Book Review: Adultery by Paulo Coelho (Signed Copy)

This is my first Paulo Coelho book that I've read and fortunately i got the signed copy! A rare one. I bought it without a second thought at Barnes&Noble the time they listed a signed copy there. As I've heard, Paulo Coelho is a good novelist, known for his novel titled The Alchemist. So, I'm expecting a worth-reading story here.

The sale of signed Adultery book by Paulo Coelho was listed at Barnes&Noble back June 2014. It was shipped August 19, 2014 and arrived here in the Philippines, my home, on September 04, 2014 (see my Instagram post here).

For more details, see below:

Book Details:

• Title: Adultery (Signed Book)
• Author: Paulo Coelho
• Translated by: from Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa & Zoë Perry
• Format: Hardcover
• Genre: Metaphysical
• Rarity: Autographed / Signed
• Language: English
• ISBN-13: 9781101874615
• Store: Barnes&Noble
• Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
• Publication date: August 19, 2014
• Pages: 272
• Product dimensions: 5.30 (w) x 8.40 (h) x 1.10 (d)
• Other Remarks: Deckle Edge
• Target Audience: 18+

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Review of the Paulo Coelho's Adultery Book Itself

The Front Cover Art of the book is kind of seductive. Literally, It's "Adultery" and they decided to put a cherry there. Is there a meaning to that? Metaphorically, are we expecting someone in the story who will lose her virginity?

Front Cover Art of the book Adultery, novel written by Paulo Coelho

Next is the Back Cover Art of the book which features picture of Paulo Coelho himself, with his handsome-looking pose. Note also the barcode sticker - as i validated its Universal Product Code (UPC) from UPCIndex.com, It just confirmed, It's a signed copy -> http://www.upcindex.com/9781101874615:

Back Cover Art featuring Paulo Coelho himself, posing.

And of course, I wouldn't miss bragging this rare copy if signature of Paulo Coelho is not there:

Paulo Coelho's Signature on Adultery Novel

In addition to the good quality of the book, they made it Deckle Edged:

Paulo Coelho's Adultery Deckle Edge Book

Paulo Coelho's Adultery Deckle Edge Book Laid Down

Without the dust jacket, the book looks simply nice:

Paulo Coelho's Adultery Without Book Jacket

And here's a sample page with typeface font called Berling:

Paulo Coelho's Adultery Sample Page

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Reading an Adultery Story

My first impression, with the book title itself, literally i'm going to read a story about adultery. Expect, there's love, sex and betrayal here. The setting of the story is at Geneva, Switzerland where i'm only familiar with Large Hardron Collider (LHC). The main characters - Linda, the adulterer; Linda's Faithful Husband, the poor good guy cheated; Jacob König, Linda's other man; Mme König, Jacob König's wife and other supporting characters.

This is story of Linda, a woman experiencing a midlife crisis at her 30s. Experiencing depression, frustration, feeling not contented with life til she ended up cheating her husband because she want something new. She want to ignite something in herself. The demon inside her.

The book contains explicit act done by the characters and i don't recommend this to ages 17 and below. Though it's Adultery, It lacks emphasis on eroticism, It's more focus on the psychology of an adulterer - Linda.

Adultery is not just about adultery, you'll also read inspiring & meaningful messages in the book like the following:

"Happiness is not something that can be precisely measure, discussed in plebiscites, or analyzed by specialists... let alone something so personal and impossible to define."

- Linda, Adultery (pg. 34)

"You don't choose your life; it chooses you. There's no point asking why life has reserved certain joys or grief, you just accept them and carry on.
We can't choose our lives, but we can decide what to do with the joys or griefs we're given."

- Linda, Adultery (pg. 83)

"We aren't who we want to be. We are what society demands. We are what our parents choose. We don't want to disappoint anyone; we have a great need to be loved. So we smother the best in us. Gradually, the light of our dreams turns into the monster of our nightmares. They became things not done, possibilities not lived."

- Linda's Faithful Husband (pg. 135)

"When we release our dark side, it will completely overshadow the best in us."

- Linda's Faithful Husband (pg. 135)

Recommendation Before You Read Paulo Coelho's Adultery

Before you read this novel, you may want to familiarize yourself first on the following places and culture of Switzerland. I listed them here for you to know what it's like living in the setting of the story (if you're not native to the place or haven't been there before):

Note: some of the reference source below are in French language. Use of Google Chrome browser is recommended so it can give you an option to translate the page.

• Interlaken, Switzerland
• Bilan Magazine
• Rue du Rhône
• La Perle du Lac
• Lake Geneva or Lake Léman
• Parc des Eaux-Vives
• Rue de Rive, Geneva, Switzerland - Google Maps Street View
• Julius Baer Bank
• Gruyère cheese
• Tomme vaudoise
• L'Etivaz
• Tribune de Genève
• Léman Bleu
• Nyon
• Golf Club de Genève
• Jura Mountains
• Post tenebras lux

I enjoyed researching the above places. I feel, I want to travel in Switzerland in the future. Perhaps when i'm already retired...

After Finishing Paulo Coelho's Adultery

I can't relate to Linda's adultery but i can somehow relate to her stage of depression, frustration and feeling of incompleteness. Me, like Linda, also reached the point where i had it all in life, the peak where you're contented and stable. I ask myself, is this all it? Living monotonous, doing the same thing all day, like a robot? I overcome that stage the time i found my passion by continuously building my career, running at marathons and giving myself a challenge on new things. Whereas, matching what Linda did at the end of the novel, she experienced a new adventure at Jura Mountain. I won't tell you what she experienced there. Just read the book, It's comparable to what i said :)

Moving forward, I became more progressive. I'm excited on any challenges I face in life. For me, that's how i fight my inner demons. Note: I learned this before i read any Paulo Coelho book, I'm just comparing what changes in my life to Linda's. I'm just saying, I can partially relate to the character.

And my rating for this book is: 3.5 / 5.0

As I've said, I can't relate to Linda's infidelity. Maybe because I'm not married yet but I'm not saying I'm going to cheat my future wife. It's just that this is not what i'm expecting from Paulo Coelho's book(s). This is my first Paulo Coelho book. I bought it because I'm intrigued with his other books like The Alchemist, Veronika Decides to Die, etc. which are very popular. I think, I'll buy his best next, to move on with my dissatisfaction (average rating) to Adultery.

-
Otakore Literantadodist
Blogger & Owner
Literateknolohitura

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Other Reference:

• Adultery (novel) Wiki - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adultery_(novel)
• UPCIndex for Adultery (Signed Book) - http://www.upcindex.com/9781101874615