Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho is that rather science-fiction sounding thing: a phenomenon. One of his books, The Alchemist, has sold 17 million copies to date, a figure which - like the barometer on a hot day, is still rising. Two others, The Valkyries and By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept were shortlisted for Ireland and the world's richest literary prize, IMPAC, in 1996 and 1997 respectively. His latest book, The Fifth Mountain, has just had the distinction of being simultaneously published in 24 languages across 41 countries.
Paulo Coelho's books are shelved in that very 1990s section of a bookshop, "Mind, Body, Spirit". Alternative writer, New Age novelist, fabulist. All of these descriptions have been tacked on to his name. Among the blurbs on the flyleaf of the current English language translation of The Alchemist are ones from authors of books with titles such as: Change Your Mind, Change Your Life; Love Is Letting Go Of Fear; Are You Running With Me, Jesus?; Awaken The Giant Within; and The Medicine Woman Trilogy.
Chief among the admirers of The Alchemist is Madonna, who has referred to it as her favourite book several times while being interviewed. "The Alchemist has opened doors to me across the world," Coelho admits. The film-rights to the book have been bought by Warner Brothers and the film is presently at pre-production stage. "Oh, this movie thing," he shrugs. "I don't follow it too closely because it has nothing to do with my universe."
There is a paragraph in The Alchemist which could read as an analogy for Coelho's philosophy of his universe. " `Everything in life is an omen,' said the Englishman, now closing the journal he was reading. `There is a universal language, understood by everybody, but already forgotten. I am in search of that universal language, among other things.' "
Coelho's books are written in a mystical-type language that would not be out of place in Lord Of The Rings, and often share the classic fantasy-book theme of a quest. There are many references throughout the books to swords, jewelled breastplates, kings, white horses, omens, shepherds, knapsacks and flasks of wine.
The Alchemist tells the story of a shepherd boy who can only fulfil his destiny of finding love and treasure beyond description by learning to read omens and listening to his heart. To achieve this, he must go on a long journey. Coelho says the key to the book lies in the phrase: "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." "Did you not feel a great spiritual inner peace and a feeling that anything was possible when you read The Alchemist?" I was asked by an admirer of Coelho, who had felt exactly this. Clearly, millions of people have, and such emotional responses in so many is exceptional in a ever-more cynical world.
Coelho is a distinguished-looking man, who has the perfect face to accompany his dust-jackets, with an expression that suggests the essence of wisdom. He was raised in Rio de Janeiro, where he still lives with his wife. "I need those roots and that culture," he says softly, "I need to use my Brazilian eyes."
Asked what he ascribes the success of his books to, he suggests: "My readers come from many different cultures - Japanese, South American, English, American. All seem to identify passionately with my books. We all seem to share the same regard towards the present and the future. We single out questions. I don't have answers but I have very good questions."
What does he understand by an omen, which is a word which mantras through all his books? "Omens have different meaning to everybody. They are a kind of individual alphabet, with which you can develop your own relationship with the spiritual world. I never define omens in my books and yet everyone understands what they are."
Multi-million selling author or not, this is the kind of vague talk guaranteed to drive some people entirely up the walls. Several of Coelho's books are written in the type of language which, like that of horoscopes, can be adapted to mean whatever you want it to mean. What you get out of his books will depend on your perspective of what he is saying.
His latest book, The Fifth Mountain, is a retelling of the Biblical story of Elijah. It is tough going; the style throughout having resonances with Gospel language. The opening sentence is: "I have served a Lord who now abandons me into the hands of my enemies," said Elijah. The closing sentence is: "Maria conceived without sin, pray for us who call on thee. Amen." There is plenty more like this in between.
Coelho spent three weeks in Ireland in the early 1980s. "In Ireland, there is a sensation of magic all around," he says, likening Ireland to "the melting pot of South America". He is a great admirer of Oscar Wilde's work, particularly his stories such as The Happy Prince which were written for children but are so often read also by adults.
On hearing that the house where Oscar Wilde was born is only a few minutes walk from the Shelbourne Hotel, Coelho loses the jaded, albeit courteous demeanour of an author on a world promotion tour. Earlier in the year, it transpires, he has seen a picture of the acclaimed new green and pink statue of a louche Wilde lounging on a rock in Merrion Square, and already known as "The Quare on the Square". There is no mistaking Coelho's genuine enthusiasm. He wants to see house and statue. This is his own private quest.
We walk to Merrion Square. The sun is glittering off the quartz rock. Oscar Wilde looks young, untroubled and mischievous, the unlikely elf of Merrion Square. Coelho looks in at the statue through the railings and cannot stop smiling. He asks for directions to an entrance to the square, so he can go inside and have a proper look. There is a book-signing very soon and he will be late, but he does not care. "I will remember this all my life," he says, and whether it's the effortless South American charm or whether he really means it, either way it's difficult to disbelieve him.
The Fifth Mountain is published by Harper Collins, price £12.99 in UK