The Zahir- A story of Love and Realization

“The Zahir” meaning ‘the present’ or ‘unable to go unnoticed’ is one of the best works of Coelho. The novel has both spiritual and philosophical touch to it. Its about this man, the protagonist and his quest for discovering his own self. It centers on the narrator-a best-selling novelist’s search for his wife. Having enjoyed all the privileges that a man can, thanks to money and his celebrity-hood, he realizes that his life is now confronted with some of the most unpredictable questions. Esther, his wife for ten years has disappeared from their home and immediately he is suspected of foul play by the authorities and the press. Unable to comprehend Esther’s inexplicable disappearance, he is forced to re-examine both his marital relationship and his own life. The narrator has questions aplenty which have no answer. Was Esther kidnapped or did she decide to part ways with him after having a failed marriage? Eventually, his only link in Esther’s disappearance is Mikhail, his wife’s friend. Then the narrator starts his journey- his quest to find out his wife. Like Coelho’s other stories, this one too focuses on journey. During this journey, he discovers a lot about life and love and its various faces. It is then that he realizes about his obsession for his wife, rather than his love. All this does make him a much more enlightened human being who is continually traveling in the pursuit of his dreams. Man can fulfill his own dreams and destroy them too. That’s exactly what the author tries to and in fact, successfully portrays in this beautiful novel of human emotions and continuous enlightenment of an individual. The narrator understands the worth of what he had long taken for granted only after losing it to time and is left without an answer to his questions.