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Synopsis
The story of an independent young woman whose life is changed forever by a chance encounter with a childhood friend.

A magical blend of compelling action, exotic locations and intriguing characters, told with Paulo’s characteristic power and insight.

Pilar is an independent and practical young woman who is feeling bored and frustrated by the daily grind of her university life. Looking for a deeper meaning to her existence, she happens to meet an old childhood friend, now a handsome, mesmerizing spiritual teacher — and a rumoured miracle worker.

As he leads her on a magical journey through the French Pyrenees, Pilar begins to realize that this chance encounter is going to transform her life forever. With Paulo’s trademark blend of mysticism, magical realism and folklore, Pilar’s story is a poignant and deeply inspiring tale

I did not find this as compelling as The Alchemist, something was missing for me.

Paulo Coelho’s, prose is, as ever, beutifully poetic and as you would expect from him a rich vein of spirituality runs the pages. However something is missing, I never really cared about the characters or their lives, which is a shame.

In all, a quick and thought provoking read, but not very engrossing or satisfying.

Buy, ‘By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept’, at Amazon, [UK] [US]

I’ve been looking at this book for a while as one to read, but never quite got round to buying it. Ivette’s review finally convinced me to go and buy it. I’m glad I did! The book was very enjoyable if a little simplistic at times.

The story follows Santiago, a young shepherd, who after meeting with an old king, sells his sheep, so he can follow his dreams. The real story though is not so much the physical journey he undertakes, as he head the The Pyramids in Egypt. But his journey as he grows and changes as he progress towards his goal. The people he meets and the time he spends immersed the the places he stays or passes through all contribute.

“My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer,” the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night.

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself,” the alchemist replies. “And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.”

Buy, The Alchemist here.

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