I started reading Aleph many years ago. I still remember liking the opening pages… and then, like many books that start strong but somehow slip away, it found a place on my shelf and quietly gathered dust.
This Diwali, while cleaning up my things, I came across it again and realised I had never actually completed it.
So I picked it up once more, hoping this time it might spark some reflection.
The opening felt mystical, almost meditative. A man searching for meaning, setting off on a journey across the world to reconnect with his spirit.. It sounded like the kind of story that gently nudges you to look within.
Paulo feels spiritually stuck despite all his success. So he boards the Trans-Siberian Railway, hoping travel will bring him back to faith and clarity. Along this journey, he meets Hilal, a 21-year-old violinist who claims to share a connection with him from a past life.
The idea of souls crossing paths across lifetimes intrigued me. The book was about to reveal a profound universal truth through the Aleph moment. It felt deep.
But as the story unfolds, that spiritual beauty slowly gets overshadowed... that profound, universal search starts feeling like a specific, personal drama.
The bond between Paulo and Hilal becomes oddly intimate. It is described as something symbolic, something happening at a soul level, but it did not sit well with me. A 60-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman sharing that kind of closeness felt uncomfortable. The bond should have remained purely platonic, especially in a story positioned as a spiritual journey.
Aleph felt like a journey that began with promise and then lost its direction midway. Just like we humans do sometimes. When we lose our moral compass, the thin lines between soulful connection and inappropriate closeness can blur. What could have remained pure or meaningful can quickly turn into something uncomfortable and gross.
In the end, I closed the book feeling thoughtful, but not entirely moved. It left me with mixed emotions. There were a few sparks of wisdom, wrapped inside a story but not the universal messages that I had hoped for.
Soul connections are beautiful, but only when they honour the soul.
Very nicely explained
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