| Author | Paulo Coelho |
|---|---|
| Original title | O Zahir |
| Country | Brazil |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | Harper Perennial (eng. trans.) |
| Publication date | 2005 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover, Paperback) |
| Pages | 336 pp (Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-060-83281-9 |
The Zahir is a 2005 novel from the Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho. Just like one of his previous books, The Alchemist, Zahir is about pilgrimage. Additional themes are love, loss and obsession. It was originally written in Portuguese and has been translated into 44 languages. Iran was the first country to publish the book in the world, in Persian, by his Iranian publisher Caravan. The reason was that Iran has never signed any of the international copyright agreements and Caravan Publishing House and Paulo Coelho agreed to publish it first in Persian, so that the book would fall under the national copyright law of Iran, restricting piracy. This is a rare condition when a book is published first, in a language other than the authors native language. However, the book was banned in Iran, a few months after its publication, during the 18th Tehran International Book Fair. The story is extremely autobiographical but is intended as a work of fiction.
Plot
The Zahir means 'the present' or 'unable to go unnoticed' in Arabic. The story revolves around the narrator, a bestselling novelist's search for his missing wife, Esther. He enjoys all the privileges that money and celebrity bring. He is suspected of foul play by the authorities and the press of having a role to play in the inexplicable disappearance of his wife from their Paris home. Thereby, the protagonist is forced to re-examine his own life and marriage as well. The narrator is unable to figure out what led to Esther's disappearance. Was she abducted or had she abandoned their marriage? He comes across Mikhail, one of Esther's friends. The narrator with his help realizes that to find Esther, he must find his own self. Mikhail introduces him to a tribe who has unconventional ways of living. Through the narrator's journey from Paris to Kazakhstan, Coelho explores various meanings of love and life.
