The Fifth Mountain - Paperback

by Paulo Coelho (Author)

"More ambitious than The Alchemist. A thought-provoking tale." - TIME magazine

A sweeping and deeply personal novel about faith, loss, and the will to rebuild -- from Paulo Coelho, the internationally bestselling author of The Alchemist.

The Fifth Mountain takes us to ninth-century Israel, where the young prophet Elijah is fleeing for his life. Queen Jezebel has ordered the execution of every prophet who refuses to worship her pagan gods, and Elijah -- chosen by God to deliver a message the powerful do not want to hear -- has no choice but to run. Guided by an angel, he crosses the desert and takes refuge in the Phoenician city of Akbar, where he finds an unlikely home with a widow and her young son. As he settles into an uneasy peace and begins to rebuild, catastrophe strikes -- and Elijah is forced to confront the mountain that has shadowed his journey from the beginning.

Inspired by a moment of devastating loss in Coelho's own life, the novel asks the question at the heart of all human suffering: why do terrible things happen to those who are trying to do what is right? Elijah's answer -- hard-won and quietly transformative -- is the beating heart of this book.

A timeless story about the courage it takes to keep faith when everything you love has been taken from you, The Fifth Mountain is a liberating and ultimately uplifting read.

Back Jacket

In the ninth century b.c., the Phoenician princess Jezebel orders the execution of all the prophets who refuse to worship the pagan god Baal. Commanded by an angel of God to flee Israel, Elijah seeks safety in the land of Zarephath, where he unexpectedly finds true love with a young widow. But this newfound rapture is to be cut short, and Elijah sees all of his hopes and dreams irrevocably erased as he is swept into a whirlwind of events that threatens his very existence.

Written with the same masterful prose and clarity of vision that made The Alchemist an international phenomenon, The Fifth Mountain is a quietly moving account of a man touched by the hand of God who must triumph over his frustrations in a soul-shattering trial of faith.