Words of Innocence and Experience

Sacred Love, eh?

Pros
This is critically acclaimed, positive message

Cons
Weak plot and characterization, very uninspiring

The Bottom Line
If you’re looking for a tear-jerking love story or a brilliant emotional journey, believe me, this book is not for you.

Set in Spain, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept describes the gradual reconstruction of a romantic relationship between a young man and a young woman. Pilar, the female protagonist, led an insipid life in the countryside like a walking corpse. One day, she received a letter in which her childhood sweetheart invited her to attend his evangelization assembly in Madrid. Out of curiosity and a burgeoning desire to see him again, Pilar accepted the offer.

Then she was astonished to learn how much he had changed over the twelve years they were apart. He was now a preacher believed to be endowed with healing power by disciples. However, after the assembly, the young man told Pilar that he had always been in love with her and convinced her to go on a trip with him for one week, in which she opened her mind for him and developed feelings for him…

For a dreamy and romantically obsessed reader as I am, the plot seemed promising to me when I started the book at first. Nevertheless, the whole book turned out to be a huge disappointment to me as I continued my reading.

Firstly, it is too religious. This is my first time to read Coelho’s work, so I’m not certain whether including religious themes is his writing style. Unfortunately, discussions about Christianity make the story inconsistent rather than accentuate the message of the book. The male protagonist, though a Christian preacher, is a firm worshiper of Virgin Mary. It is widely known that HER believers are likely to identify with romantic love, yet in the story, the male protagonist often rambles on and on about religion. I just can’t see how these talks would appeal to Pilar, a woman who has long lost her faith and only yearns for love and welfare.

The story is not particularly moving, either. Some books have simple plots, but the author’s oh-so-vivid description of human emotions, nature, disasters, or simply everyday life would stir the reader’s feelings. Conversely, the book contains none of the above features. Thus, it gets tedious sometimes since there is no specific reason that prevents the two people from falling in love, and their doubts and confusion seem to come in the middle of nowhere.

In my humble view, the story is likely to become much more lively if it were told in the male protagonist’s point of view. It would be interesting to know how his appreciation for Virgin Mary hinders him from entering a traditional theology school and how he resolves the dilemma of spreading God’s big love for the rest of his life or spending his days with the woman he loves.

Finally, the conflict near the end of the book is a bit lame. The little scene echoes the title of the book. Yet, if Pilar and the man have really come to mutual understanding and love, it is unlikely for her to fret over so petty a thing. The author’s depiction does not point out that it is about human immaturity and stupidity. In brief, the characterization is confusing at times.

Still, By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept has a positive theme, telling the reader to listen to their hearts and to venture in love. Of course, there are many other books about this particular subject. I do not see anything spectacular about this book that makes it stand out from other ones, despite the favorable response it receives from critics.

Recommended
No