“Coelho continues to transform his trademark combination of mysticism and storytelling into spellbinding examinations of the human soul. . . . provocative and spiritually complex.”

—Booklist

Who is Athena? The orphan abandoned by her gypsy mother in Transylvania. The child taken to Beirut by her adoptive parents. The clerk working in a large bank in London. The successful real estate agent in Dubai. The priestess of Portobello Road . . .

The Witch of Portobello chronicles Athena’s life, as told by the many people who knew her well or hardly at all—amongst them her adoptive mother, a journalist researching vampirism, a priestess, a teacher of calligraphy, and an actress. Each person illustrates a different facet of Athena’s character, describing what they saw and experienced as well as sharing their own impressions, beliefs, and anxieties.

Like The Alchemist and Coelho’s other novels, The Witch of Portobello is the kind of story that will transform the way readers think about love, passion, joy, and sacrifice. The central question it presents is at once basic and profound: how do we find the courage to always be true to ourselves—even if we are unsure who we are?