Where to start? I finally found an internet cafe in St. John’s to update my blog. I have yet to master doing everything on my phone. But it’s okay - the wait gave me time to think more about Aleph and what I would like to say about it.
If I were to write a traditional review I’d say “triumphant” and leave it at that. I would say this because after reading a few other novels by Paulo and thinking that I somewhat understand what he’s reaching to accomplish in his novels (truth), and after searching for a certain type of novel all of my life (one that brings me closer to truth), in Aleph this destination is met, I feel.
Aleph is an honest-feeling story about a man in search of understanding his spirit and finding his kingdom. Trying the traditional paths through gurus, a Master, etc., he realises that the understanding and enlightenment he searches for must be found within and from his past and present lives. On the advice of his Master, he sets off on a journey via the Trans-Siberian Railway to bring the divine spark back into his life. On the way he meets a woman (Hilal, a violinist) whom he has had ties with in a past life. Together, they try to figure out how to heal a horrifyingly sad past while staying true to their present lives.
I was both exhilarated by this novel and angry – yes, angry – because I’m used to happy endings in Paulo’s novels, and I assumed that Hilal would have received her reward of love in the end after what she went through in her other life
(being rejected by her love and then tortured). After thinking about it more, I realised she was rewarded with healing and forgiveness, which are just below love on the totem pole of important things, I believe, as they are miracles and a blessing and can only lead to greater love. On a personal level, this nurtured me to come to terms with the fact that love is a choice – even if not initially (love at first sight) – it has to be chosen to be real – just like courage. Both, when real, won’t be denied.
The exhilarating part came from all of the spirit of the novel. I’ve never heard of alephs before – there are small ones and large ones – and the idea of these spiral portals connecting everything in space and time really helped me and my own spiritual understanding and personal JOURNEY, which is what it is all about. One of my favourite characters, because of his spirit, was Yao - a translator who accompanies the two (and the others) on the journey.
Along with that,there were times of movement. I cried a few times over the smallest things with the kind of tears that sting, can’t be held back, and just want to FLOW. Here are a few examples:
“I think that perhaps this will be the last step required to reach the top of the mountain, the note that justifies a whole symphony, the word that sums up an entire book.” I can’t read it now without crying, and I guess this is really what Aleph is, in essence.
“Do you see it in the ugly, in the damaged, in the poor, and in the unwanted? If you don’t, you don’t see it.”
I laughed when I tried to slow the flow of things by writing down every detail, but was stopped in my tracks when none of the pens I grabbed worked. I also had a memory of high school when I did past life regression on my girlfriend. She remembered looking down and seeing sandals on her feet and said people were throwing stones at her. It was an interesting memory of her vision to have at this time.
Bits of wisdom: Purge the hurt and vengeance inside which is a vacuum sucking up the life force. In the novel Hilal partly did this in a church, and it was mentioned that alephs are stronger in places of high energy, such as places of worship (after all, as said in the movie,
Contact - is there something to God and spirituality, or is 99% of the world suffering from mass delusion). The only way is to try I guess and see what happens. Coincidentally, I had just visited an Orthodox Greek church in Toronto a few chapters into the novel. I lit three candles.
Letting go of vengeance, I have come to believe, is part of the reason for our journeys. We purify our souls and evolve through our journeys through love and suffering (often through being “burned”) and reside in our kingdom which is where we are in spirit and consciousness and continue on our path of growth to what will be.
The author said you should read a book and see what remains after, and what I pondered near the end was what happened to the other girls (there were eight from the past life and he met six in his current), and why was the connection to his wife so strong? Maybe I missed something and will have to go back and reread, but this question did remain with me. Or maybe they have just not crossed paths yet.
Definitely a novel to be read again because, despite being quite small, there are fine details everywhere and it’s hard to remember everything. But, then again, it will remain with me anyway, everywhere I go.
