Manuscript Found in Accra

Manuscript Found in Accra by Paulo Coelho 

It is difficult to classify this book. It is a book of wisdom set in Jerusalem in the year 1099. A diverse group of people gather to hear the Copt answer their questions about life and love while they wait for the destruction of their city by the Christian Crusaders.   It is rather like The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran. There are several "pearls of wisdom" scattered through the book such as

     "The most important of wars is not waged with a lofty spirit or a soul accepting of its fate. It is the war that is going on now, as we speak, and whose battlefield is the Spirit, where Good and Evil, Courage and Cowardice, Love and Fear face one another."

     "The wounded person should ask himself: "Is it worth filling my heart with hatred and dragging the weight of it around with me?"

      "The greatest gift God gave us is the power to make decisions."

     "Excessive caution destroys the soul and the heart, because living is an act of courage, and an act of courage is always an act of love."

The cynical person will find this book rather hokey. But there is wisdom and spiritual insight for those interested in life's deep questions.