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Paulo Coelho 是我心愛的作者，他的小說包含靈修啟示與人生智慧，如 The Alchemist、The Pilgrimage、The Valkyries...,而 The Fifth Mountain 及 Eleven Minutes，是我特別鍾愛。

The Witch of the Portobello 並沒有令我失望。

這故事關於一個在 Portobello 的女巫 - Athena，由認識她，或不太了解她的人訴說她的故事，從不同角度，讓讀者了解一個被領養、年輕生子、為身邊人帶來種種改變、既是學生又是老師、既是聖人又是妖魔的叛逆女子。

Heron Ryan, journalist:

"People create a reality and then become the victims of that reality. Athena rebelled against that - and paid a high price."

Andrea McCain, actress:

"I was used and manipulated by Athena, with no consideration for my feelings. She was my teacher, charged with passing on the sacred mysteries, with awakening the unknown energy we all possess. When we venture into that unfamiliar sea, we trust blindly in those who guide us, believing that they know more than we do."

Deidre O'Neill, known as Edda:

"Athena's great problem was that she was a woman of the twenty-second century living in the twenty-first, and making no secret of the fat, either. Did she pay a price? She certainly did. But she would have paid a still higher price if she had repressed her natural exuberance. She would have been bitter, frustrated, always concerned about 'what other people might think,' always saying, 'I'll just sort these things out, then I'll devote myself to my dream,' always complaining 'that the conditions are never quite right."

這故事，是一個學習對自己真實的紀錄，即使自己不知道自己是誰，仍然跟隨內在的聲音，承認自己還未找到答案，身邊人通通反對，但，仍然勇往直前。

這是一本偵探小說， 作者很早便告訴我們 Athena 的下場，但直到結尾才告訴我們原委，然後又給讀者一個驚喜。

這是一道考卷，讓我們思考並回答，何謂生活、何謂愛、何謂熱情、何謂喜樂、何謂犧牲。

"What is normal? Why is Dad always laden down with work, when we have money enough to support three generations? Why? What for?"

"Does he love me?" "You're asking the wrong question. What you need to know is, are you in a position to give him the love he needs. And whatever happens or doesn't happen will be equally gratifying. Knowing that you are capable of love is enough. If it isn't him, it will be someone else. You've discovered a wellspring, simply allow it to flow and it will fill your world. Don't try to keep a distance so as to see what happens. Don't wait to be certain before you take a step. What you give, you will receive, althrough it might sometimes come from the place you least expect."

"That was the only time I dared to ask her: 'Why do you love me?'

She replied:'I don't know and I don't care.'

Now, as I put the finishing touches to these pages, I believe I may have found the answer in her last conversation with the journalist.

Love simply is."

看到感觸處，我總會掩書思索。讓內心深處的聲音回答書中的問題，沒有模擬答案，只有忠於自己的回應。

Athena 的母親對 Athena 的一番告白，就讓我有很深的感觸：

"A few months ago, when you decided to give up yet another job that was bringing you both money and prestige, I was in despair. I went to the local church. I wanted to make a promise to the Virgin and beg her to bring you back to reality, to force you to change your life and make the most of the chances you were throwing away. I was ready to do anything in exchange for that."

"I stood looking at the Virgin and Child. And I said: 'You're a mother and you know what's happening. Ask anything of me, but save my child because I think she's bent on self-destruction.'"

"And do you know what I felt at that moment? I felt that she was talking to me and saying: 'Listen, Samira, that's what i thought too. I suffered for years because my son wouldn't listen to anything I said. I used to worry about his safety, I didn't like the friends he chose, and he showed no respect for laws, customs, religion, or his elders. But my son didn't listen to me. And now I'm very glad that he didn't.'"

這小說媲美詩集，用字簡單優美，令讀者時而如沐春風，時而心靈悸動。

故事更提出一個大膽假設， 如果 Athena 是今天的耶穌， 我們可有勇氣去接受她，還是我們會拒絕她？我們會站在那方？保護他的門徒？還是想置他於死地的法利塞人？

閱讀 Paulo 的作品，需要一點耐心。不用急， 泡一壺茶，找一個舒服的位置，準備好幽默感，及開放的心靈，便可以與書中人物開展一個尋找自己的旅程。