*takes deep breath*
Okay , so I saw a GR update about this book and I was like yeah..!! I have read it and its a really good one but i couldnt remember the plot and everything. So I started searching for this book and for what it felt like a million years I found it and read it AGAIN.
Then I mentally slapped my brain for not remembering this book, and my brain was like -'yeah..!! Theres only one explanation for not remembering it, that the aliens must have had abducted me and wiped my memory clean'.
Just kidding (or not)

En kjedelig, cheesy, kristen-erotisk novelle

Este libro me costó mucho leerlo. Me parecó muy aburrido.

داستان هفت روز از زندگی دختری به نام پیلار که با پذیرفتن دعوت یک کنفرانس از طرف دوست دوران کودکی اش از زندگی روزمره و تکراری خودش خارج میشه و زندگی تازه ای رو شروع میکنه که سرشار از ناشناخته هاست

داستان اصلی کتاب زیادی کلیشه ای و خسته کننده بود اما جنبه ای از کتاب که برای من از جذابیت ویژه ای برخوردار بود قسمتیه که به ساختار دو قطبی خدواند و جنبه های مادینه ی او پرداخته . اینکه برخلاف باور بسیاری از مذاهب ، خداوند همزمان هم مرد هست و هم زن ، و نه فقط مرد
در این ساختار دو قطبی ، قطب مادرانه و مادینه پرورش دهنده ی عالم رویاست و به جنبه های فلسفی از قبیل عشق و هنر و لذت می پردازد و در مقابل قطب پدرانه یا نرینه که اصولا عملگراست به جنبه های تفکر و منطق گرایش دارد

این اولین کتاب از سه گانه ی"در روز هفتم" هست که توسط كوئيلو نوشته شده و به نظرم نسبت به موضوع و زمان نوشته شدنش زیاد هم کتاب بدی نبود

I'm not entirely sure this was the best Coelho to start with, as this story wasn't straightforward in the sense of it making much sense. (I know what I mean.) The writing was creative and the words were sometimes beautiful, just like a few decorative bows had placed, mostly little and often. I wouldn't say this enthralled me, but I was entertained.

If we let it, the book teaches about the power of love, and what sacrifices a person can make for that, and in the case of this book, it was religion. I'll admit that I was slightly moved by a few select scenes, but nothing earth shattering. I felt like the author held back, and I was waiting for elaboration.

This wasn't a disappointment by any means, but it just didn't tick all my boxes. (I own a lot.)


“By the River Piedra I sat down and wept. There is a legend that everything falls into the waters of this river – leaves, insects, the feathers of bird – is transformed into the rocks that make the riverbed. If only I could tear out my heart and hurl it into the current, then my pain and longing would be over, and I could finally forget.”

Palabra que resume este libro: bodrio.
De verdad me dieron ganas de llorar por el árbol cuyas hojas habían sido desperdiciadas para imprimir este texto mal escrito, mal redactado y con ideas completamente fuera de contexto racional.
Este es uno de los dos únicos libros que he tirado a la basura.

دختری روستایی که برای شرکت در سخنرانی عشق دوران کودکیش در یک مهمانی به سفری یک هفته ای میره و در این یک هفته که با عشق کودکیش سپری می کنه متوجه میشه که عشقش خودش رو وقف زندگی روحانی کرده و زندگیش دچار تحولاتی میشه .
اثار معروف آقای کوئیلو سطح توقع بالایی در خواننده ایجاد میکنه که ممکنه کتاب فوق توقع خواننده رو نتونه برطرف کنه ولی در کل کتابیه که ارزش مطالعه رو داره و تجربیات یه آدم متفاوت در جامعه رو نشون میده.

“To love is to lose control.”

Hm, this is a strange and hard one to review.
On the one hand, there is no plot, barely anything happens at all.
Yet on the other the writing is so lyrical, so peaceful, and tackles such interesting and important topics that it kept me reading.

Pilar is invited to a seminar by an old friend. Their reunion strikes a chord and changes them both. They travel together across parts of Spain and France, discussing life, love, faith and spirituality.
A lot of the focus is on Christian ideas, but there are also plenty of other forms of spirituality included.
At times it really made me stop and think, and the writing took me away from myself and into another world, a simpler world where faith is easier and the people are kinder.
Overall I did enjoy it, I liked some of the different ideas included - a major one being God portrayed as a woman, or ‘the mother'; a lot of interesting stuff. Reckon I’ll keep this one to reread someday as I’m sure there was plenty that I missed or went over my head.

“Love can consign us to hell or to paradise, but it always takes us somewhere.”

3.5 stars

Editado el 18/07/2016
Me pregunto si parte del título lo tomo prestado de acá.
------
"La Bola en la Ingle" tiene más trama que esto.

That was actually a very good read. :) I think I'm starting to like Coelho. Hahaha. Sincerely, a Sparks enthusiast. It was a very light-read, and I just felt so at ease while reading it. The beginning parts of the book already caught my interest a lot, and often I was at the edge of my seat waiting for what's gonna happen next in the little love story between the main characters.

I would like to share this very tiny part in the book, that really amused me.

~~~~
"Tell me what you know about the religious life, my child."

"Very Little. Only that the priests take a vow of poverty, chastity and obedience."...."That they threaten us with the fires of hell for mistakes that they themselves make. And they present God to us as a vengeful being who blames man for the death of His only Son."

The padre laughed. "You've had an excellent Catholic education." he said. "but I'm not asking you about Catholicism. I'm asking about the spiritual life."
~~~~
:))

I've only had Nicholas Sparks books before in getting my own fix of love/romance novels, so it's kinda nice and refreshing to see how Coelho does it. This is definitely a book I would love to re-read every now and then. :)

A ja usiadłam nad tą książką i zgłupiałam.
I do tej pory nie za bardzo wiem, co autor miał na myśli.

Moja wersja w wielkim skrócie wygląda tak: dwójka przyjaciół z dzieciństwa spotyka się po latach i gada o Matce Boskiej. Facet chyba ma być księdzem, ma dar uzdrawiania ludzi, a kobieta nie zabrała ze sobą na tę wycieczkę żadnego ubrania na zmianę i chodzi w jednym. Później uprawiają seks, więc chyba mu ta monotonia konfekcyjna nie przeszkadzała. Czy będą ze sobą, czy może jego powołanie do kapłaństwa okaże się silniejsze? Nie wiem, nie obchodzi mnie to.

P.S. U nas też młodych kleryków wystawia się na próbę, żeby przed święceniami kapłańskimi dobrze się zastanowili nad wyborem drogi życiowej. Nazywa się to piesza pielgrzymka na Jasną Górę, a czynnikiem nacisku są młode panny w niej uczestniczące :)
2/10

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.