The Fifth Mountain

January 1, 1998
The popular Brazilian New Age novelist offers his take on the prophet Elijah's time of exile with a widow in the Phoenician city of Zarephath. He greatly expands upon the biblical account, which says no more of the episode after Elijah resurrects the widow's son. Convincingly reimagining that miracle, Coelho then portrays Elijah becoming a respected citizen, partly because he can be held as an ace in the hole for anticipated dealings with Israel, whose Phoenician queen, Jezebel, wants him dead. Love blooms between Elijah and the widow, although both resist it, knowing that Elijah is destined to return to Israel and expel Jezebel. When the Assyrians besiege, attack, and burn the town, Elijah leads its rebuilding and becomes the new governor. Finally, he departs for Israel when the angel of the Lord tells him he must. Half of Coelho's effort is good enough, but then New Age mannerisms overwhelm it. Elijah's tendency to make banal pronouncements increases, the angels who speak to him step up their (inconsistent) faux^-King James patois, and during a ritual of renaming that Elijah conducts for the rebuilt town, with townspeople adopting the likes of "Wisdom" and "Reencounter" as new personal names, an Enja soundtrack swells in the mind's ear. Fans of Coelho's best-selling "Alchemist" (1993) will want to partake of this offering, but for better biblical fiction, try Shulamith Hareven's development of Exodus, "Thirst" (1996). ((Reviewed January 1 & 15, 1998))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1998, American Library Association.)

November 15, 1997
Following up The Alchemist, an international best seller, Brazilian author Coelho retells the story of Elijah.

February 1, 1998
This fascinating retelling of the biblical story of the prophet Elijah by Brazilian novelist Coelho is smoothly translated to read like a modern novel. The fleshed-out tale follows Elijah as he flees his homeland of Israel, where Jezebel, Phoenician wife of the king, had ordered the murder of all who reject the pagan god Baal, to Zarephath (Akbar). Elijah's spiritual crises continue after he is taken in by a widow and her son, following his direction from an angel, and ultimately falls in love with the widow. The movement of the novel comes from Elijah's introspective struggle with faith as he confronts his troubles, but the result is neither dull nor preachy and should find a niche among readers of popular fiction. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/97.]--Ann H. Fisher, Radford P.L., Va.