The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho

The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho follows a woman’s search of herself through stories from people who knew her. Athena (as she preferred to be called), or Sherine (as she is called in her official documents) or Hagia Sofia (the name she chose to be called of when performing a ritual that turns her half conscious), is a restless and free-spirited woman who had a huge effect on every person she met and who struggled to transcend the expectations her parents and society had of her in leading a normal life. She was born in Romania/Transylvania to a gipsy mother who put her in an orphanage when she was only a week old. Later, she would be adopted by a rich Lebanese family who would take her in and shower her with all the love and protection they could give and raise her to become an independent woman. The novel tells the story of Athena through the eyes of the people of knew her during her search for meaning in her life and her search to fill in the blank spaces. Her journeys between Romania/Transylvania, Lebanon, London, Dubai, and Scotland helped her discover who she really was and her contact with different people from different cultures made her come in contact with spiritual figures and learn new things and rituals that could help her in her life and have an effect on people around her. The different perspectives through which we get Athena’s story give a lot of depth and make the reader reflect on each perspective and how it is formed and leave them with the choice to adopt whatever version they like of the protagonist.

Quotes:

-"When I’m with a group of people and I want to provoke them by asking that most important of questions: ‘Are you happy?’, they all reply: ‘Yes, I am.’

Then I ask: ‘But don’t you want more? Don’t you want to keep on growing?’

And they all reply: ‘Of course.’

Then I say: ‘So you’re not happy.’ And they change the subject."

-“What is a teacher? I'll tell you: it isn't someone who teaches something, but someone who inspires the student to give of her best in order to discover what she already knows.” 

-"My experience as a manager had taught me to recognise people’s states of mind, even if they said nothing. On a management course I attended, we learned that if you wanted to get rid of someone, you should do everything you can to provoke them into rudeness, so that you would then have a perfectly good reason to dismiss them." 

-“Don't be like those people who believe in "positive thinking" and tell themselves that they're loved and strong and capable. You don't need to do that because you know it already. And when you doubt it — which happens, I think, quite often at this stage of evolution — do as I suggested. Instead of trying to prove that you're better than you think, just laugh. Laugh at your worries and insecurities. View your anxieties with humor. It will be difficult at first, but you'll gradually get used to it. Now go back and meet all those people who think you know everything. Convince yourself that they're right, because we all know everything, it's merely a question of believing.” 

-“The day is made up of 24 hours and an infinite number of moments. We need to be aware of those moments and make the most of them regardless of whether we're busy doing something or contemplating life.” 

-“Because all my life I've learned to suffer in silence - Athena” 

-“No one can manipulate anyone else. In any relationship, both parties know what they're doing. even if one complains later on that they were used.” 

-“I've noticed that loneliness gets stronger when we try to face it down, but gets weaker when we simply ignore it.” 

-“There is only one difference between teacher and disciple: the former is slightly less afraid than the latter. Then, when they sit down at a table or in front of a fire to talk, the more experienced person might say: ‘Why don’t you do that?’ But he or she never says: ‘Go there and you’ll arrive where I did’, because every path and every destination are unique to the individual.

The true teacher gives the disciple the courage to throw his or her world off balance, even though the disciple is afraid of things already encountered and more afraid still of what might be around the next corner.”