I am starting today a new series: expat bloggers are going to tell us about their favourite books. Aussie Angela Rhodes from blog Amsterdamned tells us her preferences.
What is your favourite genre?
Fiction and some popular science.
An important book in your life is....
Paulo Coelho's ‘The Alchemist’. It is about a young boy named Santiago who sets out to live his dream instead of settling down into mundane everyday life like so many of us do. The book is written simply in the style of a fable, it is full of fantasy, symbolism and adventure similar to what we find in fairy tales but the message is beautiful. I know some people who have read the book and hated it, mostly because they missed the point - to live your dream. They missed this because as atheists they were too caught up in the references to destiny and took the metaphors literally. I find this a little sad, because I as an atheist myself found the message inspiring regardless of its fairy tale qualities.
What is your favourite genre?
Fiction and some popular science.
An important book in your life is....
Paulo Coelho's ‘The Alchemist’. It is about a young boy named Santiago who sets out to live his dream instead of settling down into mundane everyday life like so many of us do. The book is written simply in the style of a fable, it is full of fantasy, symbolism and adventure similar to what we find in fairy tales but the message is beautiful. I know some people who have read the book and hated it, mostly because they missed the point - to live your dream. They missed this because as atheists they were too caught up in the references to destiny and took the metaphors literally. I find this a little sad, because I as an atheist myself found the message inspiring regardless of its fairy tale qualities.
What are you reading at the moment ?
At the moment I am reading 'The Beijing Coma' by Ma Jian. I've only just started on it, so I can't really comment on it just yet.The last book I read was 'The New York Trilogy' by Paul Auster. On the surface The New York Trilogy is three detective stories, however the theme is just a base for a much deeper exploration into the nature of identity and the multiple selves we encompass, which is a theme Auster is well known for.Paul Auster is one of the most eloquent writers I have come across. And I would definitely recommend The New York Trilogy. Having said that though, I have heard you either love Auster or you hate him - his novels are often dark and leave you a little chilled, because of this he is not for everyone.
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