By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
Selected Book Details
- Paperback
- Edition: 7th
- Author: Paulo Coelho
- Publisher: Harper Perennial
- Release Date: May 1997
- ISBN-10: 0060977264
- ISBN-13: 9780060977269
- List Price: $13.00
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryThis first United States paperback of By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept comes after huge worldwide sales of the novel of faith, romance, miracles, and the importance of following the heart's true path. The inspirational tale follows Pilar, a young woman from the Spanish countryside who, sparked by the teachings of a now-mysterious man she has known and loved since childhood, leaves her graduate studies and embarks on a spiritual pilgrimage through the Pyrenees Mountains and reevaluates her life and her future. Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho, author of the international bestseller The Alchemist, is considered to be one of the most widely-read Latin American writers in the world. |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Small Font Is Unreadable in the Harper Perennial 2006 Ed
Rating:
The font in the Harper Perennial 2006 P.S. Edition is sized at about 1. It is nearly unreadable without a magnifying glass. Find another edition of this book if you have anything less than 20/20 vision. The story is lovely and redeeming but you won't be able to find out from this edition.
Retitle this book: In Praise of Ignorance
Rating:
A reader living in the first century B.C.E. might be excused for five-starring this novel, which ignores seminal knowledge humans have gained in the past two thousand years. It's selling the most absurd Ol' Time religious brew, laced with concepts like destiny and magical cures that are an insult to anyone at all familiar with 20th century physics, to anyone with a clue to a contemporary vision of this creation of billions of galaxies and multiverses in which we are embedded. I can weep -- either sitting or standing -- contemplating all the willfully ignorant people who consider this inspirational. It's the worst novel I've read in half a century, but then, it's the only Coelho novel I've ever read.
An Exploration of Love - On Many Levels
Rating:
I can say that after reading this, I probably liked it more than The Alchemist. The elements of love, spirituality, the sacred gift, love lost and regained, sacrifice, denial, searching and wondering are experienced over and over again - touching the soul. I felt that I could relate to it more, and the emotions it brought forth were powerful and broad. Coelho also introduces the reader to the concept of the Sacred Feminine in the form of the Virgin - and at one level, the book resounds the elements that were also present in The Alchemist - unity and universalism, the power of fufilling life's purpose, the mission of living, the role of God. Yet, this book, by emphasizing the element of romantic and sacred love with more force than The Alchemist, added a powerful element just hinted at by Coehlo in his first work - that of the power of romantic yet sacred love. A worthy read.
Not as good as I had hoped
Rating:
Interesting at times but overall not as good as I had hoped. Could have developed the themes and the female's character return to religion with much more depth and explained better what she "lost" her faith to begin with. A so-so read but overall under developed characters and reasons for what they do and why.
Unique, Inspiring, Brillant
Rating:
I just finished reading this book, making it the 5th book by Coelho in the last three weeks that I've read and I have yet to be disappointed by his work. I am relatively new to Coelho and didn't realize how powerful and life changing his books can be. I decided to complete reading the Alchemist three weeks ago after picking it up for the first time two years ago, at which time I didn't have the patience to finish it being a student in college and also who's reading taste was quite different back then. I'm 24 now and decided to read it to find motivation after going through a somewhat rough and doubtful time in my life. I was inspired, motivated, and quite surprised by what the book did for me.. I decided to pick up other titles Coelho has written.
"By the River Piedra I sat down and wept" is the fifth title I've read, and I would say it ties "The Alchemist" for his best book so far, with "The Devil and Miss Prym" in second place. Unlike the Alchemist, which depicts the importance of believing in and pursing one's dreams no matter how doubtful or obscured it may seem, this book enlightens readers about the importance of love, faith, and forgiveness and solitude one lives with if love is not present is some way. It talks about taking risks for love, and that the fear of falling in love in order to avoid heartbreak and misery is never a good decision to not be in love. Love for another person, love for life, love for dreams, love for God. Without love, the possibility of happiness and meaning for life is highly unlikely.
I thought that the story being narrated from a young woman's point of view (Pilar) is brilliant. Being a 24 year old man, the book helped me further grasp the meaning of love, and also a deeper and empathetic understanding of a woman's struggle, triumphs, and perspective of life. Coelho's poetic story telling and his ability to depict various messages, ethics, morals, meaning of life and God with absolute clarity is one of a kind. I recommend this book to anyone who is struggling with relationships, or is looking for a deeper meaning and in the struggles that life makes you endure. It isn't a long read, but the amount of wisdom packed into the book is overwhelming.
"The Fifth Mountain" is the next Paulo Coelho book on my list to read, but I doubt it will have the same 'bang' this book and the Alchemist had. But as long as it is a book by Coelho, one can't go wrong.
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