Brazilian lyricist and novelist Paulo Coelho talks to Channel 4 News about adultery, depression, betrayal and how he connects with readers through social media.
“I cannot tell you I was the most faithful husband on earth, and the same goes for my wife, she had one or two affairs but we were able to overcome.”
“I thought the big issue was depression today, which is not, it is betrayal. The main focus here is that fear of losing control of the things we take for granted, and among the things we take for granted is marriage.”
“I’m not this nice person who is always forgiving everybody, no I’m a warrior. I’m very passionate about life. It’s not that I’m revengeful, but I’m a warrior.”
“For Brazil, the World Cup was a disaster and we’re going to pay this nepotism debt for the years to come. I can blame myself because I was there for the bid. I really regret when I saw how they were investing the money. It was basically nepotism.”
“In Brazil we have this expression, we ask the driver of a bus to put the brakes on when somewhere is too crowded so I think the same thing is going to happen in the Middle East.”
Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist. He is the recipient of numerous international awards, amongst them the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum.
The Alchemist, his most famous novel, has been translated into 80 languages. The author has sold 150 million copies worldwide.
His latest book Adultery is out now. You can follow him @paulocoelho.