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The Alchemist / The Pilgrimage / By The River Piedra I Sat Down And Wept
The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different, and far more satisfying, listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.
The Pilgrimage
Step inside this captivating account of Paulo Coehlo's pilgrimage along the road to Santiago. This fascinating parable explores the need to find one's own path. In the end, we discover that the extraordinary is always found in the ordinary and simple ways of everyday people. Part adventure story, part guide to self-discovery, this compelling tale delivers the perfect combination of enchantment and insight.
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
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.
Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different, and far more satisfying, listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.
The Pilgrimage
Step inside this captivating account of Paulo Coehlo's pilgrimage along the road to Santiago. This fascinating parable explores the need to find one's own path. In the end, we discover that the extraordinary is always found in the ordinary and simple ways of everyday people. Part adventure story, part guide to self-discovery, this compelling tale delivers the perfect combination of enchantment and insight.
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
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.
- GenresFiction
615 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2002
16 people are currently reading
554 people want to read
About the author
Paulo Coelho
430 books139k followersThe 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.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
April 8, 2021
There's a web page on "Speeli" which lists 14 reasons why people don't like Paulo Coelho, and if you search "I hate Paulo Coelho" you'll find plenty more. But Coelho isn't worth the hate; he's like a Brazilian Mitch Albom, a hippie-dippie, wishy-washy free-love Catholic draped in the conventions of New Age spirituality. His prose is not exquisite, nor is it crude; his plots and characters are not extraordinary, nor are they mundane. Reading a Coelho novel is like reading a light romance peppered with a collection of common religious idioms and/or proverbs ("a blessing in disguise," "salt of the earth," etc.), kind of like how Yoda would talk if he could get his syntax straight. In other words, Coelho's work is a joyous celebration of mediocrity, the Hallmark Channel of religious spirituality, the bubblegum boy band of contemporary self-help.
This Paulo Coelho collection includes three of his books including the massively popular The Alchemist. Reviews for each book below.
THE ALCHEMIST
This allegorical pop-culture phenomenon is a simple story about a shepherd who decides to chase his dreams. As literature, it's strictly in the same featherweight division as the collected works of Mitch Albom; as New-Age self-help it's somewhere along the lines of those motivational posters hanging on the walls of your dentist's office. Proceed accordingly.
THE PILGRIMAGE
Although described occasionally as a novel, The Pilgrimage is said to be an account of author Coelho's journey and spiritual awakening along the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain which led to him writing the best-seller The Alchemist. Coelho claims Christianity as his faith, although the narrative reveals a hearty portion of New Age mysticism as well. In fact, the audience most likely to be interested in this book will probably be those who enjoy books like The Celestine Prophecy, as opposed to casual readers and those who enjoyed the allegorical self-empowerment message of The Alchemist.
BY THE RIVER PIEDRA I SAT DOWN AND WEPT
Childhood friends meet again as young adults and explore concepts of love, faith, commitment, spirituality, and religion, specifically Catholicism. The narrative never gets deep enough to inspire serious thought or discussion but in 180 double-spaced pages of large print it makes a nice snack for a neighborhood book club.
This Paulo Coelho collection includes three of his books including the massively popular The Alchemist. Reviews for each book below.
THE ALCHEMIST
This allegorical pop-culture phenomenon is a simple story about a shepherd who decides to chase his dreams. As literature, it's strictly in the same featherweight division as the collected works of Mitch Albom; as New-Age self-help it's somewhere along the lines of those motivational posters hanging on the walls of your dentist's office. Proceed accordingly.
THE PILGRIMAGE
Although described occasionally as a novel, The Pilgrimage is said to be an account of author Coelho's journey and spiritual awakening along the Camino de Santiago in northern Spain which led to him writing the best-seller The Alchemist. Coelho claims Christianity as his faith, although the narrative reveals a hearty portion of New Age mysticism as well. In fact, the audience most likely to be interested in this book will probably be those who enjoy books like The Celestine Prophecy, as opposed to casual readers and those who enjoyed the allegorical self-empowerment message of The Alchemist.
BY THE RIVER PIEDRA I SAT DOWN AND WEPT
Childhood friends meet again as young adults and explore concepts of love, faith, commitment, spirituality, and religion, specifically Catholicism. The narrative never gets deep enough to inspire serious thought or discussion but in 180 double-spaced pages of large print it makes a nice snack for a neighborhood book club.
Read
February 19, 2010I had it all along. I have to search within me to find answers to life's situations.
May 17, 2008
I read both The Alchemist and The Pilgrimage in college for a psychology class. I enjoyed The Alchemist so much I have re-red the book many times over the years and even gone as far as to highlight certain sentences that had a lot of meaning behind them.
I did not enjoy The Pilgrimage as much. I was dissappointed with it after reading The Alchemist I had such high expectations. I didn't find myself as attached to the character or the book as meaningful to me at the time I read it.
I have not read By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept. I might have to check it out.
I did not enjoy The Pilgrimage as much. I was dissappointed with it after reading The Alchemist I had such high expectations. I didn't find myself as attached to the character or the book as meaningful to me at the time I read it.
I have not read By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept. I might have to check it out.
May 6, 2010
The Alchemist is my all time favourite book. I am not one to re-read books but this book I have read 3 times and I know I will read it again.
I also enjoyed both the Pilgramage and By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept particularly the latter. Well worth a read, as they are written in simple language, and they usually have a spiritual undertone that can be taken or left
I also enjoyed both the Pilgramage and By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept particularly the latter. Well worth a read, as they are written in simple language, and they usually have a spiritual undertone that can be taken or left
April 26, 2008
This is a great book to read while traveling/commuting. I did get a little confused somewhere in the middle, but it became clear later. I loved all the great one liners! If you're into philosophy or religion this is a great lite read.
September 15, 2008
This is the third time I've read this book. I reread it for a book club discussion. I really enjoyed it this time. I think it's one of those books, for me anyway, that I needed to read more than once to truly understand what it was that I was to get from this book.
April 20, 2008
The Alchemist is a wonderful story about a boy who travels from Spain to the pyramids in search of a treasure.
April 21, 2008
Awesome, just awesome. Inspiring.
May 31, 2008
The wind whisper me again "I have a dream"
September 5, 2008
Only reading "By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept"
September 23, 2008
The Heart is the compass that tells you which direction to joy, not the best route to get there or the road behind.
Read
October 16, 2008This was a great coming of age, coming of maturity, coming to know of life's important lessons book.
November 6, 2009
..wonderful..
September 23, 2010
all these books are a must read for any person searching for an answer.
January 16, 2013
My all time favorite book
Read
December 23, 2013I knew Paulo world ,by reading the Alchemist
The first appointment with his world .
I found a sentence from this book ,Then I started google it until I know his world
The first appointment with his world .
I found a sentence from this book ,Then I started google it until I know his world
May 29, 2014
Life changing book, The Alchemist!
May 31, 2021
You can find a summary about it in my blog: https://www.tamarayousefmousa.com/
December 30, 2016
El escritor brasileño, Paulo Coelho, narra la historia de un pastor andaluz que sueña con las pirámides egipcias, tras multiples señales que repiten que debe visitarlas (su leyenda personal) embarca en el viaje más grande de su vida hacia Egipto.
El pastor vende sus ovejas, primera decisión difícil, después de haber charlado con un rey. Al llegar a Marruecos es estafado por un muchacho, por lo que decide trabajar en una cristalería para recuperar el suficiente dinero para volver a casa y comprarse una oveja, pero al conseguir el dinero decide seguir su leyenda personal.
De camino a las pirámides por el desierto, conoce un inglés que dice estudiar alquimia y quien busca al alquimista más sabio para aprender de él a convertir el cobre en oro. En el desierto hay guerra y deben parar en un oasis porque es peligroso seguir su trayecto. En el oasis el pastor conoce a la mujer de su vida y al alquimista, no quiere seguir su camino, pues ya ha encontrado su mayor tesoro, Fátima. El sabio alquimista le enseñará lecciones de vida (supervivencia) y alquimia (solo la necesaria), y lo convencerá de llegar a las pirámides, pues si Fátima es su amor verdadero cuando vuelva la encontrará.
El pastor retomará su camino por el desierto junto al alquimista, enfrentando a guerreros desconfiados, y aprendiendo a hablar con el alma del mundo, para llegar hasta Egipto.
En encontrar las pirámides empieza a cavar buscando el tesoro de sus sueños, pero no encuentra nada, hasta que se da cuenta que su tesoro era simplemente ver y conocer una de las siete maravillas del mundo, Las Pirámides. Entre tantas, mientras cava unos muchacho lo asaltan y uno de ellos revela su leyenda personal sin creer en ella, su sueño sucede en una iglesia andaluza y frene a ella hay escondido un tesoro, el pastor que conoce bien las tierras andaluzas decide cumplirla por él.
Al llegar a la iglesia y cavar frente a ella encuentra un cofre repleto de riquezas, y luego vuelve con su amada al oasis.
El pastor vende sus ovejas, primera decisión difícil, después de haber charlado con un rey. Al llegar a Marruecos es estafado por un muchacho, por lo que decide trabajar en una cristalería para recuperar el suficiente dinero para volver a casa y comprarse una oveja, pero al conseguir el dinero decide seguir su leyenda personal.
De camino a las pirámides por el desierto, conoce un inglés que dice estudiar alquimia y quien busca al alquimista más sabio para aprender de él a convertir el cobre en oro. En el desierto hay guerra y deben parar en un oasis porque es peligroso seguir su trayecto. En el oasis el pastor conoce a la mujer de su vida y al alquimista, no quiere seguir su camino, pues ya ha encontrado su mayor tesoro, Fátima. El sabio alquimista le enseñará lecciones de vida (supervivencia) y alquimia (solo la necesaria), y lo convencerá de llegar a las pirámides, pues si Fátima es su amor verdadero cuando vuelva la encontrará.
El pastor retomará su camino por el desierto junto al alquimista, enfrentando a guerreros desconfiados, y aprendiendo a hablar con el alma del mundo, para llegar hasta Egipto.
En encontrar las pirámides empieza a cavar buscando el tesoro de sus sueños, pero no encuentra nada, hasta que se da cuenta que su tesoro era simplemente ver y conocer una de las siete maravillas del mundo, Las Pirámides. Entre tantas, mientras cava unos muchacho lo asaltan y uno de ellos revela su leyenda personal sin creer en ella, su sueño sucede en una iglesia andaluza y frene a ella hay escondido un tesoro, el pastor que conoce bien las tierras andaluzas decide cumplirla por él.
Al llegar a la iglesia y cavar frente a ella encuentra un cofre repleto de riquezas, y luego vuelve con su amada al oasis.
January 10, 2014
I think that Paulo Coelho is an extremely talented writer and he is, by far, my pick of all the greatest writers that I have read. I have read all of his books and I recommend 'The Valkryies', 'Brida', plus any other books written by him. The only book that I would not give 5 stars to is 'The Winner Stands Alone' because it is different from the style of writing that he normally does. While it is a good book, I did not like the ending, but as I see it, it could not have ended any other way.
June 4, 2016
The Alchemist is a must read book. It is simply written but full of meaning for everyone's life. The words: when you make a decision, you don't know how its going to turn out, will stay with me for life.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews