英语名人堂：保罗·科埃略
Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian novelist and songwriter. He was born in 1947 in Rio de Janeiro. In 1970, he quit law school to go travelling around South America, Africa, and Europe. He learnt much about the supernatural on his travels, which would become themes of his books. He returned to Brazil and wrote song lyrics for famous Brazilian singers.
In 1986, Coelho went on a walk that would change his life. He walked the 800-kilometre Road of Santiago de Compostela in Spain, an ancient highway used for centuries by pilgrims. He said he experienced a self-awareness and spiritual awakening, which he wrote about in his novel ‘The Pilgrimage’. It opened up a new way of writing for him.
A year later, Coelho wrote his most famous book, ‘The Alchemist’. The book sold very slowly at first and his publisher dropped it. He found another publisher who had more faith in his writing and the book became one of the best-selling books of all time. It reached number one in 18 countries, and so far has sold 30 million copies.
Coelho is the best-selling Portuguese language author in history. His books have been translated in 67 languages. To date, Coelho has sold over 100 million novels. He was the world’s best-selling author in 2003. He spends his time writing novels and a newspaper column. He is also a Messenger of Peace for the United Nations and raises awareness of the UN’s ideals.
