Authored by Paulo Coelho, easily one of the best authors when it comes to the mystical/spiritual-fiction genre. I wanted to switch up and read some fiction, so I picked up 2 books from Paulo Coelho, one being this. From the title I assumed that the protagonist would be a character similar to Agatha or Circe. But she turned out to be a day to day woman, who did not quite fit into the moulds of the world. Perhaps that is why she was referred to as ‘The Witch’.
Book is in an unusual format, where the Climax is revealed upfront. Rest of the book is organized in the form of letters or transcripts from various people that were a part of this female lead’s life. About her—she embarked on a journey, an inner one, seeking, perhaps, the eternal. She searched through dance, through calligraphy, through stillness—often amid difficult external circumstances. She never quite belonged—neither with her adoptive parents, nor in her church, nor with lost love or workplaces. In accessing the depths of the inner feminine nature, she not only embodied it but carried it into the world, teaching it. At times, she overplayed it by foreseeing the future in some, sensing ailments in others.
A few lines that I liked from the book:
About dance:
“…though ecstasy is the ability to stand outside yourself, dance is a way of rising up into space, of discovering new dimensions while still remaining in touch with your body. When you dance, the spiritual world and the real world manage to coexist quite happily…”
About Calligraphy:
“…spaces are crucial. Although you have mastered the words, you haven’t mastered the blank spaces. When you are concentrating, your hand is perfect, but when it jumps from one word to the next it gets lost…”
Her life flickers like a candle burned too fast, hurried. She gets murdered after being accused of practising paganism and starting something like a cult.
Since the beginning of the book, I was able to draw parallels from her life to mine. And couldn’t help but admire the Author for capturing such a complex character in 300 some pages. Her life was also a reminder of various important things:
1. How difficult it is to live outside society, which is very well captured by the lines of her adoptive Mother, ‘…I knew she had never once heeded my advice – get a degree, get married, put up with the problems of living with someone without compliant, don’t try to go beyond the limits set by society. And what had been the result?’
2. ‘…Free will demands immense responsibility; it is hard work, it brings with it anguish and suffering…’
3. Love simply is
4. The inner journey is never about Power. No zwischen stopps! As one makes the journey inward, many may come about different abilities, but the journey and the is never about that.
5. A reminder to truly live—to live well, in whatever way feels right. And to slow down.
I may be too simplistic in explaining her, or might be reducing the character into the words that I am capable of using. But I think I was able to perceive her and her life as portrayed by the author. Overall, it was a good read. She was relatable. She lived, she lived fiercely and was gone too soon.