Book Review: The Pilgrimage by Paulo Coelho

This is very simple story of the pilgrimage that Paulo took in 1986. It is his own story, but it sounds like a fictional tale because of the way he wrote it. Paulo is a spiritual person. He follows some tradition in his religion and faith. With his master, when he tried to obtain a sword (it's something to do with spirituality), during the ordination he failed. So, he cannot be a master according to RAM (presumably his religious faith). Only the people who have procured the sword can be masters. Why did he fail? Because he didn’t know what to do with that sword, his focus was on the reward, not on its usage. Thus, his master says him to take the pilgrimage, where he is required to travel 700 kilometer through The Pyrenees Mountains. The journey starts from a small city in France to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Other than Rome and Jerusalem, this is the third and famous place for pilgrims.

He starts journey with a mysterious guide named Petrus. The purpose of the journey is to find the sword that will make him simple and effective in life, all the more. The journey is tough: physically, mentally, and spiritually. As they advance, various factors come into their lives, they pass through hamlets, towns, and each of the place has a story to tell to pilgrims. This route is taken by pilgrims for over a thousand years. Petrus, from time to time, teaches him various exercises in order to bring out the extraordinary from the ordinary ones. Evil and angelic both kind of forces they encounter en route, through animals like dog and lamb, and persons like saint, waiter, gypsy and a gang of boys and women.

Initially Paulo thinks that the journey is futile and why the road to leading simple life is made so tough. He thinks of quitting, but every time some or other message that he gets, keeps him going. The most terrible incident is the fight with a dog called Legion. That event marks the consequences of fear in human lives. Though he manages to win the fight, he gets wounded badly. Another obsessive aspect is Paulo’s greed for getting that sword soon. There are short cuts to reach their destination but they cannot take that – it isn’t allowed in the pilgrimage. Also, the sword is a reward, but what is to do with that reward, is the main message of the pilgrimage. 

The book is more suitable to spiritual readers and of course a treat for those who have taken pilgrimage at some point of life. The exercises, like The Seed Exercise, The Speed Exercise, The Cruelty Exercise, The Messenger Ritual, and so on are worth implementing in life.

Other than Paulo as a pilgrim, the characterization of Petrus is not only strengthening but also intriguing to the readers. A very less has been talked about his past and just before the end of the pilgrimage, the guide bids farewell to Paulo and after that Paulo himself continues the journey and succeeds in finding the sword. The main objective is to keep the good fight in life. 

People often search what is the name of the video game based on the novels of Paulo Coelho? The novel 'The Pilgrimage' by Paulo Coelho was such a massive hit book that based on it a adventure video game was built and released in the market in 1997. The name of the game was Pilgrim: Faith as a Weapon.