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.
“When we lose a loved one, something within
us dies. A bit of us dies with this enigmatic star.”
King Ahab. His "crime":
denouncing the false gods that Jezebel has brought from her native Phoenicia,
known to the Hebrews as Lebanon. Through an angel, God orders Elijah to make
the arduous journey across the desert and take refuge in the Phoenician city of
Zarephath, which its inhabitants call Akbar.
There, Elijah is befriended by a widow,
older than him, who offers him lodging with her and her young son. Like her
countrymen, she is a worshipper of Baal, who is said to reside with the other
gods at the fog shrouded summit of the Fifth Mountain. Still, she and the
Israelite gradually form a warm bond, though neither dare voice their feelings.
But events conspire against Elijah.
When the woman's son becomes ill and dies, the blame falls on Elijah, who is
accused of having brought misfortune with him. Taken before the High Priest of
Akbar, he is condemned to die on the Fifth Mountain, from which no man returns.
There, the priest declares, either he will be consumed by the fire from heaven
or, should the gods choose not to sully their hands with him, upon his descent
he will be beheaded in the city square.
On the Fifth Mountain, an angel of God
directs him to descend and, through God's power, restore the boy to life. The
people of Akbar, interpreting the miracle as a sign of the gods' favor, hail
the Israelite as a sage. Soon he is settling disputes among the townspeople and
becomes an adviser to the governor, evoking the wrath of the high priest.
As his feelings for the widow and her
son grow, Elijah is torn between an earthly love he has never known and the
desire to return to Israel and remove Jezebel from the throne, destroying
idolatry and restoring the worship of the One God. But he must remain in Akbar
until the Lord orders him to depart.
Phoenicia, the commercial center of the
Mediterranean at this time, has a merchant fleet that trades throughout the
known world. But the country's wealth draws the covetous attention of the Assyrians,
who begin gathering a force to conquer the coastal cities of Sidon and Tyre --
and Akbar lies strategically in the advancing army's path. Soon Elijah finds
himself at the center of a military and political maelstrom that challenges his
faith and forces him to confront the unavoidable.
Out
of the tragedy that emerges, Elijah learns lessons that are applicable to all
of humankind and are as timeless as the desert sands and the mountains that
gaze silently down on the ashes of Akbar. In a resolution that resonates
vividly for modem men and women, he wrests from the unavoidable a new
beginning, an opportunity to give meaning to tragedy and direction to a
shattered life.
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.
This retelling of the life of Elijah by Brazilian author
Paulo Coelho has an elegant simplicity to it — similar in spirit to the
spiritual journey described in his bestselling The Alchemist. The
prophet is forced to deal with "the unavoidable" when he least
expects it. A crow and a shepherd help Elijah come to terms with his destiny.
Only by struggling with the Most High does he find a way to rebuild his life
and fulfill his mission. In The Fifth Mountain Coelho reveals the secrets
of true questing — transcending the limitations of the past, breaking free from
rigid habits, and practicing the impossible with enthusiasm and ardor.
Source: http://www.harpercollins.com/author/authorExtra.aspx?isbn13=9780060930134&displayType=readingGuide
