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The Devil and Miss Prym

by Paulo Coelho (Goodreads Author), Amanda Hopkinson (Translator), Nick Caistor (Translator)

3.57 of 5 stars 3.57 · rating details · 23,930 ratings · 1,207 reviews

A struggle between good and evil unfolds in this full-bodied fable by the author of The Zahir. When a stranger arrives in an isolated mountain village, he brings with him a devilish offer: If anybody in the town is murdered within a week, every surviving resident will receive a fortune in gold. His evil instigation throws the townspeople into a moral tailspin that ends wit...more

Hardcover, 224 pages

Published July 3rd 2006 by Harper (first published 2000)

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Dec 30, 2008 Beth F. rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Agnostics

Shelves: 1001-books, fairy-tales-and-fables, 2008, tnbbc-winter-2008

This is one of those books where “this book was about ___,” is not nearly as important as “this book made me think about ___.” And because of the book’s popularity, you probably already know what it’s about anyway. If not, here’s a refresher: it’s about the battle between good and evil. There are angels and devils, a rogue wolf, an arms dealer, a bar wench and it all takes place in a rural community, purportedly in Brazil.

I’ve read some critiques of this book and one of the complaints I keep se...more This is one of those books where “this book was about ___,” is not nearly as important as “this book made me think about ___.” And because of the book’s popularity, you probably already know what it’s about anyway. If not, here’s a refresher: it’s about the battle between good and evil. There are angels and devils, a rogue wolf, an arms dealer, a bar wench and it all takes place in a rural community, purportedly in Brazil.

I’ve read some critiques of this book and one of the complaints I keep seeing over and over again are people complaining about how cliché it is to write a book about good and evil. “Give me a break, it’s all been done before, gag me with a spoon, Christian guilt…, boring, stupid, bla-bla-bla…”

My reaction to those responses is difficult to put into words. Because on one hand, I agree. I’m sick of hearing about it and feeling like it’s being jammed down my throat in ways that are insulting, naïve, dull, etc. But on the other hand, I feel like I’d be lying to myself if I didn’t admit that the concept of an otherworldly battle between good and evil really rings my bell.

I’ve been thinking about this book almost non-stop for the past couple days (hence the five star review). Yesterday afternoon in the food court—I was thinking about angels and devils. Last night when we took a tour through a house that’s for sale—I was thinking about good vs. evil. This morning on the bus—are humans inherently good or inherently evil? Or are we simply tempted by one or the other? Do we have an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other whispering into our ears? Where did evil come from? How did it get here? It’s all very interesting and it will make your head spin if you let it. I did.

The book is also relatively short so even though I’m back to work after a Christmas break that was jam-packed with reading, so don’t have nearly as much time to read for pleasure, I still read this book in about two days. Not bad. (less)

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Jan 26, 2008 Anne rated it 3 of 5 stars

The Devil and Miss Prym was published in 2000, but it reads like a morality play from the 16th century. The basic premise is that a stranger comes to a small town. He speaks to Miss Prym, the local barmaid and tells her his plan. He wishes to offer the villagers enough gold to improve their lot for generations. All they have to do is murder one of their own. How the villagers choose will answer for the stranger whether people are basically good or basically evil. Miss Prym struggles with whether...more

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Mar 13, 2008 Jelantik rated it 1 of 5 stars

To be honest I got lost when reading this book. I don't understand what is the essence of the story.

But this book is better than the 'by the riviere piedra i sat down and cry'. After reading this book of him (the 4th book that I read), I decided to stop buying his book. He created a master piece, the alchemist, but that's it. The other books are not even close to it. So rather than keep dissappointing and spending money for nothing, I better read other writers' books.

Au revoir M Coelho!

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Nov 10, 2012 Kareem brakat rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

لا أريد أن أقسو على الكاتب ربما السبب هي الترجمة ولكن الرواية كانت ركيكة إلى حد كبير
كما أن بها عيب آخر خطير لا أحبه أبدا في الروايات وهو أن الحوار في كثير من الاحيان كان مباشرا جدا لدرجة تحوله الى نوع من أنواع النشرات التعليمية أوالوعظ وكأنك بصدد خطبة جمعة وان كانت خطبة جمعة جيدة
أما من ناحية الفكرة فهي فكرة فلسفية عميقة وتطرح سؤال مهم
هل نستطيع أن نحكم على الشخص بأنه طيب لمجرد أنه لم يرتكب جريمة أويفعفل شرا من قبل؟ الا يجب ان عرضه لاختبار حقيقي ؟للحظة اختيار حر دون أن يخاف من عقوبة ما أوحتى من ا...more لا أريد أن أقسو على الكاتب ربما السبب هي الترجمة ولكن الرواية كانت ركيكة إلى حد كبير
كما أن بها عيب آخر خطير لا أحبه أبدا في الروايات وهو أن الحوار في كثير من الاحيان كان مباشرا جدا لدرجة تحوله الى نوع من أنواع النشرات التعليمية أوالوعظ وكأنك بصدد خطبة جمعة وان كانت خطبة جمعة جيدة
أما من ناحية الفكرة فهي فكرة فلسفية عميقة وتطرح سؤال مهم
هل نستطيع أن نحكم على الشخص بأنه طيب لمجرد أنه لم يرتكب جريمة أويفعفل شرا من قبل؟ الا يجب ان عرضه لاختبار حقيقي ؟للحظة اختيار حر دون أن يخاف من عقوبة ما أوحتى من افتضاح أمره وعندها نستطيع أن نقيمه تقييما حقيقيا
هل الانسان يحمل بداخله الخير والشر على حد سواء أم أن الطيب يكون طيبا خالصا والشرير يكون شريرا خالصا
كل هذه أسئلة تناقشها الرواية وهي عنصر الجذب الوحيد في الرواية وان كانت حتى هذه لم ينجح فيها الكاتب النجاح المتوقع واذا قارنا بين هذه الرواية ورواية نجيب محفوظ المدهشة (ليالي ألف ليلة) والتي يناقش فيها محفوظ نفس الفكرة بالضبط فنجد الفارق شاسعا بين جمال الاسلوب رورعة الحوار بين الابطال والحبكة الدرامية التي ميزت رواية محفوظ وبين هذا العمل
ربما يكون تعليقي صادما للبعض خاصة محبي ومعجبي الكاتب ولكن عذري أنني ولسبب غير معلوم يوجد بيني وبين الكاتب حاجز نفسي غبر مبرر وأنا نفسي أستغربه و هذه الرواية وهي أول عمل أقرؤه له لم تنجح في تبديد ذلك الحاجز نهائيا
فمنذ ذاع صيت باولو كويلهو وتكونت لدي فكرة غريبة عن الرجل ليس لها أي سبب منطقي لا معلومة ولا نقد قرأته عنه ولا أي شئ مجرد احساس بأن شهرة هذا الكاتب مفتعلة وموهبته ليست بهذا الحجم وانما يرجع ذيوع شهرته بهذا الشكل الى أنه مجرد نوع من أنواع الوجاهة الاجتماعية أوالثقافية ان شئت الدقه شئ أشبه بارتداء الماركات المشهورة واستعمال الساعات الغالية لمجرد الاستعراض ليس أكثر
والحقيقة أنني بعد قراءة الرواية لم أشعر انني تجنيت عليه كثيرا
ولكن للأمانة كان بالرواية عدة جمل وعبارات جميلة وعميقة الدلالة
مثل"الانتصارات و الهزائم هي جزء من حياة كل انسان إلا حياة الجبناء لأنهم لا يربحون و لا يخسرون اطلاقا" وأيضا "لطالما أعتقدت ان التغيرات العميقة تحدث في فترات قصيرة جداً من الزمن، إذ تجبهنا الحياة فيمالا نتوقع أو نحتسب
بتحد يختبر شجاعتنا ورغبتنا في التغيير"
وكذلك بعض الاقتباسات التى أوردها من حكايات وأساطير التراث كانت في منتهى الجمال خاصة "أسطورة الملك ميداس الذي تمنى أن يتحول أي شئ يلمسه الى ذهب ولما تحققت امنيته حول قصره كله الى ذهب الابواب والحوائط والاثاث ولكن عندما شعر بالجوع ما أن لمس طعامه حتى تحول الى ذهب فاصيب بالذعر وذهب لزوجته ليستشيرها فما أن لمسها حتى تحولت الى تمثال من الذهب أيضا فأصيب كل من حوله بالرعب وفروا منه وبعد عدة أيام وجدوه ميتا من الجوع والعطش ولكنه محاط بالذهب من كل جانب"(less)

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Nov 06, 2012 Muhammad rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: my-library

Seorang pria asing tiba di sebuah desa yang sunyi dan terpencil bernama Viscos. Berta—salah satu penduduk desa tersebut—yang pertama kali melihat kedatangan pria tersebut menyadari bahwa orang asing tersebut ditemani sang Iblis. Semua tampak tenang-tenang saja hingga pria asing itu—yang suatu saat nanti mengaku bernama Carlos dan berumur 52 tahun—bertemu dengan Chantal Prym. Chantal adalah seorang gadis yatim piatu dari Viscos—bahkan gadis paling muda di desa itu—dan sudah sejak lama ingin meni

...more

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Aug 22, 2012 Asma rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 52-2012, portuguese-brazilian

The story's Devil is an embittered stranger whose wife and daughters were previously kidnapped and killed. Now he is committed to discovering whether all men and women's souls are evil. To do that, he (along with his Devil) enter the formerly Celtic community of Viscos, France, a village of 281 inhabitants.

"...some remote place, where everyone looked on life with joy, peace and compassion, and I would see if I could make the people there break a few of the Ten Commandments."

It's rocky past had e...more

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Oct 07, 2008 miaaa rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Spamiola hehe

Recommended to miaaa by: Spamiola

Shelves: fictions-others

If I haven't promised someone who really wants this book I might not read it now, especially since Coelho noted that this is the third book of And on the Seventh Day trilogy! The good news is I can then read them in reverse order. It may provide a different perspective, or the opposite, I'll end up in a miserable confusion. Either way is acceptable.

The idea of revealing human nature is not something that really new, however Coelho is able to remind us about it without any suggestion of lecturing...more If I haven't promised someone who really wants this book I might not read it now, especially since Coelho noted that this is the third book of And on the Seventh Day trilogy! The good news is I can then read them in reverse order. It may provide a different perspective, or the opposite, I'll end up in a miserable confusion. Either way is acceptable.

The idea of revealing human nature is not something that really new, however Coelho is able to remind us about it without any suggestion of lecturing. We've seen it, we knew it and presumably we've done it -compromising our values to conduct sins for something what we thing is a right thing to do. And sometimes just like the inhabitants of Viscos, we think we have to do it for the sake of our children or those who we love most. And we chose someone who will be less longed, less remembered as a sacrificial lamb. Someone like Berta.

Personally I think temptation, especially in conducting mischief, always disguise itself in the most gullible looks. Basically the story confirms the theory that all this time playing hide-and-seek in my mind, that each human possess both Evil and Good within them. The main issue is, which one you feed most?!

"It isn't the desire to abide by the law that makes everyone behave as society requires, but the fear of punishment. Each one of us carries a gallows inside us."

***

Setelah baca catatan penulisnya bahwa buku ini adalah seri ketiga dari Trilogy And on the Seventh Day, sebenarnya ingin menunda membaca buku ini dulu. Namun demi seorang teman yang sangat mendambakan buku ini, dilanjutkan sajalah. Setelah dipikir-pikir baca trilogy dengan urutan terbalik sepertinya seru juga, kalo tidak dapat perspektif berbeda mungkin menderita kebingungan akut. Dua pilihan itu sama menariknya.

Ide pengungkapan sifat alami manusia itu menurut aku sih tidak begitu baru, tapi namanya juga Coelho. Dia dengan caranya sendiri mengingatkan kita tanpa harus menjadi pengkotbah. Pasti kita pernah melihat, mengetahui dan bahkan mungkin melakukannya sendiri. Berkompromi dengan nilai-nilai yang kita anut, melakukan sebuah dosa atas dasar kepercayaan bahwa apa yang kita lakukan adalah hal yang benar.

Dan terkadang layaknya para penduduk desa Viscos, kita berusaha keras meyakinkan diri kita sendiri bahwa kita harus melakukan hal tersebut demi anak-anak dan orang-orang yang paling kita sayangi. Lalu memilih seseorang yang tidak akan begitu dirindukan, yang tidak akan begitu diingat, sebagai domba persembahan. Seseorang seperti Berta.

Menurutku semua godaan, terutama untuk melakukan hal-hal yang salah, selalu menyamarkan dirinya dalam bentuk paling tidak berbahaya. Kisah ini memperkuat teori yang selama ini bermain petak umpet dalam pikiranku, bahwa setiap manusia memiliki Kejahatan dan Kebaikan dalam diri mereka. Masalahnya hanya sisi mana yang paling banyak kita beri makan!

"Bukanlah keinginan untuk patuh pada peraturan yang membuat setiap orang menjaga tingkah lakunya seperti yang diharuskan masyarakat, namun rasa takut atas hukuman yang mungkin dia dapatkan. Setiap orang membawa tiang gantungan di dalam dirinya masing-masing."(less)

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Nov 06, 2008 Krenzel rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 1001

*WARNING FOR SPOILERS*

Are human beings inherently good or evil? "The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptation," by famed author Paulo Coelho, is intended to be an exploration of this theme, with various legends introduced into the conversation throughout the book. One of these legends involves a man traveling with his horse and dog when he is struck by lightning and killed. Not realizing he is dead, the man continues his walk, but eventually the group becomes thirsty. They come across a gatewa...more *WARNING FOR SPOILERS*

Are human beings inherently good or evil? "The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptation," by famed author Paulo Coelho, is intended to be an exploration of this theme, with various legends introduced into the conversation throughout the book. One of these legends involves a man traveling with his horse and dog when he is struck by lightning and killed. Not realizing he is dead, the man continues his walk, but eventually the group becomes thirsty. They come across a gateway which leads to a fountain overflowing with water. The guard at the gate tells the man this place is Heaven and he is allowed in, but only if he comes alone. The man, not wanting to abandon his animals, instead continues on walking and comes to another gateway, where everyone is allowed to drink from the nearby spring. The man asks this guard where he is, and the guard replies, "Heaven." The place with the fountain was actually Hell, prompting the man to exclaim that it is wrong for them to be trying to trick people into entering their gate under false pretenses. The guard replies, "On the contrary, they do us a favor, because the ones who stay there are those who have proved themselves capable of abandoning their dearest friends." To me, this story served as a warning, as I wondered, what would I have done? Dying of thirst, would I have proved to be selfish and unknowingly entered through the gates of Hell? Even though I consider myself to be a good person, could I have made one bad choice that would have forever changed my fate? For those of us looking for assurance about our own goodness, though, "The Devil and Miss Prym" does not provide any conclusions. Through his exploration of the origins of the town of Viscos and its later struggle between Good and Evil, ultimately Coelho tells us there is no answer about whether humans are good or bad, but rather it is all a matter of individual choice.

First, Coelho makes it clear through his discussion of the town of Viscos that nobody is strictly Good or Evil but instead these forces struggle within each of us. Viscos began as a town inhabited by the dregs of society, including bandits, smugglers, prostitutes, and murderers, and the "wickedest" of them all, an Arab named Ahab. One day, St. Savin comes to Ahab’s house and asks if he can spend the night. Ahab laughs and decides that he will kill the man that night, sharpening his knife over the sleeping St. Savin. But the next morning, when St. Savin awakens, Ahab is in tears and tells him, "For the first time ever, someone spent a night by my side trusting that I could be a good man . . . Because you believed I was capable of behaving decently, I did." Later, we learn that Ahab’s transformation had really come earlier when he asked St. Savin a series of hypothetical questions. For example, if St. Savin was tempted by a beautiful prostitute, would he see her as ugly? What would he do if he was offered gold? Or could he love two brothers equally if he knew one hated him? In each case, St. Savin acknowledged he would be tempted by Evil but that he would try to control himself. Ahab then realized St. Savin wasn’t so different from him – they both struggled with Good and Evil – just as everyone does: "It was all a matter of control. And choice. Nothing more and nothing less." Ahab then transforms Viscos into a peaceful trading post. But that doesn’t mean the people of Viscos are, by nature, good people. Good and Evil still struggles within each of them. Some realize they can't abide by the new rules and leave town, while others decide to stay. It is their individual choice about which path they chose.

While most of the “good” people decide to stay in Viscos, leaving it as a peaceful place, its inhabitants are eventually tested many years later when a stranger comes to town and offers them gold if they will murder a fellow citizen over the course of the next week. The stranger tells Chantal Prym, the local bartender, that he used to be a good person, but since his family was murdered by a group of terrorists, he has been tortured with questions about why the terorists did it and whether it is proof that all people are Evil. Viscos will be his testing ground for Good and Evil. If someone in the town is murdered, that will prove his theory that humans are inherently Evil. In fact, this town of honest and decent people initially succumbs to temptation, agreeing to murder one of its elderly citizens, forcing her to take a drug to sedate her, and dragging her across town, where the townspeople plan to shoot her. Before the shooting actually takes place, though, Chantal speaks up, telling them the exchange of the stranger’s gold for actual currency is going to be messy and asking whether they can really trust the other townspeople not to divulge how they got the gold to the bank. In the end, the townspeople agree they cannot trust one another, and they return to their lives without accepting the stranger’s deal. Chantal, who has made a separate deal with the stranger, receives the gold instead for her willingness to go along with the stranger’s game. Seemingly, then, there is no resolution the original question posed: Are humans good or bad? In making his original proposal, the stranger had told Chantal, "If you steal the one gold bar but the village resists temptation, or vice versa, I will conclude that there are good people and evil people – which would put me in a difficult position because it would mean that there’s a spiritual struggle going on that could be won by either side." So the final answer then is that there is no answer: there is Good and Evil struggling in everyone, and it is our own choice about what we do. The terrorists who killed the stranger’s family chose Evil, but the people of Viscos chose Good. Our ultimate path is not pre-destined. It is up to us and the choices we make whether we choose a path of Good or Evil.

Through his exploration of the origins of the town of Viscos and its later one-week struggle between Good and Evil, author Paulo Coelho tells us there is no answer about whether humans are good or bad, but instead it is a matter of individual choice. In terms of conclusions about Good and Evil, then, everything is left to the reader. When Chantal is thinking about stealing the gold, the stranger asks, her, "If you had to write a book about your experiences, how do you think most of your readers would react – given all the difficulties they have to face, the injustices dealt to them by life and other people, the struggle they have in order to pay for their children’s schooling and to put food on the table – don’t you think that those people would be urging you to take the gold and run?" When Chantal tells the stranger she doesn’t know what readers will think, the stranger answers, "Nor do I. But that’s the answer I’m looking for." The fact that ultimately no answer is given by the author is disappointing, but as readers we can in fact answer this question for ourselves. Were we, in fact, hoping Chantal would steal the gold? Or, drawing from the earlier example, would we have stopped at the Gates of Hell to selfishly get our own water and abandon our friends? Does that say something about our own struggle between Good and Evil? While Coelho may come up short in providing answers about the struggles between Good and Evil that are happening all over the world, in reality, he is still providing a service by asking the question in the first place. Books are meant to spark discussion, and that is exactly what "The Devil and Miss Prym" does by asking readers to question where they stand in their own struggle between Good and Evil.
(less)

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Oct 15, 2007 Serge Sky rated it 4 of 5 stars

A simple and complex tale about temptation and human greed. It depicts how humans struggle with life, fear and evil. A small "dying" community was offered a new lease in life by a strange man who was searching for answers to his life questions. He offered them a possibility and a challenge to realize individual dreams on the condition that they kill one among themselves as sacrifice. It was unthinkable to anyone of them, yet the offer gripped them slowly. They acted as one, with different intent...more

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Jan 19, 2009 Lamski Kikita rated it 4 of 5 stars

Are humans naturally good or bad? We all struggle with the same question every single day in our daily dealings with people. Between angels and demons, people who help us and those who hurt us, we still cannot find the answer.

Chantal Prym is stuck in one man's struggle to justify his loss and his wager with the devil. It all falls on her shoulders to not only save her village, prevent her people from committing a crime they have deemed justifiable, but to bring back the light of angels and defea...more

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Feb 17, 2009 Ginia rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 25, 2009 Cheryl rated it 3 of 5 stars

Billed as a novel of temptation, it is about a small town and a man who has lost everything (a la Job) who offers the villagers money to murder someone in an attempt to answer the question once and for all, are humans inherently evil or good? about half way through, i stopped to inform the author that no matter what he wrote, i still believed that people were inherently good, and that the majority of us would not commit murder for money.
the struggle was realistic; there are all sorts of reasons...more

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Mar 17, 2013 Dvd (all'improvviso) rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Lo spunto del racconto è interessante e PC, stavolta, lascia da parte le usuali tiritere su improbabili Guerrieri della Luce e mirabolanti Leggende Personali (deo gratias). Poi però il racconto declina, si fa banale e la storia evolve senza lasciare traccia dietro di sè: solita spiritualità da 4 soldi (fantasmi protettori, angeli consiglieri, diavoli tentatori, etc etc) e solita, semplicistica dicotomia Bene\Male (consiglio caldamente all'autore di leggersi Saramago, Bulgakov o Goethe per impara...more

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Feb 13, 2013 Mariya rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: unfinished

Where do I even begin with this book? A range of adjectives come to my mind, the most favorable being boring and bland, and the strongest patronizing and utterly exasperating.

I could not read it for entertainment, because the plot line is so predictable. If you want to read about a village killing an old woman, go read The Lottery, which is extremely haunting and a staple in the curriculum at least in North America. It also has the benefit of being a short story, so you wouldn't have to suffer t...more Where do I even begin with this book? A range of adjectives come to my mind, the most favorable being boring and bland, and the strongest patronizing and utterly exasperating.

I could not read it for entertainment, because the plot line is so predictable. If you want to read about a village killing an old woman, go read The Lottery, which is extremely haunting and a staple in the curriculum at least in North America. It also has the benefit of being a short story, so you wouldn't have to suffer through too many pages if you happen to hate it.

I could not read The Devil and Miss Prym as a morality play or an allegory, just because the conflict has been in use for centuries. While this itself is no reason to prevent an author from studying the fundamental of human nature, one would expect a new angle or at least some depth. Sadly, I found neither. The opposition is quite shallow, not to mention very unrealistic.

I was hoping to find at the very least interesting language or memorable characters. I found the English translation to be unremarkable and can only hope that the original Portuguese is more inspiring, but in view of all other shortcomings of the book, I doubt it. The characters are one-dimensional and all speak with the same voice - if it wasn't for the narrator switching perspective all the time, I wouldn't have even noticed when someone new speaks. It's okay that I found no character to identify with - I need none. It is also okay that I did not sympathize with anyone - I also don't need that. What I needed was a strong female figure, and that I absolutely did not find in Chantal Prym. I felt that she was molded after every single stereotype of the weak woman that is out there: an unimaginative unambitious young woman who uses her sex as a trap to catch a male to take her away. I cannot count the times I wanted to hurl the book against the wall in frustration. The only thing that stopped me was that it was an e-book and I wouldn't want to damage my faithful e-reader.

One more note on authorial voice: Coelho seems to have no faith in his reader's intellectual abilities whatsoever. Every sentence goes contrary to the principle "show, don't tell". Every minute detail of the setting, of the characters' internal monologue, or their interaction with one other is spelled out and interpreted for us. There is no work left for the reader to do, except sit back and be fed the already digested (particularly devoid of nutrients) meal. Maybe that works for some readers. Not for me.(less)

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Jan 24, 2013 Indiabookstore rated it 4 of 5 stars

“Evil had to manifest itself and fulfil its role, so that ultimately Good could prevail.”
-Paulo Coelho

“The Alchemist” of the pioneer of philosophy has driven me to take up this book which mirrors many thoughts that we think of analysing everytime they flit across our mind but never dare to. Paulo,in this seemingly slow book depicts the war between evil and good that takes place in one's mind through an interesting story. The story may be fictional but every thought in this book reflects the real...more

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Jan 21, 2013 Hesham ellayeh rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: good-novels

* قد تغير (لا) بسيطة مجري التاريخ
رواية تأخذك في إطلاله علي جنبات الصراع بين الخير والشر وتطرح سؤالا يخص جوهر الإنسان

هل الإنسان بطبيعته ميالا للخير أم للشر ؟ وهل سيصمد ما بداخله أمام المغريات المتلاحقة؟ من مال وذهب وسلطة وقوة
المكان: قرية(بسكوس) أُنعم عليها أن تنتقل من حظها السيئ حيث كانت مرتع للمجرمين إلي بلدة هادئة مستسلمة لأقدارها ..مجدة عاملة .. عدد سكانها لا يتعدى 281فرد ..لكل منهم دوره المعروف والمحدد
بفضل رجل قديس شجاع(سافان) قرر أن يجابه سطوة الإجرام في بيته المتمثلة في (اهاب) حيث أنزل نفس...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Aliaa Mohamed rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

وكعادة باولو كويلو ف اعماله الغوص ف النفس البشرية ومحاولة فهم طبيعتها .. هل النفس البشرية خيرة بطبيعتها ام الظروف بتجبرها ف بعض الاحيان ع ارتكاب الشر
بالرغم ان الرواية تعتبر فلسفية اكثر منها ادبية بس كويلو قدر انه يقول اللى هو عاوزه بأسلوب سهل بسيط مش معقد كعادة الاعمال الفلسفية الاخرى
ف اقتباسات كتير عجبتنى :
“هناك نوعان من الحمقى : أولئك الذين يعدلون عن فعل شيء لأنهم تلقوا تهديدا , و أولئك الذين يعتقدون بأنهم سيفعلون شيئا لأنهم يهددون الغير”

“إن للخير والشر وجهاً واحداً , كل شيء يتعلق باللحظة ال...more

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Dec 14, 2012 Florence Lyon rated it 3 of 5 stars

According to the synopsis, this is "A parable of good and evil" and a test "...to prove or unprove his thesis that given the right set of circumstances every human being on this earth would be willing to commit evil".

It was an engaging story of a young girl in a village called Viscos which I think is in France - or Brazil. It's not clear. Anyway, the main character is an orphaned hotel barmaid named "Chantal" who is itching to get out. Another character is Berta, a wise old woman who sits outsid...more

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Dec 03, 2012 Guilherme Martins rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A colectânea dos livros de auto-ajuda aparecem numa época do desemprego estrutural está em crescente, em que uma quantidade significativa de desempregados não terão mais acesso ao trabalho porque tornaram-se supérfluos a serem substituídos pelas máquinas da revolução micro-electrónica. Estes livros são focados nos supérfluos do século XXI para que a esperança exista no fundo destas páginas, e o leitor consiga a alimentar a sua neurose de se voltar a uma vida saudável e realizável dentro do capit...more

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Aug 23, 2012 Kathy Cowley rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: literary, fiction, portugues

I choose this book as my prize for completing SLC summer reading program, and now I'm so glad not just to have read the book but to also own it. This novel tells the story of a stranger who comes to a small mountain town offering a fortune in gold to the community if anyone is killed within the coming week. The man's real goal is to see if there is any good--or just evil--in the world, to see if life and suffering have meaning and significance.

The temptations and choices are painted vividly in t...more

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Feb 24, 2012 Julia rated it 4 of 5 stars

The Devil and Miss Prym is a simple yet compelling story of Good and Evil.
The setting is a small village somewhere in a vast rural countryside with only 219 residents.
Theres not much info about the village or people but they are shepherds and farmers and a few business ownwers. And they believe in ancient Celtic folklore.
So a mysterious stranger walks into town who is believed to be the Devil and he finds a
a vulnerable young lady to be his victim to help in setting up a plot against the village...more

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Jan 02, 2012 Alison Sigalow rated it 2 of 5 stars

The Devil and Miss Prym is an allegory disguised as a novel that deals with whether or not people are good or evil. The story is based around a stranger, a man in his 50's, who travels to the small town of Viscos with eleven bars of gold, ten of which he will use to tempt the people of Viscos to commit a crime, specifically, to coerce the people into murdering one of their own. Enter Chantal Prym, a young woman in Viscos who agrees to act as a messenger for the stranger, for a price. Thus sets t...more The Devil and Miss Prym is an allegory disguised as a novel that deals with whether or not people are good or evil. The story is based around a stranger, a man in his 50's, who travels to the small town of Viscos with eleven bars of gold, ten of which he will use to tempt the people of Viscos to commit a crime, specifically, to coerce the people into murdering one of their own. Enter Chantal Prym, a young woman in Viscos who agrees to act as a messenger for the stranger, for a price. Thus sets the stage for the moral conflict in the village that will soon set things into action.

"The man opened the window of his room, hoping that the cold would silence the voice of his devil for a few moments." (Coelho 83). I think that this quote sheds to light many of the central themes in this book. It talks about the mans devil, implying that every person has their own set of angels and demons, and that it us up to that singular person to decide which of the two to listen to. That is the core of the novel, that it is the stranger who is being lead by his devil in order to make the choice that he wanted to prove that mankind was evil, and therefore put the people of Viscos is a difficult place, to determine whether killing thier own is worth the ten gold bars that will forever grant them free of financial woes.

Coelho's purpose was to determine whether human beigs were good or evil, and he set up the dilema in a way that would seem as though the people would give into the pressure and kill one of the townspeople out if greed. But, without giving anything away, Coelho cheats both himself and his readers at the end, leaving me very unsatisfied by the end of the "novel" and I believe that he could have ended it much better than he had. The theme was obviously about good vs. evil and the temptation of money and other worldly things.

All in all, I was not very happy with this book. The charcters were all horrible and one-dementional, and I could barley connect with any of them on a moral level. I was also mad at the writing style, which constantly flipped between characters with no real direction, making parts very confusing and hard to follow. As stated previously, I didn't like the ending, feeling it was to abrupt and picture-perfect in an otherwise gritty book. Honestly, if it wasn't for the ending, I could have forgivin any other faults. It was a decent, though heavy, read that deals with serious moral questions that made me think about whether evil for a cause, is still evil. Do the ends really justify the means? 2/5 stars for effort. I wouldn't recomend this book for anyone under the age of 30.(less)

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Jan 02, 2012 Abigail Whitaker added it

This story is about a stranger coming to a small town and giving the townspeople an ultimate test. He offers to give the town ten gold bars that would keep them rich for the rest of their lives if they were willing to commit an unthinkable sin. The unthinkable sin is the commit murder of one of their own. Will the townspeople take the riches or keep their "town family"?

“People want to change everything and, at the same time, want it all to remain the same.” This was my favorite quote because of...more

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Dec 12, 2011 Rachael Goldenberg rated it 3 of 5 stars

Those who have not read this book, overall it is about a stranger that comes to this ostracized backwards town in a nonspecific loacation. This stranger hides eleven gold bars and is willing to give ten gold bars to the entire town if the entire town can agree to kill one person from their village. The stranger tells this information to one specific person, who has the choice to tell the town or keep the information to themselves to save their town.
"They all live in fear of God."(Coelho 43). Th...more

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Nov 25, 2011 Judy Croome rated it 3 of 5 stars

A thought provoking book on the concept of Good vs Evil in the human soul. Coehlo writes a simple but powerful message in an easily accessible style and provides the readers with a glimpse of the human paradox that is the capacity to contain both dark & light in the same soul. Coehlo extends this exploration into the similarities between the collective & individual soul, and the need for the individual to rise above the evil of the collective.

The story is translated so one is never sure...more

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Aug 10, 2011 Jeff Lawlor rated it 3 of 5 stars

As with all of Paulo's books "The Devil and Miss Prym" is an excessively easy read. This observation is no criticism. I like Paulo Coelho's stuff. "The devil and Miss Prym" is just as it is advertised. It is a book about temptation and about the ongoing struggle for humanity and for our immortal souls.

There is a war being waged and this war is waged by angels and devils in an invisible world which is intertwined within and without our own. We are affected and influenced while our choices, here...more

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Jul 28, 2011 Nikki added it

A thought provoking read about humans and temptation. A story that reminds us that even the best of us can sometimes fall and the 'littlest' of us can make a difference.

Not too heavy on the philosophy - choices that are put to us simply and clearly - the final reality is that we are constantly confronted with 2 choices - it is up to us to decide which choice we want to make and what kind of control we can exercise over ourselves. There will always be an angel and a devil hovering over our should...more

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Jun 25, 2011 Chai Hao rated it 4 of 5 stars

I personally feel that this story's plot was very well written and it could be complicated, however at the same time also can be exhilarating for us readers. This story is mainly about how a stranger whose family had been murdered searched for answers to his main question: Are we humans in the essence of good or evil? This story also shows how a simple yet evil plan can change the lives of the villagers in Viscos, a place where no children or true happiness is found. Miss Prym was a normal waitr...more

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Sep 14, 2010 Eileen rated it 1 of 5 stars

I'm going to be honest...I didn't like this book one bit! I don't know if it's just that I dislike Coelho's writing style in general, the translation (Spanish), or if it's just the particular books that I have chosen to read from this author (The Alchemist).

When i read the short summary in the back of the book and also some general reviews I thought I was in for a treat about a struggle between good and evil tied in with some suspense or some drama. It had the morality struggle but I found that...more

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Jul 04, 2010 صوتٌ أبيض rated it 3 of 5 stars

الشيطان و الانسة بريم تجسيد للطبيعة الانسانية و بيان للصرائع الدائم بين الخير و الشر

اعجبتني هذه المقتطفات من الرواية :
(التحدي لا ينتظر اطلاقا،و الحياة لا تلتفت للوراء ، أسبوع واحد هو فاصل من الزمن أكثر من كافٍ لتعرف...)ج

(إذا أردت أن تنجح في عمل ما فدع عينيك مفتوحتين و ركز تفكيرك لكي تدرك تماما ما الذي تريده ، فلا أحد يصيب هدفه و هو مغمض )ر

هناك نوعان من الحمقى :أولائك الذين يعدلون عن فعل شيء لأنهم تلقوا تهديدا ، و أولائك الذين يعتقدون أنهم سيفعلون شيئا لأنهم يهددون الغير

الطريقة الأفضل لإضعاف خص...more

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About Paulo Coelho

The Brazilian author PAULO COELHO was born in 1947 in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Before dedicating his life completely to literature, he worked as theatre director and actor, lyricist and journalist. In 1986, PAULO COELHO did the pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella, an experience later to be documented in his book The Pilgrimage. In the following year, COELHO published The Alchemist. Slow in...more The Brazilian author PAULO COELHO was born in 1947 in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Before dedicating his life completely to literature, he worked as theatre director and actor, lyricist and journalist. In 1986, PAULO COELHO did the pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella, an experience later to be documented in his book The Pilgrimage. In the following year, COELHO published The Alchemist. Slow initial sales convinced his first publisher to drop the novel, but it went on to become one of the best selling Brazilian books of all time. Other titles include Brida (1990), The Valkyries (1992), By the river Piedra I sat Down and Wept (1994), the collection of his best columns published in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo entitle Maktub (1994), the compilation of texts Phrases (1995), The Fifth Mountain (1996), Manual of a Warrior of Light (1997), Veronika decides to die (1998), The Devil and Miss Prym (2000), the compilation of traditional tales in Stories for parents, children and grandchildren (2001), Eleven Minutes (2003), The Zahir (2005), The Witch of Portobello (2006) and Winner Stands Alone (to be released in 2009). During the months of March, April, May and June 2006, Paulo Coelho traveled to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella in 1986. He also held surprise book signings - announced one day in advance - in some cities along the way, to have a chance to meet his readers. In ninety days of pilgrimage the author traveled around the globe and took the famous Transiberrian train that took him to Vladivostok. During this experience Paulo Coelho launched his blog Walking the Path - The Pilgrimage in order to share with his readers his impressions. Since this first blog Paulo Coelho has expanded his presence in the internet with his daily blogs in Wordpress, Myspace & Facebook. He is equally present in media sharing sites such as Youtube and Flickr, offering on a regular basis not only texts but also videos and pictures to his readers. From this intensive interest and use of the Internet sprang his bold new project: The Experimental Witch where he invites his readers to adapt to the screen his book The Witch of Portobello. Indeed Paulo Coelho is a firm believer of Internet as a new media and is the first Best-selling author to actively support online free distribution of his work. (less)

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Quotes from The Devil and Miss Prym

“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back. A week is more than enough time for us to decide whether or not to accept our destiny.” — 1,296 people liked it

“Anyone who loves in the expectation of being loved in return is wasting their time.” — 968 people liked it

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