My review on Hippie by Paulo Coelho – Book Review

Title: Hippie
Publisher: Penguin Books
Goodreads rating: 3.6/5

About HIPPIE by Paulo Coelho:

Originally published in Portuguese on the 17th of April, 2018, Hippie emerged as one of the most
autobiographical novels by Paulo Coelho. Through the ‘Hippie’, Paulo gives us a glimpse of his life during the
psychotropic era, the 60s and 70s.

Synopses:

“If you want to learn about yourself, start by exploring the world around you”- Paulo was a young Brazilian
with desires of becoming a writer. ‘Hippie’ is the story of this fresh mind in search of inner and deeper
meanings that life has to offer. With his destination tuned to the ‘centre of the World’, Paulo sets off on his
journey.
Destiny has much more in store for him. Karla, a Dutch, with aspirations of seeing the world from a different
perspective comes into the scene. She had been waiting for the right companion to accompany her on a bus
trip to Katmandu from Holland. Having convinced her companion, Paulo, along the hippie trail they went in
search of inner truth. The ‘Magic Bus’ as it was known, had 20 passengers in her, each having a different
backstory to narrate. “I’m the world. I carry with me the wisdom of those who’ve come before me and left
their mark in my genes. I’m my dreams”. As they travel together a new path opens up in them, shining a light
on newer dreams. Choices had to be made, which of course remains untold until the end.

My Verdict on Hippie by Paulo Coelho

“We don’t choose the things that happen to us, but we can choose how we react to them.”
Hippie, unlike his other books, loops mostly around experiences from the author’s life. The story is narrated
from a third-person perspective. Every flip through the book reveals that it is nothing less than a “literary
travelogue”. Paulo masqueraded as young skinny Brazilian, transport his readers to a bold and vibrant era of
hippies. Being an avid Paulo Coelho reader, I personally missed the fairy dust of inspiration throughout the
book. Even so, the book succeeded to stand out from the rest of his novels, and to an extent in giving us a
glimpse into his experiences. Flipping through the pages of ‘Hippie’, I could easily let my mind go footloose
rather than buckling it to the rectos as convention demands! I had laid my hands on the translated (English)
version, which I would rate, a 3.5 on 5.

About the author – PAULO COELHO

Paulo Coelho, the author of the bestseller Alchemist, is a Brazilian novelist cum lyricist. He spins his novels
with a hodgepodge of insights taken from his own life. Most of his literary works have been translated to over
eighty-one languages. Of all his books, the bestseller Alchemist, which had sold more than 85 million copies,
was quoted as ‘inspirational’ by prominent figures. He was titled as the ‘UN Messenger of Peace’ in the year
2007.

PS: This was originally published in the October 2018 edition of Storizen.