I saw Aleph was on the shelves and rushed to the library thinking I would surely be placed on a waiting list. Surprisingly, it was right there on the shelf. Should that have been a warning? I really tried to enjoy the story, get absorbed by it, and gain insight from it. Paulo Coelho is known for his, often profound, spiritual perception of what we believe to be the basic ennui of life. As I was reading Aleph, I did come across some spiritual gems, but by page 123 I was dozing off. Also, I should note that it took me several days to get to page 123 because I kept putting it down. If I'm putting a book down often, I have clearly not become engrossed enough in the story to allow it to take me away to a place where time and pages completed don't matter.
The long and short of the plot is that the main character takes an inspirational journey on the Trans-Siberian Railway and the journey is a metaphor for the journey we take in life. He also is trying to figure out why he is so restless and unfulfilled in this life (as most people are) and journeys to past lives to find the answer. His main partner who helps him during this voyage is a young woman who is about thirty years his junior, but apparently knows his soul. They have an affair of sorts (which turned me off because he is married) and teach each other about forgiveness. I think this book was "just ok". If you really want to great book by the author I will continue to recommend "The Alchemist". It is always relevant.
