Assignment of Book Review

Submitted by: Baran Shafqat (2015-ME-1)

Muhammad Usman (2015-ME-12)

Submitted to: Maam Madiha Neelam

University of Engineering and T e c h n o l o g y, Lahore

Book review

The Valkyries (An Encounter with Angles)

Paulo Coelho

Valkirias, Editora Rocca Ltd, Brazil, 1992.

English translation by Alan R. Clarke. HarperCollins Publishers, Canada, 1995.

This book is an autobiographical but told for the third person. In this book author talks
about the catholic believes and also discusses about the rituals of Templers.His master J. arouses
a feeling in Paulo to find, to see, to talk with his angel. J. gave him clues and then in a forty days
journey to Mojave desert, he and his wife finally meet a group called Valkyries.The group leader
Valhalla helps him to go through different phases to see his angel and at last by following
different steps he succeeds in seeing his angel.

The author meets J. and presents him the original copy of Alchemist in which the author
has appreciated and predicted the work of J. and secrets of Alchemy .The author (Paulo) meets J.
two times more and J. gives him a task to talk to his guardian and tells him to meet gene and
when he asks why this type of task is given J. said (Because people always kill the things they
love). Paulo travels with his wife to Mojave Desert and meets with gene, a person who had seen
and talked with his angel. Then Paulo and his wife (Christiana) arranges a journey to the desert.

After many hardships they managed to get there and met gene a person in his twenties
and talks about rituals of Templers and how to communicate with his angel.He tells him to meet
the Valkyries and also teaches them how to use second mind and its distraction then they began
to move in desert and in the abandoned places they tried to expand their mind and the thing
which can be contacted are mentioned by gene: Everyone can make contact with four different
kinds of entities in the invisible world: the elementals, the disembodied spirits, the saints, and the
angels(pg31).Then they set them to find and enquire about the Valkyries and during all their
work they continue to increase their second mind which they later on called it channeling.
 At last they managed to find and meet the Valkyries near gringo pass in luncheonette.
Then the Valhalla the group leader introduces many practices and tells him to do three things as
mentioned in book Break a pact. Accept forgiveness. And make a bet.(48).Then Valhalla
helps him to break a pact, accepting forgiveness by ritual that demolish rituals and then he makes
bet and continue his believe in angels and one day when he travelled alone to Glorieta Canyon
from Ajo he encountered with his angel and as author said:And they would show themselves, as
brilliant as the rays of morning.(103)

As described earlier the main purpose to write this passage is to introduce the idea that
the angles exist and they are the messengers of God as said: Angels. God's messengers they
sound the trumpets on the day of Final Judgment. They bring the light, as Michael did, or
darkness, as Lucifer did.(15).Moreover,he tried to explain that the guardian angel is always
present with every person: The parents always insisted on telling their children that their secret
friends didn't existperhaps because they had forgotten that they too had spoken to their angel at
one time.(72).

He seems partial towards the catholic Christianity rituals but some rituals are related to
Templers which are against the catholic as: And I'm going to go on with it. I want you to
understand that. I'm going to continue attending mass.I go to church, too.(43).He has talked
about the spirituality and spirit and author has an idea that there are few people that can help to
make connections with the angles; They can help you to find your angel.They're the ones who
instructed me. If you meet with the Valkyries, there's something that will make it easier for you
to get along with them.(17,18).Then after meeting with Valkyries and satisfying conditions he
met with his angel and his believe became more firm that angles are with us : He asked that he
might always believe in the new world, in the angels, and in the open gates to paradise.(104)

The author has shared his personal life experience , his faith in Christian God ,spiritual
magic and reincarnation.His fight with internal fear and he faced every difficulty in the path.The
negative point is that his superficiality seems to be a great blunder when he talks about the saint
Maria Egipciaca that: Maria Egipciaca. She was traveling to Jerusalem, and had no money to
pay for her passage across a river. The boatman, eyeing the attractive woman, suggested to her
that, although she had no money, she did have her body. Maria Egipciaca surrendered herself to
the boatman.
 When she arrived at Jerusalem, an angel appeared and blessed her for what she had
done.(74). And she spent the rest of her life as a penitent, and is solemnly commemorated every
year by the Orthodox Church all over the world. More pap for the spiritually challenged. The
second point is that Christiana does not seem to be interested in seeing his angel as mentioned in
book: I respect their world, but it has nothing to do with me.(19).but she got interested and
started channeling with his angel and seeing his angel as mentioned: the two Brazilians in
search of their angels, all felt their presence.(44).

Moreover, the story has no concern with the experiences in our life.We had never had
such experiences in real life. We had faith in the angles but we do not use the way to connect
with God. The positive point of the story is that the writer failed to see his angel with the help of
gene he didnt lose hope to see his angles rather he tried his best to meet Valkyries and to
connect with his angel as mentioned: In order to continue along my path, I need something
more, I need mountains that are taller and taller.(47).The second positive point is that the writer
has mentioned his personal life detail in order to clarify the story as mentioned: In order to
relate the events that took place, I had to reveal details from my personal lifemy marriage, my
relationships with others, and the fragile distance that separates the magical Tradition to which I
belong from the person I am.(111).

The review illustrates The Valkyries by Paulo Coelho. It is a book on spirituality,

Christianity, believe, magus life, Templers ritual etc. He illustrated the facts, his personal life,
esoteric tradition, life events , his efforts and the way in which he showed the ups and downs of
the events in story with suspense and horror at the same time was fabulous but thestory
weakened due to blunt he made on St. Mary and when Valhalla was bold to perform ritual that
break ritual in public place and her believe in the medallion of saint Archangel and the fact that
Christiana did not want to participate in the race to meet angel but as compared to Paulo she
more easily and quickly learned the way to channel with his angel and to distract her second
mind. But the book is somewhat boring in the middle but the ideas are conveyed in a great sense
and the book seems to be a movie with the best plot.