Paulo Coelho is my boyfriend’s favorite writer. He is Brazilian, so his work is originally in Portuguese. It translates beautifully into Spanish, but I’ve never read any English translations, though one of his books was a cornerstone to the storyline of the movie “Serendipity” (that was where the girl wrote her name), so I suppose they are at least good translations (if not amazing) because people actually do read them.
Your story reminds me of “The Alchemist” and “The Pilgrimage” (which is said to be the “grown-up” version of “The Alchemist”, which is not a children’s book, yet is read and loved by children). Coelho uses the same sort of rich imagery that you do.
I recently read “Eleven Minutes”, which is told from the eyes of a prostitute. It’s the sort of book you don’t expect to read, but then can’t put down. Right now I’m reading the Spanish version of “Manual of the Warrior of Light”, which is a book of daily meditations.