I was really excited to read this book and picked it up as soon as it came out. I absolutely loved The Alchemist, and I had pretty high expectations for this novel. Unfortunately, it was a total disappointment. Obviously it was a completely different type of story than The Alchemist, but I think Coelho is a great writer, and I feel like this book should have been so much more interesting. In fact, I could barely finish it. The story dragged on, there was no character development, and I had no interest in their problems or situations. Because he jumped from one scenario/character to the next, the story seemed shallow. This was only my second Coelho novel, so I'm hoping his earlier works will prove to be more interesting.
I was determined to get through the book, but I was underwhelmed. It's very different from the other Paulo Coelho books I've read, though maintains the trend of female characters appear quite helpless or meek. It was an interesting narrative on the fashion and film industry and has some notable quotes or commentaries. Overall, the ending was somewhat unsatisfying, though I liked it enough to finish it.
