Aleph, by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho, details the author's own journey through the spiritual world. The book is written in first person, and was published in 2011.
While the author starts the novel as a very successful writer, he feels as if he is disoriented and lives a world he does not understand. Although Coelho's mentor, known simply as "J", encourages him to change his life and "move forward", Coelho does not understand his mentor's meaning until he encounters Chinese bamboo.
Coelho is fascinated with the unique Chinese bamboo. Although it mainly grows underground for the first five years of its life, it dramatically develops and grows to a height of around twenty feet after the five years. The author takes this principle and applies it to his own life, changing his life from quietly signing books to touring the world and multiple countries in a matter of weeks. It is during this exploration that Coelho discovers his life long dream- to travel the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
When Coelho begins his journey in Moscow, he meets a young woman named Hilal who insists on accompanying him for his trip. He soon realizes that Hilal is not a normal woman; she can access another spiritual universe, a universe where he had betrayed her five hundred years earlier.
By the end of their journey, Coelho and Hilal's lives have become entangled within each other, and if they continue onto separate paths, the spiritual connection would be broken. This novel ultimately serves to show how people become connected after time.
