JOIN USIn Paulo Coelho’s latest novel ‘Adultery’, one woman’s quest for happiness sees her embarking on an unorthodox journey, writes Chethana Dinesh.
A Paulo Coelho book doesn’t need an introduction. We pick it up with the hope of a satisfying read, and it doesn’t disappoint, ever. No wonder, Paulo Coelho is a staple on the bestseller lists, a reliable dispenser of philosophical thoughts that prod us to look inwards. Adultery is no different.
Centered around the life of 30-something Linda, Adultery begins like a fairy tale. Well, almost. She is a successful journalist working for a reputed newspaper in Geneva; she’s married to the owner of a large investment fund; she has two lovely children. In short, she leads a life most women can only dream of. And yet, she wonders, “Is this it?” For, she’s just interviewed a writer who has said, “I haven’t the slightest interest in being happy. I prefer to live life passionately, which is dangerous because you never know what might happen next,” setting the stage for the action to unfold.
The action does unfold, and how? She starts feeling claustrophobic in the routine and predictability of her ‘ideal’ world. To the point of feeling depressed and unhappy. At this point, we are introduced to her high-school flame Jacob König, who’s now a successful politician. As part of her journalistic routine, she goes to interview him, and ends up getting involved in a series of sexual encounters with him!
If you are left wondering if that’s Linda’s idea of injecting some passion into her life, hold on. There’s more to it. She even imagines she’s in love with him. “It’s thrilling to fight for a love that’s entirely unrequited,” she decides. Well! This is just the beginning.Here, you think, is a book that wants to choke you with its tales of infidelity and sexual meanderings, wondering where they will all land eventually. Take heart. After all, it’s Paulo Coelho who’s leading you forward.
We soon find Linda targetting her negative energies against Jacob’s professor wife Marianne, who, she considers as the only obstacle to her happiness, even going to the extent of devising an insane plan to plant illegal drugs at her office to get her into trouble. “She is precisely the kind of woman I would like to destroy pitilessly,” she declares. But, will Linda actually do it? To what length does she go to win Jacob over? Well, that forms the story of Adultery.
But, if you are wondering if Linda finds that elusive thing named ‘happiness’ at the end of it all, then you’ll only be left wondering. For, Paulo Coelho doesn’t provide answers to any of the questions that pop up in a reader’s mind. On the other hand, Adultery only raises even more questions, on love and existentialism.
Though the book is all about Linda, Linda and Linda, somewhere along the line, through all her inner struggles, we feel a tinge of sympathy for her. But only up to a point, till her arrogant pride becomes all too evident. The characterisation of her investment fund owner husband, saintly to the point of disbelief, is very unconvincing, though.
Agreed it is not as riveting as his earlier books like The Alchemist or Aleph or By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept, but it is not easily dismissible either. And, Paulo Coelho himself has to be blamed for this, considering the exemplary standard he’s set for himself with his earlier books.
Readers who aren’t busy comparing Adultery with his earlier books will definitely enjoy the read, especially the poetic narrative that deftly explores the many shades of emotions the protagonist experiences, making it extremely difficult for us to judge her. If truth be told, the story’s resolution of Linda’s ennui is its low point, seeming almost like a rush job. But, definitely worth a read.