Paulo Coelho’s Adultery is a
novel about a married woman. She has been happily married for many
years now. She has a rich husband, a great career as a journalist and
two cute children. Yet, there is something missing in her life. The
spark in her relationship with her husband is long lost. Amidst all
the luxuries, she feeling gloomy and depressed. Visits to
psychiatrist, shamans and drug peddlers yield no results. That’s
when she goes to interview a young politician. He too, like her, is
married. He was the boy who she had kissed as a teenage girl. The
sparks fly again and they end up in a relationship which now is only
sexual. She feels alive again. She wants to do it again and again.
She begins to fantasize about him. She finally confesses her state of
mind to her husband, who understands her. Their relationship heals
and she feels liberated.
The premise of the novel is
easy to relate. We find people who are depressed even when outwardly
everything is going fine in their lives everywhere. Paulo Cohelo
brilliantly articulates the mental set up of a married woman who is
unhappy in her life. Her suppressed sexuality comes to the fore when
she meets her old boyfriend. Here neither she made guilty about the
adulterous act nor is she portrayed as a slut. She comes across as a
natural person.
The book neither claims to be a
sequel of the classic The Alchemist nor it says that it will advise
you to pick the pieces in your broken matrimonial life. So I feel
that comparisons with The Alchemist are unfair. If you keep aside the
image of Paulo Coelho which you have in your head (I agree keeping it
aside is difficult), you will enjoy this book. I liked the book. It
is a riveting read for sure.
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