Paulo Coelho is a brazilian writer, especially known for his worldwide best seller, The Alchemist. You can recognize his novels because of his flowing style of writing, moreover his stories always have a mystical part. Indeed, he talks a lot about religion and spirituality in a very philosophical way.

   By the River Piedra is written in an internal point of view, Pilar’s one. She is an independant woman who decides to meet her childhood friend after 11 years without seeing him. He became very involved in religion and chose to dedicate his life to it. At first glance, they are very different although what unites them is their wish to change. They both go in a french village in the Pyrénées to talk and find themselves out. This story is essentially about love and their relationship.

« Happiness is something that multiplies when it is divided »

   This book was the first Paulo Coelho’s novel I’ve ever read. Before I started it, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it because of the religious side of it, but I actually liked his writing style and the fact that he explains things in a simple way makes it easy to understand everything. It is also quick to read because it is not too long. There are a lot of beautiful quotes that I loved. I personnally think this book has good life lessons and after reading it, it feels like you’ve learned a lot. That’s why I really enjoyed reading it and recommend it to anyone.