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A review by greeniezona
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept: A Novel of Forgiveness by Paulo Coelho
3.0
Years ago a good friend recommended this to me as one of her favorite books, and I'd been meaning to read it ever since, so when I finally spied it in a used bookshop, I had to snatch it up. I ended up with very mixed feelings about it.
I could see the appeal of the book, and I probably would have appreciated it more if I had read it back in college (as I suspect she did). At my current age, I was a little more resistant. Like [b:The Alchemist|18144590|The Alchemist|Paulo Coelho|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1466865542l/18144590._SY75_.jpg|4835472], it's part story of emotional journey, part religion/philosophy -- this one focuses on embracing the female aspects of the divine. Now, maybe I've just heard this message enough that it no longer feels radical, maybe I was too busy eye-rolling how much time is spent with a male character lecturing a woman on the female divine, maybe I've just drifted too far in the direction of atheism -- but I just couldn't give myself over to the ride this book wanted to take me on.
I could see the appeal of the book, and I probably would have appreciated it more if I had read it back in college (as I suspect she did). At my current age, I was a little more resistant. Like [b:The Alchemist|18144590|The Alchemist|Paulo Coelho|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1466865542l/18144590._SY75_.jpg|4835472], it's part story of emotional journey, part religion/philosophy -- this one focuses on embracing the female aspects of the divine. Now, maybe I've just heard this message enough that it no longer feels radical, maybe I was too busy eye-rolling how much time is spent with a male character lecturing a woman on the female divine, maybe I've just drifted too far in the direction of atheism -- but I just couldn't give myself over to the ride this book wanted to take me on.