The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho

Title: The Devil and Miss Prym

Author: Paulo Coelho

Publisher: Harper Perennial (US)

Rating: 4 Stars

Like Kay-c had mentioned before, I am a fan of Paulo Coelho. It started with The Alchemist; By The River of Piedra I Sat Down and Wept disappointed me a bit, but I rediscover my love again after I read this book. This is an old release, but I re-read it awhile ago and still loving it.

It tells story about a strange man who comes to a small remote village up on the mountain. He came to Chantal Prym, a young lady who work in an inn - hoping to find a ticket to leave her village - a once in a lifetime proposal. This strange man claim that he already bury lots of gold in the forest near the village and will gives the gold to the villagers if they g willinto kill one of them.

In this story, the strange man work as devil, seducing Chantal with a way to end her monotonous lives. But to get that she must willing to sacrifice all the values and norm she believes. What will happened? Will she and the villagers surrender to the temptation and kill an innocent person? Or will they refuse it?

I really like this story; the battle between evil and goodness presented in a very neat way. It's not about super nice protagonist against super bad antagonist. It's about a normal man who had lost everything and willing to burn the world with him tempting a normal girl who lives in a dying village with a change of a lifetime. Not the 'change of lifetime' like most people would think though. I guess 'the bigger the price the higher the stake' is a correct phrase for this story.

Some people often said 'I would kill someone just to have it', but then again how many people actually brave/crazy (because the line between bravery and craziness is thin) enough to do that?

Lynossa

The Devil and Miss Prym by Paulo Coelho