Product Description

A stranger arrives at the remote village of Viscos, carrying with him a backpack containing a notebook and eleven gold bars. He comes searching for the answer to a question that torments him: Are human beings, in essence, good or evil? In welcoming the mysterious foreigner, the whole village becomes an accomplice to his sophisticated plot, which will forever mark their lives.

A novel of temptation by the internationally bestselling author Paulo Coelho, The Devil and Miss Prym is a thought-provoking parable of a community devoured by greed, cowardice, and fear—as it struggles with the choice between good and evil.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13799 in Books
• Published on: 2007-04-01
• Released on: 2007-04-10
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 240 pages

Review
"Only someone Jesuit-trained could bring to Scripture the kind of coolly passionate imagination on display in Coelho's latest novel." (Philadelphia Inquirer )

"A suspenseful fable...satisfying." (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel )

About the Author

Paulo Coelho is one of the most widely read authors in the world. His books have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide, have been translated into 68 languages, and have been published in 150 countries. He was named a United Nations Messenger of Peace in 2007.

Paulo Coelho naciÓ en Brasil en 1947 y es uno de los autores con mÁs influencia de hoy dÍa. Conocido mundialmente por el bestseller internacional El Alquimista, ha vendido mÁs de 75 millones de libros en todo el mundo que han sido traducidos a 62 idiomas y publicados en 150 paÍses. Asimismo, ha recibido destacados premios y menciones internacionales como el Planetary Arts Award, el Cristal Award concedido por el Foro EconÓmico Mundial, la prestigiosa distinciÓn de Chevalier de l'Ordre National de la LÉgion D'Honneur del gobierno francÉs y el Bambi 2001 Award de Alemania. En el 2002 se convirtiÓ en miembro de la prestigiosa Academia Brasilera de Letras. A su vez, Paulo Coelho escribe una columna semanal que se publica en los periÓdicos mÁs importantes de todo el mundo.

Customer Reviews

I thought this was as good or better than the Alchemist
After reading the Alchemist (which was recommeneded to me by four people) I wanted to read more by this author. This is the best book I have read in a while! It made me reflect on human nature and will stick with me for years to come. The book explores whether people are naturally good or evil. I was drawn in from the beginning and stayed interested until the conclusion. It is a quick and thought proviking read. I then read Veronika Decides to Die. That was also a good book. I just ordered three more of his books, he is a facinating author.

Puzzled by the praise...
This book received such praise, and certainly others who have reviewed it on Amazon include such hyperbole as "THE BEST EVER!!!". I'm at a loss to understand this. The story bumps along akwardly at the beginning - the plot gears up with all the smoothness of an organ grinder just beginning to turn the crank. Once the story gets going, it really does become compelling, and the middle of the book provides much food for thought. The ending has glimpses of the profound, but is rather messily and hastily tied up and dumped at the curb. One piece of the resolution (I won't give it away) has no foundation in the many "deals" made between the two main characters - and I ripped through the pages several times trying to find the explanation I surely had missed, only to toss the book aside frustrated when I didn't find it. All in all, the author has an eye for a topic, a good idea how to frame the debate, but the story needs a lot more tightening up to really pull it off.

Entertaining but very simple
I was a big Coelho fan after reading The Alchemist, which is a simple but deep story.
Coelho writes very well, or at least the translations don't lose any of his prose, but I found the story to be a bit flat and preachy. If you have seen any Hollywood movies or read fairy tales, it is no more than they can offer. It was an easy book to read and entertaining, but did not leave me enlightened.