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Synopsis

'Anthology' comes from the Greek word that stands for garlands - a bouquet of flowers. An anthology then, should be a sort of reminder of something else, a small token of something much larger. In the case of flowers, they bring with their fragrance and colorfulness the reminder of the fields, of a season. Coelho's anthology, therefore, is not only a collection of texts or poems, but a gift, something arranged according to his sensitivities, to give to others.

The selection of books presented in this volume have been chosen as if from a vast field of flowers, stretching infinitely into time's horizon. Coelho's selection is ordered in to the four elements, symbolizing both our world on all its directions, and the way we dwell in this world, the way we say it. In 'Earth' we find writers as diverse as Oscar Wilde and D H Lawrence; in 'Air' Nelson Mandela and Gabriel Garcia Marques; in 'Fire' Rumi and Mary Shelley; in 'Water' Hans Christian Anderson and Machiavelli.

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Samantha Greene, Edinburgh University, reviews Inspirations.

Paulo Coelho begins Inspirations by defining an anthology as coming from the Greek for flower-gathering, or bouquet of flowers. One picks flowers for a bouquet based upon a variety of things, but no one flower can outshine the rest because the beauty of a bouquet is in the whole; thus for anthologies, the pieces should be picked for their value as a whole rather than for their sheer impact. Coelho succeeds in creating a flow of pieces that become more and more powerful as one reads them together. Splitting the book into four sections based upon the elements, Coelho gives the reader glimpses into various worlds. Mere snapshots are viewed in succession to create a picture of Coelho as a writer. These snapshots also open up new worlds as readers get a taste of a new book and then go on to read more. I, for example, will be reading Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges.

This book is not just for those who are avid fans of Coelho; his voice comes out in the preface and introductions to the sections, and one becomes inspired to read more of his work. His introductions are extremely insightful into writing processes and the mind of an amazing writer. He explains his choices, guiding the reader and then letting them draw their own conclusions, never being too obvious. The sections entitled Earth and Air were my favorites. The flow from excerpt to excerpt was clear, and had a mix of social or political writing and fiction. Another element that worked best in those sections was the length of the excerpts. All were relatively equal, with short breaks for poetry adding to the flow of the sections. In the section Fire, for example, the pacing didn’t work as well. There were long sections of religious themed verses that were in stark contrast to the three sections prior, and downright distracting at times. But the whole anthology comes together as a whole, and it reads as an interesting study of connections that ultimately seems to send a message that all writing comes together as an ode to the written word; a reminder of all that is possible and inspiring about writing.

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