THE FIFTH MOUNTAIN, By Paulo Coelho

This is a story about the biblical prophet Elijah. I've read about Elijah in the Bible at various times, and I would have guessed that I knew his story - but once I got into this novel, I found that I wasn't sure which parts of The Fifth Mountain were embellished details, and which were based on the biblical account. When I finished reading it, I went to the bible and read everything I could find about Elijah.

But this book takes place during the three years of Elijah's life that are not mentioned in the bible.

In the bible, Elijah is a prophet at the time where Ahab is king - the most evil king up to that point - and is married to Jezebel. She is big time into Baal worship, and stirs up her husband's heart to worship Baal and turn his back on God. Elijah goes to Ahab and declares that there will be a drought for years because of this. Then God tells Elijah to hide in the wilderness. There, God directs him to go to Zarepheth, (which, in the novel, is referred to as Abkar). God tells him that He has commanded a widow to care for him. The widow has a son, and after she takes Elijah in, the son gets sick and dies. But Elijah prays for him and he comes back to life. The bible then says that "in the third year" the word of the Lord comes to Elijah and tells him to go back to Ahab, and that He will send rain on the earth. So it appears that Elijah is in Zarepheth(Abkar) for three years. But it doesn't say anything about those three years.

This is where The Fifth Mountain begins.

In The Fifth Mountain, Elijah arrives at Zarephath and meets the widow. It does mention that the widow's son gets sick and dies, and it tells how Elijah prays him back to life. But in the course of the three years, much happens there. Elijah falls in love with the widow, and even though she returns his feelings, their love was not to be. There's also a lot of political turmoil in the city - with the high priest, the governor and the commander of the army. It seems that there was a new system of communication starting to emerge, called the "alphabet", and the high priest was threatened by it. Then the Assyrians attack and almost destroy the city. Elijah spends his time caring for the widow's son after her death, and he is instrumental in rebuilding the war-ravaged city. He struggles greatly with doubt, and fear, and wondering what God wants him to do. Also, from time to time, Elijah's "Angel" appears to him and speaks to him. Eventually, Elijah becomes governor of the city.

That's the synopsis of the book - now here's what I thought about it.

As I read it, I felt as if the story didn't "flow". It seemed the author was just listing facts, as opposed to storytelling. I didn't ever feel I was a part of the story, nor did I feel involved in the character's lives or their feelings. To be fair, I noticed that the author is from Brazil, and the book credits Clifford E. Landers as the "translator". It's possible the flow of the story got lost in the translation.

Another thing that I didn't really care for was that Elijah's "Angel" spoke to him in the King's English. So I found myself reading it, then re-reading it because I didn't quite get the gist of what was being said until I went through it more carefully.

Elijah doubted a lot, which is normal for a human. But he was really angry at God, and even decided to turn his back on Him. (Which, again, is not that far-fetched for a human) But here's a prayer that Elijah prayed to God on page 218:

"O Lord, today is the Day of Atonement, and my list of sins against Thee is long...I have been weak, for I have forgotten my strength. I have been compassionate when I should have been firm. I have failed to choose, for fear of making the wrong decision. I have yielded before the time to do so, and have blasphemed when I should have given thanks.

Still Lord, I have also a long list of Thy sins against me. Thou hast made me suffer more than was just, by taking from this world one that I loved. Thou hast destroyed the city that received me. Thou hast confounded my search. Thy harshness almost made me forget the love I have for Thee. For all that time I have struggled with Thee, yet thou dost not accept the worthiness of my combat.

If we compare the list of my sins with the list of Thy sins, thou shalt see that thou art in my debt. But, as today is the Day of Atonement, give me Thy forgiveness and I shall forgive thee, so that we may go on walking at each other's side."

Yikes.

After this prayer, Elijah's "Angel" appears to him and says:

"Thou hast done well, Elijah. God hath accepted thy combat".

Huh?

I know that Elijah was human. I know he must have doubted and feared. I know sometimes we feel anger towards God at stuff that happens. But I don't think that prayer would be pleasing to God. Let's just pretend for a moment that Elijah really did pray that - I find it hard to believe that God would say "Hey, good job!".

Now, it does seem that Elijah's faith in God is eventually restored. And the book tells us that King Ahab and put an end to the drought.

At the end, it tells the biblical story of Elijah calling the prophets of Baal to Mt. Carmel, and mentions the fact that Elijah never dies, but is "taken" to heaven in a chariot of fire.

To sum it up, I didn't think the writing was that good (which again, might have been the translation). The story was not that engaging - even though it was an interesting premise. I wasn't sold on the fact that Elijah would have been so boldly disrespectful to God when he knew Him as he did. Also, the last line in the book is:

"Maria conceived without sin, pray for us who call on Thee. Amen"

Ok, well, what does that mean? Is that an ending prayer to the writing? Or is it part of the story?

I guess I have to say that I wouldn't recommended this book. Maybe I should have read Coelho's more famous and highly praised book, The Alchemist first - but I can't say that I will. This book did accomplish a good thing, though. In discussing it with my friend, we sat and dissected the scriptures on everything they had to say about Elijah. There is a prophecy regarding Elijah the book of Malachi; He is mentioned in the gospels (John the Baptist had the spirit and power of Elijah); and it is believed that Elijah is one of the two witnesses that are mentioned in Chapter 11 of the Book of Revelation. (Fascinating - and a worthy study if you have the time!)