The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptation

by Paulo Coelho (Goodreads author!)

published	2006 by HarperCollins
binding	Hardcover
isbn	0060527994 (isbn13: 9780060527990)
pages	224
description	A community devoured by greed, cowardice, and fear. A man persecuted by the ghosts of his painful past. A young woman searching for happiness. In one eventful week, each will face questions of life, death, and power, and each will choose a path. Will they choose good or evil? ...more [close] A community devoured by greed, cowardice, and fear. A man persecuted by the ghosts of his painful past. A young woman searching for happiness. In one eventful week, each will face questions of life, death, and power, and each will choose a path. Will they choose good or evil? In the remote village of Viscos -- a village too small to be on any map, a place where time seems to stand still -- a stranger arrives, carrying with him a backpack containing a notebook and eleven gold bars. He comes searching for the answer to a question that torments him: Are human beings, in essence, good or evil? In welcoming the mysterious foreigner, the whole village becomes an accomplice to his sophisticated plot, which will forever mark their lives. Paulo Coelho's stunning novel explores the timeless struggle between good and evil, and brings to our everyday dilemmas fresh perspective: incentive to master the fear that prevents us from following our dreams, from being different, from truly living. The Devil and Miss Prym is a story charged with emotion, in which the integrity of being human meets a terrifying test.
date added	12-05-06 edit book

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topics	replies	last activity
Paulo Coelho Group	1	10/23/2007 04:01AM
Characters (The Devil or The Stranger, Miss Prym and Old Bertha) ?!	0	03/31/2008 11:03PM

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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 2417)

Adora rated it:

(review of isbn 0000000001)

11/29/07

bookshelves: fiction, paulo-coelho

به نقل از سایت انتشارات کاروان
سایت رسمی پائولو کوئلیو به زبان فارسی
غریبه، شانتال‌ پریم‌ را انتخاب‌ می‌کند تا ثابت‌ کند انسان‌ ذاتاً شر است. پیشنهاد بیگانه‌ می‌تواند برای‌ همیشه‌ سرن�...more

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Danielle rated it:

02/26/08

Read in February, 2008

"When you least expect it, an earthquake throws up a range of mountains."

"She had just realized there were two things that prevent us from achieving our dreams: believing them to be impossible or seeing those dreams made possible by some sudden turn of the wheel of fortune, when you least expected it."

"There are two kinds of idiots - those who don't take action because they have received a threat and those who think they are taking action because they have issued...more

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Serge rated it:

10/15/07

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in September, 2007

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 d...more

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Anne rated it:

01/26/08

Read in January, 2008

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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Amy rated it:

05/01/08

Read in December, 2007

community devoured by greed, cowardice, and fear. A man persecuted by the ghosts of his painful past. A young woman searching for happiness. In one eventful week, each will face questions of life, death, and power, and each will choose a path. Will they choose good or evil? In the remote village of Viscos -- a village too small to be on any map, a place where time seems to stand still -- a stranger arrives, carrying with him a backpack containing a notebook and eleven gold bars. He comes search...more

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Lara rated it:

01/26/08

Read in August, 2007

This small book is densely packed with thought-provoking, soul-searching ideas. The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptation is part of a triology by Paul Coelho, "On the Seventh Day". In each of the three books in the trilogy, Coelho presents a parable which explores aspects of the human condition over a one week time period in the characters' lives. The other two books are Veronika Decides to Die: A Novel of Redemption and By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept: A Novel of Forgive...more

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Somayeh rated it:

09/28/07

جهان پر از وعده است.... بعضی فکر می کنند می توانند وعده هر چیزی را بدهند، دیگران هر وعده ای را که روزگار بهتری را برای آنها تضمین کند می پذیرند.
می توان گفت نیکی و بدی یک چهره دارند، همه چیز بستگی دارد که هر کدام کی سر راه انسان قرار بگیرند.
نقش یک روح نیکوکار را بازی کردن فقط کار �...more

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Rebecca rated it:

06/22/07

bookshelves: 1001, fiction

Read in August, 2006

Once again, Coelho deftly uses his gifts as a storyteller to delve into the meat of the human condition. This “novel of temptation” is in the same vein as Coelho’s The Alchemist, wherein he uses a simple narrative technique to approach some very difficult questions.
Although one might think it would be impossible to explore good vs. evil without a certain amount of rhetoric, Coelho’s approach is fresh and does not resort to the usual cliches. The heroine does not shine and the ...more

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James rated it:

(review of isbn 0060528001)

04/14/08

I'd like to think that if Person #1 picked Person #2 at random from deli where all the meat has gone rancid causing a permanent and horrifying version of mental retardation, and said to them "The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Redemption....write a book about it." The drool-encrusted dullard could write this exact same book before the sickly-sweet smell of decaying pastrami and left his breath.

If you can't figure out what's coming next (almost down to the exact verbage) in this...more

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Coral rated it:

(review of isbn 0060528001)

05/03/08

bookshelves: 1001

Read in April, 2008

The premise of the book seemed interesting. So many people have praised the book as an absolute must-read. My two cents? It's okay. Personally, if I'm going to read a book about the devil coming to town and the struggle between "good" and "evil" that occurs within each person, I'd much rather read The Master and Margarita.

The narrative in The Devil and Miss Prym is a bit slow in the beginning, stumbl...more

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Yahya rated it:

04/08/07

Read in January, 2004

در عجبم که ملت از چه چیز این کتاب تهی خوششان آمده؟ کل داستان عبارت است از اینکه یک آدم داغدیده عقده ای، برای اینکه مردم به یقین برسد که همه ذاتشان پلید است، به مردم ده پول می دهد تا یک پیرزن بی خاصیت را بکشند. بعد مردم ده ثابت می کنند که آدمهای قاتلی هستند، ولی یک دختر بی حیایی ای�...more

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Brook rated it:

(review of isbn 0060528001)

05/15/07

bookshelves: parables

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in May, 2007

recommends it for: Those who enjoy pontificating on the big ideas, especially in the form of many small parables.

This book was a result of spending far too much time at the airport on a frustratingly long and troublesome day of travel. After looking through the spare selection of books, this was the clear choice. I generally love South American writers and I'd been interested in Paolo Coelho for a while. Fortunately, the book came at a time when I've been thinking about my own demons, so the tales within the tale felt relevant to me. I carefully thought over each parable in context while good and evil rema...more

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Angie rated it:

01/23/08

Read in January, 2008

The Devil and Miss Prym is a book about good vs. evil, and how they can inhabit us simultaneously, but ultimately we have to make the choice of which will win out. There are number of things that will get you thinking in this book, like why do bad things happen to good people, and like Job, does God allow us to be punished to prove a point? This book is very relevant in today's age of endless wars and the innocent victims that ultimately end up sacrificing the most, but they can be the one's tha...more

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snack rated it:

08/08/07

bookshelves: brazil, fiction, spiritual-religious

Read in August, 2007

interesting story of good versus evil. there is a slant towards the idea of people choosing good simply out of fear of punishment or judgement, etc.

i don't necessarily agree. i agree that most people don't stand up for what they truly believe in; that they do not act when they really feel they should, but instead sit back and let events occur (or not) because they are unable to stand up to injustice or whatever. i would like to believe that one can be good for the sake of good - simply be...more

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Santh rated it:

(review of isbn 0754074110)

09/25/07

bookshelves: world_fiction

Read in January, 2007

di sebuah desa terpencil - Viscos - seorang asing datang dan membawa 11 batang emas. dia tinggal di sebuah hotel dimana salah satu pelayannya adalah Chantal Prym. lelaki asing tersebut datang mencari jawaban atas pertanyaan yang menyiksanya - apakah manusia pada hakikatnya baik atau jahat - yang didasarkan pada pengalaman paling pahit yang terjadi dengan keluarganya.
dengan pemicu emas-emas batangan tersebut terjadi pergulatan antara cahaya dan kegelapan yang terjadi dalam jiwa masing-masing ma...more

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Eva rated it:

10/07/07

bookshelves: top5

Read in October, 2007

recommends it for: Everyone

Just finished reading the novel and as always Paolo Coelho left me with such a high-spirit of enlightened hope for the human race wherein we all belong. I always take Coelho's writings in the literary level, such as the Bible itself. Never that religious, I am a non-practicing Catholic, but I believe in the Good and the Evil and that in the end the Good always prevails. Coelho's focal point in most, if not all of his novels is the drama of the human life. The struggle within, to become good and ...more

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Ali6 rated it:

05/11/08

Read in August, 2006

Very interesting. I enjoy Coelho's writing style, although his books get somewhat "preachy" at times for my taste. Still, I enjoy his books and his plots are always fascinating.

Main points I found interesting about this one:
1) Is it possible to make people abandon their morals if the reward is large enough?

2) Our choice in our attitude toward life can affect reality. We have the power to affect the direction of our lives and decisions.

Favorite quotes:
"Even the mos...more

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Sheila rated it:

04/11/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in April, 2008

A fable set in a small village in Latin America, the Devil and Miss Prym does not live up to the jacket flap summary. Though not boring, it is so simply written that I wanted it to be twice as many pages (it runs only 204 pages). I learned very little about the motives and lives of the people involved. Why all the men of the village (173 men) would vote to murder an old woman for money. I live in a small town of equal size, and I doubt all of men here could agree on anything, much less murde...more

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Tony added it

03/28/08

I wound up reading this because his better known book, the Alchemist, wasn't available at my local library and I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about. I'm still waiting.

Lots of parables. Very little story. A lack of beautiful writing.

I'm sure the book fills a void for people who need to be reassured there is *good* in the world and need to be told so in fables, but this book isn't a good substitute for the bible and I'm not a religious man.

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Nuke rated it:

01/04/08

bookshelves: sudah-dibaca

Ini buku kedua yang kubaca/kumiliki dari Paulo Coelho. Mungkin karena ekspektasi setelah The Alchemist cukup tinggi, membaca buku ini menimbulkan sedikit kecewa. Entah kenapa esensi hakikatnya terasa hambar. Aku hanya menangkap unsur psikologis karakter yang coba diangkat oleh PC kental di sini. Tapi masih terasa kalah -misal- dengan kesan yang aku tangkap dari Dataran Tortila-John Steinbeck.

Still -meski samar2 aku ingat- cerita Paulo Coelho selalu menarik tuk dibaca, termasuk yang satu ini (...more

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