Dzieła wybranego, zagranicznego pisarza - The works of a foreign writer of your choice

It is a writer who has been breaking world's publishing records. His books have been translated into thirty-nine languages, sold in 21 million copies and for a few years they have been in lists of best-sellers. Once a hippie, Paulo Coelho is a rich man today. His biography resembles the history described in The Alchemist - his dreams about writing have come true.

Paulo Coelho was born in 1947 in Rio de Janeiro. From his childhood he knew what he wanted to do. However, his parents persuaded him that writing is not a good profession. He started to study law. After four years he rebelled and got engaged with avant-garde theatre. He started writing lyrics for Raul Seixas, a popular Brazilian rock-musician. At that time Paulo Coelho was a hippie. But one day he decided to become a director of a record company. After some years of running his own business, he resolved to leave this. He travelled across Europe and met Jean in the Netherlands. Jean passed on to him rules of spiritual alchemy. He learned a lot but he still lacked the courage to write. He was still looking for his own legend. His first book was Dziennik maga (Magician's diary) - a description of a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostelle in Spain. His second book, written within ten days, was The Alchemist. Hardly had it been published when it became a best-seller. The Alchemist is a fairylike parable about an Andalusian shepherd who traverses a desert in search of a treasure and at the same time his own self. By his attitude he tries to teach us proceeding way of our own Legend. Fulfilling one's own legend is an art of alchemy. In order to achieve gold, that is to say, to succeed , one must follow signs. His other books are: Na brzegu rzeki Piedry siedziałam i płakałam (I was sitting and crying on the bank of the Piedra riv), Piąta góra (The fifth mountain). The first one is about the power of love and the second one about the Christian faith.

In conclusion I would like to say that Paulo Coelho is one of the greatest writers of our times. Even if he is not popular with critics, he is adored by his readers. His books are timeless. They combine the adoration of life with great love for women and God. They pass on to us a great knowledge about human life, about our weaknesses and passions. Paulo Coelho is considered to be one of the greatest writers of the 20th century and deservedly so.

[Arkadiusz Szymczak]