Hippie

In the late 1960s, millions of young people around the world set out in search of new paths and new ways. In a voice mixing youthful earnestness with just a hint of hard-earned cynicism, Graham Halstead narrates celebrated Brazilian author Paulo Coelho's latest offering, which is as much a memoir as a novel. After some harrowing experiences in South America, the young Paulo sets out for Amsterdam, where he meets the beautiful Karla, who invites him to join a group of seekers traveling on "The Magic Bus" headed for Kathmandu. Halstead does a fine job performing the many characters' international accents and ages. Coelho's writings are known for their spirituality, and certainly that interest must have begun in his "hippie" youth. B.P. � AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine

October 1, 2018
Drawing on his own past experiences, Coelho (The Alchemist) tells the story of a young man named Paulo exploring love, spirituality, and the world during the 1960s in this uninspired novel. Paulo, an aspiring writer born in Brazil, hitchhikes his way through Bolivia, Peru, Chile, and Argentina before deciding to head for Amsterdam, where he has heard of a new movement of love and sexual liberation. There Paulo meets Karla, and they begin the first tentative steps toward the lasting love that Karla desperately seeks. Karla, meanwhile, is planning a trip to Nepal to pursue her own spiritual liberation. After Paulo agrees to go with her, they set out on a bus with like-minded travelers and meet a variety of personalities—all of whom have a story to tell and life lessons to impart—leading to long tangents about life, love, and the spiritual motivations that inspired his years of traveling. Coelho never quite brings the reader in to the main characters’ experiences and lives, but some of the narrative side trips are worth taking. The author’s most ardent fans will enjoy this, but readers looking for an immersive tale with fully formed characters will be disappointed.