From the shelf: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Title: By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept

Author: Paulo Coelho
Genre: Contemporary, Philisophy, Romance
Date read: September 23-24, 2014
Dawn Rates: ★★★★ (4/5)

Summary (cr: goodreads)

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.

My Review: (also in goodreads)

"I looked at the Other, there in the corner of the room---fragile, exhausted, disillusioned, controlling and enslaving what should really be free: her emotions. Trying to judge her future loves by the rules of her past suffering. But love is always new. Regardless f whether we love once, twice or a dozen times in our life, we always face a brand new situation. Love can consign us to hell or to paradise, but it always takes us somewhere. We simply have to accept it because it is what nourishes our existence. If we reject it, we die of hunger because we lack the courage to stretch out a hand and pluck the fruit from the branches of the tree of life. We have to take love where we find it. Even if that means hours, days, weeks of disappointment and sadness. The moment we begin to seek love, love begins to seek us. And to save us."

"If pain must come, may it come quickly. Because I have a life to live and I need to live it in the best way possible. If he has to make a choice, may he make it now. Then I will either wait for him or forget him. Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering"

Leaving one's own comfort one is always the hardest step. Leaving the things that you are used to takes time and definitely a lot of effort. But searching for the things that will make you happy and taking risks is how one should live one's life which is a very difficult thing to do. What I like about Paulo Coelho's books is his ability to write beautiful quotable excerpts and this is no exception. Living the life is knowing that one took risks in love and even if it ended badly, the consolation is that you took that risk and moved on. I especially loved Brida's cameo.

Till the next read...