"Spirit Brides," or "Brides of the Meadows" is a collection of three short stories, beautiful expressions of Gibran's beliefs, ethics, and mystical ideas. My review may have what some consider to be spoilers because I reveal some content, but I would say that I spoil nothing because it is all about the sentiment of the stories and not their details.
The first, "The Ash of Centuries and the Immortal Flame" tells a tale of two lovers who are torn apart by death, but are then reunited in completely different lives almost two thousand years later. It's a beautiful mystical thing about the transcendence of love.
The second story, "Marta al-Baniyah," explores how women, especially the poor, are exploited by rich men. In this one he gets to speak beautiful words to a dying woman about the inherent beauty of a her soul despite her life as a prostitute and her own opinion of herself as a depraved creature. Here Gibran reveals a lot of his belief and shows his stance firmly on the side of the poor.
"Yuhanna the Madman" is the ultimate story in the set, and is not about a man who actually lost his mind. It rather tells of a young man Yuhanna who read the New Testament despite the Church forbidding the poor of that day from reading scripture. A poor shepherd, he one day got in trouble with the monks at the nearby monastery of Elisha after his flock damaged the vineyard a little bit. They maliciously cornered Yuhanna about it and said he had to pay them for the damage, and asked far too much so that he was unable to pay. Yuhanna, righteously angry at these hypocrites who lived in wealth and extorted the poor who they were supposed to minister to, takes this opportunity to throw down about the merciful teachings of Christ. The monks are fools, though, and imprison him, only to release him when his mother gives them her only piece of jewelry, an heirloom that she received from her own mother on her wedding day. Later on, Yuhanna publicly speaks before the people on a Holy Day, decrying the hypocrisy of those thieves in words that would move mountains with their strength and solid stance in the true nature of Christ's teaching. Nevertheless, the church ridicules him and labels him a madman and lost soul, pushing aside his criticisms. The tale ends with him sitting alone, saying "you are many, and I am alone, so say whatever you like about me and do whatever you want with me. For the wolves devour the ewe in the dark of night, but the stains or her blood remain on the pebbles of the valley till the dawn arrives and the sun rises."
Needless to say, it is a chilling criticism on organized religion and the way society at large misunderstands those who are truly inspired. Overall I say it is all well worth the read, especially if you already love Gibran because you have read one of his more known works.