé Nast, 7 May 2007. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.
Jeffries, Stuart. "Paulo Coelho on Jesus, Twitter and the Difference between Defeat and Failure." Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 17 Mar. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2016.
Morais, Fernando. Paulo Coelho: A Warrior's Life—The Authorized Biography. New York: HarperCollins, 2010. Print.
Rock, Claire. "Paulo Coelho Unfortunately Strikes Again with 'Maktub.'" The Michigan Daily, 21 Mar. 2024, www.michigandaily.com/arts/books/paulo-coelho-unfortunately-strikes-again-with-maktub/. Accessed 16 Oct. 2024.