By the River Piedra, I Sat Down and Wept

The introduction to the book is wonderfully written about the spiritual importance of love "True love is an act of total surrender" and "To love is to be in communion with the other and to discover in that other the spark of God." It really whetted my appetite for the main story. However I felt the main story never really engaged me and I almost didn't care if the two main characters ended up being together or not.

The main character is Pilar, a young Spanish woman who has settled for seeking the conventional life of study, job and finding a man to marry. She goes to hear her childhood sweetheart speak who has entered into the religious life after travelling the world. From there the two of them spend 5 days together. It is the story of Pilar's battle to overcome her self-control of life and yield to love and Mother God. Both characters struggle with their sense of religious calling as they experience Catholic charastmatic experiences.

There are some interesting moments in the story but generally I did not find anything very new and the characters were fairly superficial, it was hard to engage with them.

Not one of Paulo Coelho's better books. Although I still think the three page introduction made it worth buying.

Simple story in the shadow of the Alchemist (3/5 people found this helpful)

The story is simple, a girl gets a call from a child hood friend who is now in the seminary, to attend his lecture. She meets him and the bonding gets strengthened, then she comes to know that he has the ability to create miracles and cure people. But he is torn between his love for her and his responsibility towards fellow humans. By the time she decides to support him in his role, he gives up his ability to be with her. So she runs away from him and writes the story sitting in front of the river Piedra. Belief has it that anything thrown into the river Piedra turns into stone and she thinks she can cast away her sorrow.

It would have been better if the story ended there. However he comes back in search of her and promises to be with her and cure people too.

Coelho has a way with words and even his simple sentences are lyrical. But somehow the emotional bonding with characters necessary for a great story is missing in this. May be there is an allegory in the story that is beyond me. The way I understood is, it is the story of a man torn between his responsibility and his love.

That which we deny!!! (2/3 people found this helpful)

I've just read it after wanting more of Paulo Coelho since reading the Alchemist... I wasn't disappointed at all.

The trials and tribulation of Pilar was all too real for me. I've just recommended the book to someone who has been the object of my frustration for the last few years and hope that he will be inspired after reading the book and find the courage to make 'it' happen.

All too often we live as what we feel is expected of us and not discover the true essence of our being. We deny the rights of our feelings and lock away our inner most thought lest it overpowers the 'role we have to play', I know it all too well.

I certainly found some comfort in this book knowing that we hold the key to our destiny and unlocking it and facing our fears can change our course of life and living if only we learn to accept and find acceptance in our love.

I certainly will re-read it to indulge in the hidden wisdom of this marvellous spiritual author.

Beautiful and Inspiring (3/3 people found this helpful)

This book is one of my favourite books of all time. It isn't a masterpiece of literature in the way, for example, Jane Austen could claim her work to be. However, it is a million times more powerful. After reading some other Coelho books, a close friend urged me to read this one, saying it was perfect for me. She was right. This book really helped me to re-evaluate my own relationship and path in my life. It is beautifully written, very moving, and at the time it was appropriate to my life which increased its impact. I would urge anyone who feels insecure in themselves or their relationships to read it, it is perhaps over- spiritual for some people but I would without doubt say that if you are looking for a follow up to the Alchemist or any other Coelho book, this is the right choice.

Elegant and wise (2/3 people found this helpful)

This is the first Coelho I have read and, boy, do I want to read more! It's just completely gorgeous in every way. The plot is immediately engaging - it tracks one week in the life of the central character Pilar, as she rediscovers a love from her childhood, and Coelho plunges straight into the events of the week. The writing style is elegant and minimalist: a story is being told.

I especially liked how intoxicating the emotions of the lovers are shown to be. I loved the descriptions of their long evenings spent outside, sitting in wonderful silence or talking over big, big feelings, all the while consuming bottles and bottles of red wine. It's so so romantic, all the way through.

This novel shows the simplicity of two people drawn to each other, holding on for each other and waiting for confirmation of the other's love, combined with a very modern pragmatism and awareness of how that love can be realised in the form of a relationship.

By the River Piedra, I Sat Down and Wept

Paulo Coelho

Reader Reviews:

Great introduction, disappointing story (0/0 people found this helpful)

Simple story in the shadow of the Alchemist (3/5 people found this helpful)

That which we deny!!! (2/3 people found this helpful)

Beautiful and Inspiring (3/3 people found this helpful)

Elegant and wise (2/3 people found this helpful)

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