The Witch of Portobello

By: Paulo Coelho

Narrated by: Rita Wolf

How do we find the courage to always be true to ourselves, even if we are unsure of who we are?

The Witch of Portobello is the story of a mysterious woman named Athena, told by the many who knew her well - or hardly at all.

"People create a reality and then become the victims of that reality. Athena rebelled against that - and paid a high price."
-Heron Ryan, journalist

"Athena's great problem was that she was a woman of the 22nd century living in the 21st. Did she pay a price? She certainly did. But she would have paid a still higher price if she had repressed her natural exuberance. She would have been bitter, frustrated, always saying, 'I'll just sort these things out, then I'll devote myself to my dream,' always complaining 'that the conditions are never quite right.'"
-Deirdre O'Neil, known as Edda

Like The Alchemist, The Witch of Portobello is the kind of story that will transform the way listeners think about love, passion, joy, and sacrifice.

©2006 Paulo Coelho; 2007 Margaret Jull Costa (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Best-selling fabulist Coelho continues to transform his trademark combination of mysticism and storytelling into spellbinding examinations of the human soul....Narrated from multiple points of view, the portrait of Athena that emerges is as provocative and spiritually complex." ( Booklist)

good listen

enjoyed listening to this. great story with an unexpected twist at the end. wish the male characters had been a male voice but that is a personal preference.

Compelling, though not my fave delivery

This story is incredible, and I’m grateful I continued, despite the delivery not being my fave of the Paulo Coelho books I’ve listened to. I found the accents a bit distracting sometimes

Not my favorite by Coelho but not bad

I feel that the method of delivery the author chose to tell the story somewhat hampered the overall ability to describe a spiritual journey. Coello chose to tell his story by a series of interviews, so some of the truth is muddled with rumor and spite by the surrounding characters. Well that made for good drama, I feel that it miss the mark for what he was trying to accomplish with this story. I really couldn't get a sense what the journey was supposed to be like for the main character because this.

I thought it was very well done

Other reviews on this title cite as faults the very things I thought made this book great. You get to know the main character via interviews given by those who knew her. It narrator does a good job of making each interviewee's voice distinct.
The only complaint I have about this book is the stupid music between chapters. When will Audible learn that music added to books is a terrible idea?

Interesting take on Religion, Love, and Tolerance

Very different style compared to his other books however its well written and the story is put together very well.

Great story! Not what I expected!

I’ll start off by saying that I’m a huge fan of Paulo Coelho, so I may be a little biased. I thought the story what great. I like that they took the time to fully develop the main character! The reason I gave it 5 stars is because I went into expecting the story to go a certain way, and when it finally seemed like it was finally heading in that direction it took on an entirely different direction and I thought that was brilliant of the author! If you like stories of self discovery, this is the book for you!

Very good !

Very good ! Another masterpiece from Coelho. Recommended to read.

Interesting story and learn from the book.
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Not a favorite but still good.

What did you like best about this story?

This is a typical Paulo Coelho story. It features a strong female protagonist on a journey to discover herself amidst some very trying circumstances, some of which are beyond her control and others that are of her own making.

What didn’t you like about Rita Wolf’s performance?

Her narration of male characters all sounded the same to me.

Any additional comments?

This was a well put together narrative of how the encounters with others in our lives change the person we are and ultimately the person we become.

Well written,well narrated.

this is my second book by the author. I thoroughly enjoyed it will order more books by him. the narrator did a wonderful job with all the characters involved with a book. loved it!

Loved it

Even tho this is a book of fiction, I find truth in it. Loved it!