Review; By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept

A Novel of Forgiveness and the Magic of Love

Sep 23, 2009

Brazilian master storyteller Paulo Coelho transforms the idea of Love and forgiveness into a tale of self discovery and the taming of an angry heart.

Originally written in 1994, published and translated in English in 2006, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept is another of Paulo Coelho’s masterpiece literary works. The story begins with Pilar, a young woman crying by the edge of the River Piedra, reminiscing on the week past, when she had let go of what Paulo Coelho calls The Other, and replaced it with Love and the return of her long lost faith.

As a young student, dedicated and grounded in her studies, Pilar enlightens us amid the history behind her childhood, and the loss of the possibility of Love. With her childhood friend gone, in search of himself and his purpose, she focuses on a mundane career that will surely pay the bills and maneuver her to safety. In the eleven years he’s been gone, he remains in contact through letters and postcards, sometimes retrieving silently for years, only to re-emerge again. At a time when Pilar is utterly focused on her studies and feels her life is safe and secure, her childhood friend asks to meet in a seminar that is in nearby Barcelona.

Once there, she notices that the women all around her were speaking of a miraculous man. A man that is bringing back what they say has always belonged to them. Curious and confused, she desperately desires to be in his presence and recall their childhood memories. After the seminar, she greets him and is invited to dinner. She immediately begins to feel liberated and afraid. The possibility of change and new surroundings exhilarates her, leading her to cut loose and discard her coyness.

In a series of long car rides leading to the small village of Pyrenees, to abandoned churches and romantic water wells. This unique love story of a hardened woman and a spiritual man, guides us through incredible landscapes and the possibility that Love takes time, and dreams are hard work.

Metaphorically the narrative derives its data from the author’s own experiences. Paulo Coelho always has a way of poetically envisioning his stories. By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept is no exception. The prose is true and lucid. Giving us a peek inside the characters thoughts; Love is introduced as an anecdote and/or backdrop, always lingering and leaving its scent and taste long enough to memorize its enduring effect. Life sometimes sends signs and simplicity to remind us that no matter how much we take ourselves seriously, the things that truly matter are more than likely staring right at us.

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