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By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept: A Novel of Forgiveness (Paperback)

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Key Phrases: feminine face, River Piedra, Great Mother, Immaculate Conception (more...)
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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

This 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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


From Publishers Weekly

Before James Redfield there was Coelho, whose fiction laden with spiritual messages has proved more popular overseas than here. (The Alchemist, first published in Brazil in 1988 and here in 1993, glanced PW's paperback bestseller list but has sold two million copies in South America.) Though likely to please the author's fans, this new novel, a didactic love story set in modern-day Spain, may not extend his reach. Its heroine is Pilar, 28, who, in the company of her former boyfriend, learns over the course of seven days that "the spiritual path is traveled by means of the daily experience of love." That may be music to Coelho devotees, but others will note the surrounding cacophony-the incessant lapsing from narrative into lecture; the stilted characters, who lack motive and verisimilitude (after 10 years of separation, the ex, a former seminarian, now an esteemed miracle worker, invites Pilar for coffee and declares his love for her). Coelho's message, though, informed by his adherence to the Roman Catholic sect of the Order of Ram, is invariably heartfelt and challenging, emphasizing the feminine aspects of the divine and the charismatic aspects of worship. "Some day," Pilar learns, "people would realize... that we can perform miracles, cure, prophesize and understand." Whether that understanding will encompass Coelho's reasons for sacrificing dramatic integrity to polemic, and for insisting on cloaking sermons in fictional trappings, remains to be seen. $75,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Harper Perennial; Tra edition (May 23, 2006)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0061122092
  • ISBN-13: 978-0061122095
  • Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (121 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #19,340 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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BY THE RIVER Piedra I sat down and wept. Read the first page
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feminine face
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40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Well written, a bit heavy on religion, February 16, 2001
This review is from: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept (Paperback)
I begin by noting that I love Coelho and find his prose to be almost poetic. I found this book - as always - beautifully written but a bit heavy on religion. Let me explain before you boo me off the stage, Coelho lovers! Usually, I find his thoughts on God and religion to be beautifully written but also subtly drafted. For example, in his masterpiece "The Alchemist", God and fate and religion were infused throughout the story, but subtly so. Here, the religion is very in your face. I found it bearable but a bit much, a bit unnecessary. Coelho is such a gifted writer that he doesn't NEED to be so blunt with religion and god. That said, this novel - as his others - is well constructed, a quick read and one in which we quickly become involved in the main characters lives. I found myself rooting heartily for the two main actors. The ending was something of a surprise, but as always left me on the edge of my seat with my mouth open and my mind racing. The book does what any good book should - leave you with the belief that you have read an excellent story, as well as give you many things to think about and relate to your own life. "By the River ..." is well worth a read, and Coelho continues to inspire with his almost non-stop beautiful prose. Each page contains at least one gem which I underline, think about, come back to, chew on, and then think about some more. A great read - if it was by anyone else I'd give it a 5; I give it a comparative 4 only in relation to his other books. While this one is great, his others are even greater.
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15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars A nice read a quiet afternoon in a bathtub drinking chamomile tea and surrounded by lit candles, February 13, 2006
This review is from: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept (Paperback)
A love story in which the two main characters, Pilar, who is a student in the town of Zaragoza, and her childhood sweetheart who she new as a girl in the small Spanish village Soria, `By The River Piedra, I Sat Down And Wept' weaves ideas about God, religion, and carnal love into a nice, if not a bit obscure work of fiction. Perhaps because this book was not read in its English translation and not in its original Spanish, something was lost in the process.

Pilar receives a message from her childhood friend that he will make a speech in Madrid. When Pilar reaches Madrid, she realizes her friend has become a very influential and powerful leader of a religious movement that embraces the femininity of God. Shortly after the event, her friend professes his love for Pilar, a love that had been a part of his being since the two were children back in Soria, and he bades her to join him on a journey. On this journey, Pilar learns that her friend has not only become a leader of a religious movement, but that he also has the power to work miracles. At the same time, Pilar deals with "the Other," the part of each of our psyches that manifests itself as fear, regret, and other counterproductive emotional responses that prevents us from achieving our full potential as human beings. During this journey through the French Pyrenees, which includes stays at hostels and visits to churches and chapels, the two find themselves at the monastery at Piedra where the two had played as children. It is at Piedra where Pilar's friend must ultimately choose the path of his own life.

Often described as poetic, Coelho's prose in `By The River Piedra, I Sat Down And Wept' is artistic and almost dreamlike. Throughout the book, Pilar actually seems to be in some sort of dream in which she willingly floats from place to place with her friend as she searches for her true self. At the same time, Pilar wonders and worries, as a result of the existence of the Other that lives inside her, what will become of the love that she has for her friend and the love her friend has for her. So, what has the potential to be a powerful and moving story of love is actually blunted by the almost ennui of the writing.

While the reader knows he or she is not reading a Tom Clancy novel, there is not a great deal of action in the story. The majority of the action actually occurs inside of each of the characters. Even the conflict between the two protagonists (assuming either religion or the Other are the antagonist) is muted. As such, `By The River Piedra, I Sat Down And Wept' is really a nice read on a quiet afternoon in a bathtub drinking chamomile tea and surrounded by lit candles, (ladies), but the story and the message leave a little to be desired, I think, for many other readers. It's well done, but just a little cryptic and ambiguous for a lot of folks.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful!!!, April 22, 2006
This review is from: By the River Piedra, I Sat Down and Wept (Paperback)
I have read many of Paulo Coelho's books during the last year, and I am constantly amazed by how he's able to thread amazing spiritual lessons within fictional works - and all of them page-turners at that!

"By the River Piedra..." is about love - the love of a man & a woman, and the love of each of them for God. It also explores the feminine aspect of God - describing God as having both male & female "attributes" (for lack of a better word), as well as the idea that we all have the ability to perform miracles - in our own lives, and in the lives of others.

Overall, I found this to be a beautifully written spiritual book - one that lends itself to reflection. If you are at all interested in fictional books with a spiritual lesson, I would highly recommend not only this book, but all of this author's books - they all have something wonderful to offer!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars best writer ever!
A friend of mine introduced me to Paulo Coelho and it has changed my life in ways I never expected I love his style of writing I don't know if it's because it is translated in to... Read more
Published 7 months ago by M. J. jefferson

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting I guess...
This book held my interest but somehow I was expecting more. It focused on spirituality and a man's call to the religious life vs that of marriage, which is fine; but a the... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Sophia Marie

4.0 out of 5 stars Love found, lost and rediscovered -
This is not an exciting book. It's not a complex story. And it certainly isn't subtle. The philosophy and message are clear, and are not open to multiple interpretation... Read more
Published 8 months ago by LifeLongLearner

5.0 out of 5 stars You won't realize it until the end
I will agree with a fellow reviewer and say that "By the River Piedra..." is heavy on religious themes. The theme with "The Other" is not my favorite. Read more
Published 9 months ago by BeNoEvil

5.0 out of 5 stars This one was an all-nighter for me.
Why do I do this to myself? Why do I begin reading at 1 am when I've got to wake up at 8? Needless to say, waking up was easy when I never made it to sleep. Read more
Published 15 months ago by starladarla

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Coelho
One thing you will hear over and over is that once you pick up one book by Coelho, you end up reading them all. Read more
Published 17 months ago by A. Shapiro

5.0 out of 5 stars ..sigh
Coelho is, hands down, my favorite author. After reading several of his novels, I couldn't wait to read this book. And I was not disappointed. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Rita

5.0 out of 5 stars LOVE IT!
I have this book since I am 16 years old. I've read it so many times and it always get me emotional... No matter what book they release, this is my FAVORITE BOOK EVER!
Published on September 17, 2007 by Andrea Y. Adams

5.0 out of 5 stars Poetic, Proseic, Imaginative, Spell Binding
Pilar grows-up becoming a lovely, strong independent woman! Her childhood friend has become some more handsome, charismatic spiritual leader, making use of his religion as a... Read more
Published on September 4, 2007 by Fred W. Hood

5.0 out of 5 stars Book review
Excentlant book, a pretty fast read with lots of meaning.
I recomment Paulo Coelho as a writer one of my favourits
Published on August 28, 2007 by Ord A. Buckingham

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