[1] Intended as a work of fiction, the story has strong autobiographical features, which led to an attack on the book's shallow egotism in the English press.

[2] Coelho named British war correspondent and author Christina Lamb as the inspiration for the character Esther in The Zahir.

Mikhail introduces him to his own beliefs and customs, his mission of spreading love by holding sessions in restaurants and meeting homeless people living in the streets.

The narrator, who only too frequently falls in love with women, consults with his current lover, Marie, about his encounters with Mikhail.

At first, he is curious about what made Esther leave, but later he realizes that troubles in her relationship with her husband may have been a major reason.

In a recurring theme in the book, Coelho[6] compares marriage with a set of railway tracks which stay together forever but fail to come any closer.