| Title | : | By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0061122092 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780061122095 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 208 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1994 |
Rarely does adolescent love reach its full potential, but what happens when two young lovers reunite after eleven years? Time has transformed Pilar into a strong and independent woman, while her devoted childhood friend has grown into a handsome and charismatic spiritual leader. She has learned well how to bury her feelings... and he has turned to religion as a refuge from his raging inner conflicts.
Now they are together once again, embarking on a journey fraught with difficulties, as long-buried demons of blame and resentment resurface after more than a decade. But in a small village in the French Pyrenees, by the waters of the River Piedra, a most special relationship will be reexamined in the dazzling light of some of life’s biggest questions.
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept Reviews
-
Thank you, Mr Coelho.
At a time when my parents and my son are dying, and can't accept love, help and support, this one paragraph in your Author's Note gave me joy and hope:
"But ultimately there is no good reason for our suffering, for in every love lies the seed of our growth. The more we love, the closer we come to a spiritual experience. Those who are truly enlightened, those whose souls are illuminated by love, have been able to overcome all the inhibitions... They have been joyful — because those who love conquer the world and have no fear of loss. True love is an act of total surrender.
"...One doesn't love in order to do what is good, or to help, or to protect someone. If we act that way, we are perceiving the other as an object, and we are seeing ourselves as wise and generous... To love is to be in communion with the other and to discover in that other the spark of God."
You have chartered for me a path of sanity, serenity, and true generosity. I can only hope to be able to walk it! -
I have just experienced a wonderful and enlightening love story that has moved me deeply. Indeed, Paulo Coelho's "By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept" is a must read for people who have lost, found, or still seeking for love.
I have made some references to this novel in some of my past blogs. But now, I am writing more about it on my personal realizations after experiencing this enigmatic literary work.
I have jotted down some lines from the book that struck me the most, and taken note of my insights.
(1) But love is much like a dam:if you allow a tiny crack to form through which only a trickle of water can pass, that trickle will quickly bring down the whole stucture and soon no one will be able to control the force of the water.
Me: Falling in love is a beautiful experience. Deciding to fall in love is the hard part. But this analogy of love and a dam, explains it quite well. Once you start having the slightest thought that maybe love is possible or start seeing a person in a different light, all other feelings and ideas will start to rush in. Then you feel afraid of what you have just realized and try to thrust it away. No escape. Your heart and mind fight it out. Still, it doesn't matter which ends up victorious, because from then on, you will never see things the same way again.
(2) In real life, love has to be possible. Even if it is not returned right away, love can only survive when the hope exists that you will be able to win over the person you desire.
Me: Love is forbearing. But sometimes the heart is impatient. This statement is still unclear to me. Maybe because, I have often easily given up in this quest for "winning over the person I desire". I guess this statement is experiential, only then will there be full understanding of it.
(3) Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering.
Me: How would we know if it is time to move on or that it is still worth another try? I have seen a lot with this dilemma, both from movies and through acquaintances. And indeed, seeing them in that state where they have no idea which way to take is truly heart breaking. I have been in both situations. I have waited. I have forgotten. But by some cosmic conspiracy, somehow I still find myself wondering, what if I took the other path? Forgetting is like a point of no return. If you choose to forget and leave, then you must stand by your decision, no matter how difficult it promises to be. Only by then will you be able to move on. In waiting, the clincher would be how long should you wait, and do you really have something to wait for. Either way, you will find yourself hurting at one point in time.
(4) What I remember is that love returned in the form of another man, new hopes and new dreams.
Me: The bible says that love is constant and that love is forever. Poets reiterate this in their masterpieces. Hopeless romantics sing about it. Then if this be the case, I have no reason to believe that love ever fails. It just transforms. This should be able to keep the flame of hope of finding the love of our lives burning through and through.
There you go. I am done with another book. A couple of weeks later, I would no longer fully remember what it was about or who the characters were. But somehow I would still recall the feelings I got as I was reading through it and my pot of insights has yet again been stirred and repleted.
P.S. The female character is Pilar. She was the one telling the story. But the male character remained nameless. Hmm... Or did I just forget his name already? ;)
(Wrote this review in 2004 right after reading the book. Review published on my (ex)blog @
http://theobnoxiouslevin.blog-city.com) -
هذا الكتاب .. ولأني أعرف الكم الهائل فيه من العاطفة والحب أجلت قراءته حتى أصل اللحظة الحالية !
أحياناً .. أحس أني الكثير من التأجيل يجتاحنا .. الكثير من الشوق لأن نؤخر العلم الذي نريده يسكننا .. الكثير والكثير من اللهفة لأن نتواصل مع أنفسنا تزهر في قلوبنا ..
هذا الكتاب بالذات .. قرأته ولظرف ما قطعت قراءتي في منتصفه .. مضت أيام لمجرد ذكر كتاب على نهر بيدرا .. يتأجج الحب من جديد في قلبي .. لمجرد ذكر كلام باولو في الحب يجتاحني شعور غريب في ذكريات الهمسات والوسوسات والكلام المعسول .. لمجرد ذكرى باولو وتذكرات للعشق الممنوع والمرغوب .. أهيم في وجهي وأسرح في نفسي طويلاً ..
على نهر بيدرا .. هناك جلست فبكيت أجزم أنها أكثر رواية عاطفية لباولو .. وربما يتفوق عليها رواية ألف الجديدة والتي يقال بأنها من أبدع ما كتب باولو بعد أسطورة الأساطير 11 دقيقة !
لا داعي لأن أنصحكم بقراءة الرواية خصوصاً أنني للتو وضعت المؤشر " البوكمارك " فيها .. ولسبب وحيد وخذوه مني على طول الطريق !
شهادتي في باولو مجروحة .. على الدوام !
تقديري
-----------
إضافة
أجمل ما في باولو .. النهايات الجميلة !
النهايات .. التي تجعلك تشع أملاً وحبوراً .. كل الرواية توحي لك أن النهاية بائسة وحين تصل .. تبتسم وتكون النهاية التي أردت وتمنيت وأنست بها !
باولو كاتب يجعلك تحزن أنك انتهيت منه !
تتمنى لو أنك لم تنتهي .. طيلة الأيام الماضية أشاهد الرواية وأتحاشا أن أنهيها وأحاول أن أقتضمها لقمة لقمة كأني أتلذذ بها عنوة .. باولو كاتب يجعلك تلتفت للحب من جهة أخرى .. باولو كاتب يحيي في قلبك أشياء غريبة ويجعلك تلتفت لأشياء لم تطرأ لك على بال !
كاتب من زمن آخر .. ويجعلك تسير وتتحرك في زمن آخر !
باولو وأمين معلوف .. كاتبان وإن اختلف نسقهما لكنهما لهما نفس النفس في الكتابة .. فأمين يحب التفصيل وباولو يحب التعليل .. أمين يحب الوصف وباولو يحب الشعور .. باولو يعشق القلب وأمين يجعلك تقتنع أكثر !
على نهر بيدرا .. هناك جلست فبكيت .. هكذا عنوان الرسالة لكن باولو الذي يجعل الدنيا التي تتابعه تبتسم .. لم يرض أن يجعلك تبكي في نهاية روايته .. فكانت على نهر بيدرا هناك جلست فضحكت !
نعم .. ضحكت .. لأن العالم كله سيضحك لحب اثنين صافي طفولي حيا بعد موات وعاش بعد سنين عجاف !
عدتُ لأقرأها .. لحاجتي لشيء يحيي في قلب الحب بعد أن مكثت وقتاً طويلاً أكتب في الحب على جدار يقرأه العالم .. ولا أقرؤه !
حبي -
this book was a joke.
horrible, pretentious, verbose, and yet basically content-free language - which in itself might be seen as quite an achievement if you're trying to do really bad writing.
and the content....?! uummmmm, empty, trite banalities and cliches. - i really dont understand how anyone who has even spent a *minute* reflecting on any philosophical question would get any sort of insight out of such a book!
as i remember it, the outline of the plot even sounded pretty promising.... sth about a woman and a man reuniting and falling in love again, i mean, you could work with that, right? but since the entire plot was nothing but a stage for his, as i mentioned, really very insightless "insights"..... it was not much help, either. especially, when he started the crazy religious talk, that i seem to remember, some crazy "miracle" stuff..... yeah, that was when i seriously lost patience with that book.
i honestly have to say, in terms of style, language, *and* content, this was probably the worst book i have ever finished reading. -
“To love is to lose control.”
Hm, this is a strange and hard one to review.
On the one hand, there is no plot, barely anything happens at all.
Yet on the other the writing is so lyrical, so peaceful, and tackles such interesting and important topics that it kept me reading.
Pilar is invited to a seminar by an old friend. Their reunion strikes a chord and changes them both. They travel together across parts of Spain and France, discussing life, love, faith and spirituality.
A lot of the focus is on Christian ideas, but there are also plenty of other forms of spirituality included.
At times it really made me stop and think, and the writing took me away from myself and into another world, a simpler world where faith is easier and the people are kinder.
Overall I did enjoy it, I liked some of the different ideas included - a major one being God portrayed as a woman, or ‘the mother'; a lot of interesting stuff. Reckon I’ll keep this one to reread someday as I’m sure there was plenty that I missed or went over my head.
“Love can consign us to hell or to paradise, but it always takes us somewhere.”
3.5 stars -
MY FAVORITE LINES FROM THE BOOK:
At some point, we have each said through our tears, “I’m suffering for a love that’s not worth it.” We suffer because we feel we are giving more than we receive. We suffer because our love is going unrecognized. We suffer because we are unable to impose our own rules.
True love is an act of total surrender.
You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.
Every day, God gives us the sun - and also one moment in which we have the ability to change everything that makes us unhappy. Every day, we try to pretend that we haven’t perceived the moment, that it doesn’t exist – that today is the same as yesterday and will be the same as tomorrow. But if people really pay attention in their everyday lives, they will discover that magic moment. It may arrive in the instant when we are doing something mundane, like putting our front-door key in the lock; it may lie hidden in the quiet that follows the lunch hour or in the thousand and one things that all seems the same to us. But that moment exists – a moment when all the power of the stars becomes a part of us and enables us to perform miracles.
I could have. What does this phrase mean? At any given moment in our lives, there are certain things that could have happened but didn’t. The magic moments go unrecognized, and then suddenly, the hand of destiny changes everything.
If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him. Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering.
Dreams mean work. -
“If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him.”
― Paulo Coelho, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
🌟1/5🌟
Really!... Is this a joke??!! because I thought this was absolutely horrible.
-
Na margem do rio Piedra eu sentei e chorei = By the river piedra I sat down ond wept, Paulo Coelho
By the River Piedra I sat Down and Wept (Portuguese: Na margem do rio Piedra eu sentei e chorei) is the first part in Coelho's trilogy "On the Seventh Day". The other two parts are Veronika Decides to Die and The Devil and Miss Prym. Their subject is a week in the life of someone ordinary to whom something extraordinary happens. The story focuses on Pilar, an independent young woman, who is frustrated with the grind of university life and looking for greater meaning. Pilar's life takes a turn when she meets up with a childhood sweetheart, who is now a spiritual teacher and a rumoured healer and miracle worker, and sets off with him on a journey through the French Pyrenees. Her companion now has to make a choice between his calling and his love for Pilar.
عنوانها: در ساحل رودخانه پیدرا نشستم و گریه کردم؛ کنار رود پیدرا نشستم و گریه کردم؛ کنار رود پیدرا نشستم و گریستم؛ کنار رودخانه ی پیدرا نشسته ام و گریه میکنم؛ کنار رودخانه ی پیدرا نشسته ام و گریه کردم؛ تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه فوریه سال 2004 میلادی
عنوان 1: در ساحل پیدرا نشستم و گریه کردم؛ نویسنده: پائولو کوئیلو؛ مترجم: دل آرا قهرمان؛ تهران، میترا، 1375؛ در 176 ص، شابک: 9645998093؛ چاپ سوم 1375؛ چاپ چهارم تا ششم 1376؛ چاپ هفتم 1377؛ هشتم 1378؛ نهم 1379؛ دهم 1380؛ دوازدهم 1378؛ شابک: 9789645998095؛ موضوع: داستانهای برزیلی در باره زندگی دختر جوانی به نام پیلار - قرن 20 م
عنوان 2: کنار رود پیدرا نشستم و گریه کردم؛ نویسنده: پائولو کوئیلو؛ مترجم: دل آرا قهرمان؛ تهران، میترا، 1375؛ در 176 ص، شابک: 9645998093؛ چاپ سوم 1375؛ چاپ چهارم تا ششم 1376؛ چاپ هفتم 1377؛ هشتم 1378؛ نهم 1379؛ دهم 1380؛ دوازدهم 1378؛ شابک: 9789645998095؛ موضوع: داستانهای برزیلی - قرن 20 م
با عنوان 2: مترجم: میترا عرفانیان؛ مشهد، آوای رعنا، 1388، در 160 ص؛ شابک: 9642578382؛
با عنوان 2: مترجم: میترا میرشکار (سیاهکل)؛ تهران، پر، 1386؛ در 192 ص؛ شابک: 9648007195؛ چاپ دوم 1387؛ چاپ دیگر: تهران، نوین، 1392، در 192 ص؛ شابک: 9789646325487؛
عنوان 3: کنار رود پیدرا نشستم و گریستم؛ نویسنده: پائولو کوئیلو؛ مترجم: آرش حجازی؛ تهران، کاروان، 1381؛ در 219 ص، مصور، شابک: 9647033192؛ چاپ سوم 1381؛ چاپ ششم 1383؛ چاپ نهم 1386؛
با عنوان 3 و 4: مترجم: سوسن (شاهین) اردکانی؛ تهران، نگارستان کتاب، 1383، در 219 ص؛ شابک: ایکس 964815516؛ چاپ سوم 1389؛
عنوان 4: کنار رود پیدرا نشسته ام و گریه میکنم؛ نویسنده: پائولو کوئیلو؛ مترجم: حسین نعیمی؛ تهران، روایت، 1375؛ در 306 ص، چاپ دیگر: تهران، ثالث، 1377؛ در 306 ص؛ شابک: 9646404065؛ چاپ سوم 1379؛ چهارم 1386؛ چاپ پنجم 1389؛ شابک: 9789646404069؛ از همین مترجم با عنوان 5 : کنار رود پیدرا نشسته ام و گریه کردم؛ تهران، ثالث، 1392؛ چاپ ششم در 306 ص، شابک: 9789646404069؛
داستان یک هفته از زندگی دختر جوانی به نام پیلار اشاره داردد و به خوانشگران میگوید در دوره های کوتاهی ممکن است دگرگونیهای ژرفی در زندگی انسان رخ دهد. نویسنده میگوید عشق میتواند مردمان را به دوزخ یا بهشت ببرد، اما همیشه عاشقان را به جایی که باید میرساند. عشق میان دو شخصیت اصلی داستان، زندگی آنها را به راهی بدل میکند که به خدا میرسد. عشق مریم مقدس نیز در سراسر داستان، آنها را دربرمیگیرد و نمیگذارد احساس را وانهند. پیلار میاندیشد تمام آنچه را که در زندگی برایش اهمیت داشته، در یک هفته، سخاوتمندانه به او ارزانی شده، بنابراین قلبش را به روی عشق میگشاید و نور عشق بر او میتابد. او میپذیرد که معشوقش پس از مدتی... ا. شربیانی -
رواية اخرى رائعة من الكاتب الكبير باولو كويلو, عند قراءة الكتاب تذهب الى رحلة جميلة وانت تقراء كل صفحة منها ورحلة جميلة لاكتشاف الذات والحب والدين والكثير والكثير من الاشياء التي يكون الانسان عادتنا فيه مُحير الافكار والقرار.
من الأشياء الجميلة في الكتاب هي الحب بين شخصين عكس الافكار والمعتقد ولكن (الحب) الذي جمعهم وقرر ان يحبوا بعظهم على رغم اختلاف الفكار, وهي الحب الذي جعل الاثنين يتقبل افكار الاخر ويؤمن به ويمكن ان نقول ايظا ان يختار الافضل له وللشخص الذي يحبه.
هي رواية سرد لنا الايمان والحب والصداقة بطريقة رائعة كمثل عادتها في الكتابة من باولو كويلو.
على رغم انني مسلم والرواية هي مسيحية ومن قبل بولو كويلو ولكن كتبه بشكل ممتاز, على رغم بعض الافكار التي لا تدعم من قبل ديني او بلأحرى في الواقع ولكن الاهم الرسائل والمعاني الذي قد نتحصل عليه من هذه الرواية رائعة, والاهم هي يجب فصل هذه الاراء والمعتقدات عن واقعي انا وماهي في في الرواية واخذ الاشياء التي استفاد منه في الحياة. -
“If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him.”
This book was so relatable, so heartfelt. I think I should read it every year. -
Πρώτη επαφή με τον Coelho, όχι και η καλύτερη!
Ξεκινά ενδιαφέρον, κάπου χάνεται κάπου κουράζει με τόσες αναφορές στη θρησκεία.. -
If you're expecting another The Alchemist, just stop right there, turn around, and never look back. Seriously. Trust me and do yourself a favor.
After the success of The Alchemist, I feel like Coelho just threw a bunch of ideas together and called it a new story. Sure, it has the themes of faith, love, and following your dreams, but in my opinion, the story just wasn't concrete enough to really... I don't know, actually teach you anything - if that's what Coelho sought to do. The events just felt disconnected.
It took me a few months to finish this book because I kept getting bored of it. I finally finished it for the sake of finishing it.
The author tried to throw in a few themes from The Alchemist, and there are maybe a few good ideas in here, but nothing good enough to waste your time reading an entire book to glean some tidbits.
Note: A lot of reviewers on Amazon said they didn't like the fact that the book delved so much into religion, but I didn't mind that. -
This book wasn't even close to as good as
The Alchemist, and it seems as though it was translated really poorly too. If I could read Portugese I would try it, but since I'm limited to English or Spanish, I think I'm done with trying to make this book better than my original reaction deemed it.
It wasn't a very cohesive story, the whole "feminine face of God" thing was cool, but fairly random and not well elaborated, the "love story" was sappy and pathetic.
It is a super short book, especially when considering the size of the font and the margins, and yet I felt like I was creeping through it. I finished it, as other reviewers have mentioned, solely for the sake of finishing it. Why do we do this to ourselves? Why can't I be more like Trish and just let sucky books go without having to finish them?
Anyway, save yourself from the self-flagellation that will come when you don't feel like finishing it, and don't even start it. -
El libro más entretenido que he leído del autor. No es mucho de mi gusto pero debo admitir que cumplió su cometido de hacerme pasar el rato. Mas allá de la mitad se volvió tedioso pero como faltaba poco para terminarlo me animé hasta la última página.
-
خیلی بیخود بود... اصلاً تو این داستان میخواست به چی برسه!؟ بهتر بود به جایِ چرخیدن به دورِ پدر روحانی و یا گریه کردن در کنارِ رودخانۀ « پیدرا» خوش رو می انداخت تو رودخانه، تا کرۀ زمین به راحتی از شرِّ یک خرافاتی و یک موجودِ همیشه در حالِ دعا، راحت بشه... چقدر یک موجود میتونه درمانده و بدبخت باشه که مسیرِ زندگیش رو کشیش و کلیسا و یا هر دین و مذهبِ دیگه، تعیین کنه
چقدر یک موجود میتونه خرافاتی و متوهم باشه که به چیزی که نه دیده میشه و نه احساس میشه و وجودش به هیچ روشی ثابت نشده، صفت بده و برای اون جنسیت تعیین کنه
در کتاب آمده که: « در حالی که بقیه مشغولِ خواندنِ سرود مذهبی بودند، با خود گفتم: اگر خداوند دارایِ وجه مؤنث نیز باشد چقدر جالب است. اگر حقیقت داشته باشد پس وجه مؤنثِ خداوند است که عشق را به ما آموخت
خوب دوستانِ خردمند، همانطور که در متنِ انتخاب شده از کتاب خواندید، نویسندۀ متوهم غیر از جنسیت تعیین کردن برایِ خدا، او را آموزگاری میدونه که به انسان عشق رو آموزش داه... واقعاً این نوع افراد بیمار هستن
مثلِ این میمونه که بگیم انسانها سوارکاری رو از « اسبِ شاخ دار » آموختن و یا انسان هایِ نادونی که در تاریخ دست به خودکشی و خودسوزی زده اند این کار رو از «ققنوس» یا «سیمرغ» یاد گرفتن
هر خردمندی میدونه که سیمرغ و اسب بالدار چیزی جز افسانه نیستن، پس صفت دادن و یا کار و عملی رو به آنها اختصاص دادن، دور از خرد و بسیار عجیب و مسخره هستش
اگر خداوند عشق رو به انسان آموخته، پس چرا به پیامبرِ اسلام و عرب هایِ بیابانگرد و غارتگر ، عشق رو یاد نداده بود؟!! اگر تمامِ صفحاتِ قرآن کتابِ تازی ها رو زیر و رو کنید نمیتونید واژۀ زیبایِ « عشق » رو بیابید ... همانطور که از « خرد» هم در قرآن چیزی گفته نشده
پیروز باشید و ایرانی -
A beautiful experience. Reading Paulo Coelho makes my heart so happy and full, and soaking up the text of this awe-inspiring story has changed my perspective of life itself. The story is much more than a narrative of a love story, it is about following dreams, believing in yourself, supporting others and never giving up. It is about being unique and chsding your own path, instead of a path made by others. It might sound cliche but it makes so much sense. Coelho writes in such an exquisite way. I believe that this book has the ability to change me as a person.
-
داستان هفت روز از زندگی دختری به نام پیلار که با پذیرفتن دعوت یک کنفرانس از طرف دوست دوران کودکی اش از زندگی روزمره و تکراری خودش خارج میشه و زندگی تازه ای رو شروع میکنه که سرشار از ناشناخته هاست
داستان اصلی کتاب زیادی کلیشه ای و خسته کننده بود اما جنبه ای از کتاب که برای من از جذابیت ویژه ای برخوردار بود قسمتیه که به ساختار دو قطبی خدواند و جنبه های مادینه ی او پرداخته . اینکه برخلاف باور بسیاری از مذاهب ، خداوند همزمان هم مرد هست و هم زن ، و نه فقط مرد
در این ساختار دو قطبی ، قطب مادرانه و مادینه پرورش دهنده ی عالم رویاست و به جنبه های فلسفی از قبیل عشق و هنر و لذت می پردازد و در مقابل قطب پدرانه یا نرینه که اصولا عملگراست به جنبه های تفکر و منطق گرایش دارد
این اولین کتاب از سه گانه ی"در روز هفتم" هست که توسط كوئيلو نوشته شده و به نظرم نسبت به موضوع و زمان نوشته شدنش زیاد هم کتاب بدی نبود -
I opened this book with NO expectation's. Many people take Paulo Coelho's books with this expectations that it will be as good as
The Alchemist is. But no book will ever be good as Alchemist is. So, for me this book was quite unexpected but in a good way. I have read many books of Paulo but this book was quite exception of Paulo's writing. It was desperate, Spiritual and so knowledgeable. I quite learned about Christianity, Spirituality. Love and Decisions.“If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him.”
And so the novel starts out. The most beautiful opening paragraph I’ve ever read in my life. And unless you are heartless or have never been in love, I don’t know how this wouldn’t at least rank somewhere on your list of most beautiful passages.“By the River Piedra I sat down and wept. There is a legend that everything falls into the waters of this river – leaves, insects, the feathers of bird – is transformed into the rocks that make the riverbed. If only I could tear out my heart and hurl it into the current, then my pain and longing would be over, and I could finally forget.”
This book was told by the protagonist Pilar's POV, she took us from the streets of Zargoza to the mountains of France to the river of Piadera. For not believing in Love to falling in love. This book showed us different phases of a human's life to her journey to the life of spirituality. This book's main focus was on the female face of GOD. That women's have been degraded from the early era to now, that Male God's have been more in light then women's. This book told us so many tales and knowledge about Virgin Mary. Which for me was quite interesting. As a Muslim, after Islam the most interesting is Christianity. and this book provide alot of it.
“In real life, love has to be possible. Even if it is not returned right away, love can only survive when the hope exists that you will be able to win over the person you desire.”
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept carries a spiritual theme, as he touches quite a bit on the mystical nature of God. In this particular piece, he focuses on the young man’s belief in a feminine God that grants him the power to heal. and then their is Pilar, Pilar struggles to accept and embrace her feelings for him. He struggles to reconcile his love for the seminary, the gifts he has been given and the love he has held onto for so many years. While the beauty of their love story as it unfolds kept me wanting more, I found myself disappointed, especially toward the end when I didn’t feel the same intensity of emotions as I did with the opening paragraphs.
“But love is much like a dam; if you allow a tiny crack to form through which only a trickle of water can pass, that trickle will quickly bring down the whole structure and soon no one will be able to control the force of the current.”
Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book. I have two more books by Coelho that I want to read. And if you know me, you’ll know that there are VERY few authors from whom I’ve read more than one book. I must really like this guy.“That is why I write - to try to turn sadness into longing, solitude into remembrance.”
-
μιεχ.... :/
-
“By the River Piedra I sat down and wept. There is a legend that everything falls into the waters of this river – leaves, insects, the feathers of bird – is transformed into the rocks that make the riverbed. If only I could tear out my heart and hurl it into the current, then my pain and longing would be over, and I could finally forget.”
And so the novel starts out. The most beautiful opening paragraph I’ve ever read in my life. And unless you are heartless or have never been in love, I don’t know how this wouldn’t at least rank somewhere on your list of most beautiful passages.
By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept was written by Paulo Coelho. He is best known for writing
The Alchemist which just so happens to be my least favorite of the three books I’ve read by him. My introduction to Coehlo was
The Zahir which was, like the other two I read, a beautiful story of love. Neither of those however prepared me for the beauty I would find in that very first paragraph of the novel.
It then continues:
By the River Piedra I sat down and wept. The winter air chills the tears on my cheeks, and my tears fall into the cold waters that course past me. Somewhere this river joins another, then another, until – far from my heart and sight – all of them merge with the sea."
A couple pages later the protagonist, Pilar, takes us back to the beginning to tell the story of how she ended up weeping for this young man. They seemed to have always loved each other, even as childhood friends. However, they grew up and took separate paths in life. He chose to leave their small town to learn about the world (a theme present in both The Alchemist and The Zahir) while she chose to take the prescribed path of enrolling in a nearby university. They kept in touch throughout his travels, and one day he invited Pilar to hear him give a lecture in Madrid.
The story is a whirlwind from here. Pilar struggles to accept and embrace her feelings for him. He struggles to reconcile his love for the seminary, the gifts he has been given and the love he has held onto for so many years. While the beauty of their love story as it unfolds kept me wanting more, I found myself disappointed, especially toward the end when I didn’t feel the same intensity of emotions as I did with the opening paragraphs.
Like the other Coelho books I’ve read, By The River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept carries a spiritual theme, as he touches quite a bit on the mystical nature of God. In this particular piece, he focuses on the young man’s belief in a feminine God that grants him the power to heal. For some this may be an appealing aspect of Coehlo’s writings, but it tends to throw me off. It gives me some of the same vibes that the
Celestine Prophecy gave me, which is more eerie than anything else.
Nonetheless, I enjoyed this book. I have two more books by Coelho that I want to read. And if you know me, you’ll know that there are VERY few authors from whom I’ve read more than one book. I must really like this guy. -
آقای کوئیلو ..سلام! کتابتون رو خوندم . باور بفرمائید برای همخوابه شدن یه دختر با یه کشیش نیاز به وساطت عیسی و مریم باکره و کلیسا نیست! با تأسف باید بگم کهنه نتها بشدت کسالت بار و ناامیدکننده بود بلکه احساس کردم شما با این سبک نوشتن دارین دام مذهب رو دوباره جلوی پاهای ما باز میکنیین .. تلاشتون برای معرفی کشیش به عنوان شخصی که معجزه میکنه! جالب بود .. دوبار از طرف یه زن و یه مرد معجزه رو نسبت دادین به کشیش کاتولیک .. آقای کوئیلو .. باور کنین قرون وسطا خیلی وقته گذشته .. قبول دارم اگرچه هنوزم طرز تفکر سیاه و مذهب زده اون دوران در وجود خیلی از ما هست .. ولیکن نمیدونم هدفتون از خلاصه کردن انجیل تووی این کتاب چی بود .. هدفتون از نسبت دادن معجزه به کلیسا و شفا گرفتن مریض توسط کشیش و حرف زدن روح القدس با کشیش چی بود .. با عرض معذرت اما من باید بگم که اگر به چیزی که نوشتین واقعا اعتقاد دارین خرافه تا اعماق مغزتون نفوذ کرده .. آقای کوئیلو شما نویسنده این .. پس لطفا مثل عوام نباشید .. تووی دویست صفحه کتاب چه لزومی داره که بیشتر از ششصد بار اسم عیسی و مریم باکره و روح القدس رو بکار ببرین؟ واقعا برای تبلیغ مذهب روش جالبی نیست .. لازم نیست که ذکر کنم که فروید درباره دین چی گفت .. بهر حال امیدوارم کتابای جدیدتون واقعا رمان باشه .. وگرنه من انجیل رو خوندم .. پیروز باشید
-
A very, intense, emotional read. A deviation from Cuelho's usual themes in his books.
-
This is another book of Coelho which couldn't give me satisfaction as what
The Alchemist does. I learn a lot from
The Alchemist.
However, it still a nice one.
It gives proof that Coelho has a deep knowledge and skills about diverse religions, although it is clear that that He has more about Christianity. However, it might be hard for those non-Christianity readers when they read this book (this is only a guess).
Above all, I do believe that GOD has feminine face. Why I can say that? Well, we are, humans, were created through GOD's image. And I believe that each of us has both, feminine and masculine factors. It just a matter of in what context we put ourselves.
I love the way Coelho says in this book, that every religions put different names for GOD. Thus, every religion are good. Unfortunately, I still can't find the right quotation of it.
Last, I do feel grateful for Coelho. He reminds me to keep on believing GOD's will in my life. To not easily give up, since there always be a rainbow after rain... -
Este libro me costó mucho leerlo. Me parecó muy aburrido.
-
I may have rated this one by mistake, but the title sounded so familiar!
-
Ok where do I start. Personally for me, whenever you mix religion with a special type of philosophy I get this sense as if someone is calling my name. This book called my name. The character Pilar reflects us all in a way. The man in the story (completely nameless) has loved ever since they were little. They go about roaming in the street for a vacation, but her religion takes a whole different turn.
He guides her through life in a span of a week. Thats pretty cool. They keep mentioning 'Her'. As is the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus and mother to all. What kept me reading was how they discussed god consisting of both male and female. God has a face of a woman and a man. I know, shocking... this is just a VERY brief summary to what the book has to offer. Coelho never disappoints. (Except for The Spy, I'm not really sure what he was thinking.) -
افتتح قراءة ثلاثية باولو كويلو برواية
( على نهر بييدرا هناك جلست فبكيت )
بعد أن أغلقت روايته / إحدى عشرة دقيقة / منذ ٢٠١٣ ، كنت أعلم أني لن أعاود القراءة لكويلو في وقت قريب، هذا العام قررت أن أسقط احقادي عليه دون مبررات، و ربما تشفّع له الخيميائي عندي، على كل حال هذه الرواية ليست بداية مبشرة، ولكن سأدير له خدي الأيسر لحين تنتهي ثلاثيته.
أجمل ما في الرواية عنوانها، فالمفترض بها أن تكون رواية روحانية ! و إذا كان غيري سيعتبرها مغذية روحانيًا، أفضل التضور جوعًا، روحي شبعى بتعاليم أكثر وضوحًا و صلابة لا تقبل مناداة سرية بوجوب التصديق بوجود آلهة أنثوية، ثم ما هذا الهراء؟ كويلو يحكي عن راهب مسيحي ينادي بفكرة وثنية كالتصديق بوجود جانب أنثوي في الرب - تعالى عزّ و جل عن ذلك- و يستشهد بجزء من مزامير العهد القديم اليهودية ( على أنهار بابل جلسنا هناك وبكينا.. بكينا هناك وتذكرنا صهيون .. إن نسيتك يا أورشليم فلتشل يميني )ماذا يريد من وراء هذه الروحانيات ؟ وكيف سأقتفي أثره وسط هذا الشتات ؟ تعزيز فكرة أي دين ترد في هذه الرواية ؟ أساساً فكرة الآلهة الأنثوية غير واردة في الديانات الثلاث؟ أيتحدث عن روحانية العالم ؟ هذا يخرجه من إطار الطرح الديني بالكامل.
جانب الرواية الإنساني بسيط وغير منطقي أحيانًا يتلخص في ..
بيلار تجد حبها من جديد، صديق طفولتها المتدين الذي حباه الرب بنعمة شفاء البشر كما يتضح لنا في الرواية، الغريب أنه مستعد أن يتخلى عن كل هذا مقابل الحب وكأنه ثمن زهيد ليعرف سر السعادة ، وزاده قوة فكرة كم بمقدوره خدمة الرب من أي موقع يكونه، حتى كرجل عادي يبحث عن الحب، قوته الدينية قشرة لضعفه الإنساني امام حلم الحب، و كذلك ضعف بيلار الديني وتيهها عن فكرة الدين الحقيقي لم يمنعها أن تخشى فكرة إعاقته عن تبليغ مهمته الدينية ك شافي و ملهم للكثيرين ، قوة الرفض لتحطيم حلمه وبناء سعادة على ندم تخشى قدومه يومًا، حتى وإن تكن هذه رغبته ! رغم سخافة شخصيتها لكن موقف انسحابها من النفق راق لي جدًا .. هذه الحيرة والمسؤولية التي شعرت بها على عاتقها جراء تخلي حبيبها الراهب عن حلمه دون لحظة تفكير من قبله بكم الأرواح التي سيتعلق مصيرها بقراره من مرضى و ضعاف إيمان؟ أحببت انسحابها و أحببت خوفها من أن تكون جزءًا في تعطيل خدمة دينية أو جزءًا في لعبة سماوية بمسمى ديني .
الضعف الإنساني و القوة الدينية V القوة الإنسانية و الضعف الديني
أحببت ذلك ( الآخر ) الذي يخشاه أبطال الرواية و يحسبون له ألف حساب، هذا الآخر فينا صاحب البصيرة الذي نمقتها لأنها تكشف لعبتنا ونوايانا، كيف تنمو حشريته دون أن نشعر، و مهما كممناه تجرأ ونطق ؟
برأيي هذه الرواية مررت لنا الكثير من أفكار الآخر من كويلو دون أن نشعر نفّس عن غضبه أمامنا فلا أقل من أن أنفّس عن عضبي في القليل من السطور. -
Pilar is like all the other woman from the barrio who is smart and has her life all planned. But as she visits a childhood friend that she secretly loves. She embarks in a journey that will give her a chance to rebuild her life and have the gift to love ones again.
As she meets her childhood friend, she eventually not only learns that this guy had planned to enter the seminary but also that he is a visionary of the Virgin Mary and he is able perform miracles by curing. She then leaves the normal life she has been living and has been hating and sets her life to be with this man and be with him while he cures and preach all through out the world when she realize that there are other means of serving God other than being a priest. But after she excites her mind for this dream life, she then learns that the man she loves just recently denunciated his power to cure to the Virgin Mary to live a normal life that he expected Pilar to prefer. Pilar, after knowing about this- knowing she wouldn’t live the extra ordinary life she had dreamed- went by the River Piedra and sat down and wept blaming herself to be the reason why this guy will fail to cure the lives of many men.
Review:
“Very inspiring. I could see myself through Pilar: the best character I see myself into so far. This story is very close to my heart. A simple story, with an important lesson.”
PS. I have a crush on someone who’s planning to be a priest. i_i. It doesn’t feel good. X)
Lesson: p.95
“If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live, and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him.
Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering.”
