If we are connected on Social Media [WhatsApp especially], you'd have received one of my broadcasts about my search for Paulo's Adultery. Finding a local bookstore to purchase this book was a hard nut to crack. Just at the point of almost giving up, my very good and kind friend,
Zika, bought me a copy from the
jand! Woot!!
Bookstores in Nigeria, we can do better!
Now back to my review:
I read Paulo's
The Alchemist.
That book set a certain standard for what to expect from any book written by him. So when I started reading "Adultery," it was with the same enthusiasm, interest and fondness.
I was a bit disappointed. This is not to say the book isn't a good read. I think it might appeal better to a certain group of people at a certain phase of life.
And yeah, I'm going to hide the book far away from my baby niece who has a penchant for reading my books. That is to say, if you think "
Half of a Yellow Sun" was sensual or provocative, wait until you read Adultery.
The plot wasn't so bad.
I admire Paulo's ability to infuse so many other important sub-themes under the main theme of adultery.
It covered love, jealousy, the futility of playing with fire, redemption, insecurity, hope, forgiveness, pretence, lies. loneliness etc.
“It’s loneliness. Even though I’m surrounded by loved ones who care about me and want only the best, it’s possible they try to help only because they feel the same thing—loneliness—and why, in a gesture of solidarity, you’ll find the phrase “I am useful, even if alone” carved in stone. Though the brain says all is well, the soul is lost, confused, doesn’t know why life is being unfair to it. But we still wake up in the morning and take care of our children, our husband, our lover, our boss, our employees, our students, those dozens of people who make an ordinary day come to life. And we often have a smile on our face and a word of encouragement, because no one can explain their loneliness to others, especially when we are always in good company. But this loneliness exists and eats away at the best parts of us because we must use all our energy to appear happy, even though we will never be able to deceive ourselves."
Taking it out of the context of marriage-- I think we can all identify with Linda and Jacob -- the two main characters.
Everyone think our lives are perfect. No one notice the struggle and discontentment. Yeah--sometimes we experience that discontented emotion with our lives and crave for something more-- more exciting. We find what we think it is and realize what we had was way better. Linda was lucky to not to loose it all before
she found her way back.
Redemption c'est possible!
Some more quotes from Adultery:
“You only need to hide if you’re doing something you shouldn’t.”
**
“Going after a dream has a price. It may mean abandoning our habits, it may make us go through hardships, or it may lead us to disappointment, et cetera. But however costly it may be, it is never as high as the price paid by people who didn’t live. Because one day they will look back and hear their own heart say: ‘I wasted my life.’ ”
**
"Learn to love better.
This should be our goal in the world: learn to love.
Life offers us thousands of opportunities for learning. Every man and every woman, in every day of our lives, always has a good opportunity to surrender to Love. Life is not a long vacation, but a constant learning process.
And the most important lesson is learning to love.
Loving better and better...
The book had a lot going on. Isn't that what adulthood is all about? A lot going on!
I'll rate the book a four star. BUT like I mentioned to someone who asked if it was worth reading: what you'll get out of this book is very personal. This is one book you need no blanket feedback to decide on whether or not to read.
By the way, I found this picture of other collections by Paulo. I have only two checked off the list so far:
Have a good read!
