By the River Piedra, I Sat Down and Wept - Paulo Coelho

I can't explain why I picked this book up in my local library except to say that it may have been "a magic moment of the day" that the book tells us about, during which we can change things. Even so, when I started reading it, I thought it a bit weird. But something, perhaps curiosity, or perhaps another "magic moment" made me continue. The Brazilian author Paulo Coelho has had his work translated into many languages. The most famous of these is The Alchemist. == Spiritual Journeys Through Life == This story is of two childhood friends meeting up again. He has become a spiritual teacher and she ...  Read the complete review

I have browsed Russian internet in search of criticism for Paolo Coelho's ...Rio Piedra... All in vain. Russian readers praise him and his books ferociously. Instead, in the English-speaking part of internet I've found several reviews expressing opinions very close to mine. So this is what I think: Coelho's literature language in most of his books (except for the Alchemist, maybe) is shallow and mediocre, his ideas naive; The writer puts across the universally acknowledged truths as something new and insightful; The characters and the plot of the book lack realism and it makes it hard to accept the book's main ideas and summary. The ...  Read the complete review

I do not doubt that Paulo Coelho has talent; after reading “The Alchemist” I realised some his literary skills and thought-provoking ideas are worthy of praise. So I picked up another of his novels, “By The River Piedra I Sat Down & Wept” (1994), and eventually put it down sourly disappointed! Coelho markets this one as an arduous yet inspiring journey which revolves around love. However, merely to finish reading the novel potential readers might find themselves on a voyage as laborious and gruelling as climbing a mountain, only to find the view from the summit far from inspirational. The story centres on the relationship ...  Read the complete review