“Fear gradually ebbs away, because it wasn’t given what it felt was its due importance.”
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), Afraid to Change
Quotes from book
Manuscript Found in Accra
Paulo Coelho
Original title
Manuscrito Encontrado em Accra
(Portuguese, 2012)
The latest novel from the #1 internationally best-selling author of The Alchemist. There is nothing wrong with anxiety. Although we cannot control God’s time, it is part of the human condition to want to receive the thing we are waiting for as quickly as possible. Or to drive away whatever is causing our fear. . . . Anxiety was born in the very same moment as mankind. And since we will never be able to master it, we will have to learn to live with it—just as we have learned to live with storms. * * * July 14, 1099. Jerusalem awaits the invasion of the crusaders who have surrounded the city’s gates. There, inside the ancient city’s walls, men and women of every age and every faith have gathered to hear the wise words of a mysterious man known only as the Copt. He has summoned the townspeople to address their fears with truth: “Tomorrow, harmony will become discord. Joy will be replaced by grief. Peace will give way to war. . . . None of us can know what tomorrow will hold, because each day has its good and its bad moments. So, when you ask your questions, forget about the troops outside and the fear inside. Our task is not to leave a record of what happened on this date for those who will inherit the Earth; history will take care of that. Therefore, we will speak about our daily lives, about the difficulties we have had to face.” The people begin with questions about defeat, struggle, and the nature of their enemies; they contemplate the will to change and the virtues of loyalty and solitude; and they ultimately turn to questions of beauty, love, wisdom, sex, elegance, and what the future holds. “What is success?” poses the Copt. “It is being able to go to bed each night with your soul at peace.” * * * Now, these many centuries later, the wise man’s answers are a record of the human values that have endured throughout time. And, in Paulo Coelho’s hands, The Manuscript Found in Accra reveals that who we are, what we fear, and what we hope for the future come from the knowledge and belief that can be found within us, and not from the adversity that surrounds us. This eBook edition includes a Reading Group Guide.
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), Afraid to Change
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), Uselessness
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), Solitude
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), Solitude
“Defeat means that we lose a particular battle or war. Failure does not allow us to go on fighting.”
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), The Defeated Ones
“Solitude is not the absence of Love, but its complement.”
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), Solitude
“They teach their children: ‘Don’t get involved in conflicts, you’ll only lose.”
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), The Defeated Ones
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), The Defeated Ones
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), The Defeated Ones
“Defeat is for the valiant. Only they will know the honour of losing and the joy of winning.”
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), The Defeated Ones
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), Solitude
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), Solitude
“Woe to those who were never beaten! They will never be winners in this life.”
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), The Defeated Ones
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), What should survivors tell their children?
“Don’t give up. Remember, it’s always the last key on the keyring that opens the door.”
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), Love has always passed me by
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), Love has always passed me by
Manuscript Found in Accra (2012), About Elegance
