Horn Tooting Scale: 2 Hoots!
- 1 for being authored by Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist, etc.)
- 2nd for being a foreign novel (culture, mind-broadening)
- Concept of "the Other", that inner being who is obsessed with acquiring wealth, status, and other inessentials that do not lead to happiness, and how to resist/suppress the mutterings of the Other
- Excellent treatise on self-actualization in engaging, novel format without excessive preachiness
- Mini-history of the miracle of the vision of Mary at Lourdes
- Exploration of the feminine aspect of the divine, interesting
- Asserts that love is a help rather than a hindrance on the path to self discovery
Pilar attends a lecture being given by her childhood friend. This friend, who is now a monk, speaks on the feminine face of God and on the power of love. After the lecture, Pilar goes with him from Madrid to Seville for a second appearance, and then agrees to visit a small town in the Pyrenees with him.
Pilar slowly lets go of her preoccupation with school, study, thrift, planning for a safe retirement while still in her 20s and learns to disregard "the Other" that voice telling her to play it safe, that life is perilous. She begins to trust in herself and in God, culminating in a rainy overnight worship session at Lourdes with a group of charismatics who believe in the laying on of hands and speaking in tongues. Freed from the burden of daily cares, Pilar is free to love her friend and to decide to give up everything and work with him to bring the message of love and the feminine face of God to the world.
The mysticism was a little heavy for me, and having attended Pentecostal worship sessions, I was less charmed by the notion of speaking in tongues than the average reader might be. However, the concept of the Other, and the lesson to live in the now and trust in oneself and in others resonated with me. An excellent, thought provoking book.
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