This is one of my all-time favorite books and I read it once a year to freshen up on the novel. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a wonderful tale about a boy who embarks on a journey and learns a valuable lesson along the way. Keep reading to find out what words of wisdom it has to offer!
The Alchemist: Summary
Santiago has a dream about a treasure and isn’t sure whether he should give up everything he has and pursue this dream. It is only a dream but he believes it may lead to better things. So he does what we all do when we aren’t sure what to do next; consult a fortune teller. This leads him to a journey where he meets a bunch of people, finds himself and learns a beautiful lesson about life.
This novel is similar to Coelho’s life and that makes you wonder what happened first; the novel or the experience? Coelho may have been inspired by his own journey that was over 500 miles that he walked to Santiago de Conpostela, a site of Catholic pilgrimage in Spain. He has said the walk invoked a spiritual awakening and inspired him to write his first novel, the Pilgrimage. in 1987, a year later, he wrote this novel.
It is hard talking about this book without spoiling it because it is allegory and people will have different interpretations of it. The book has gone on to sell over 35 million copies and is the most translated book in the world by a living author. Originally, the novel had little success but once it was translated to French, it took off.
Commentary
Santiago gets a lot of help in his journey and that is a big theme in the book. There is also “the language of the world” which means that the world will help you find your heart’s desire. A lot of spiritual themes are in the book and it is written poetically. Each reader is going to derive their own meaning from this novel which is what makes it a wonderful read.
Or the same person can read it again and get a whole different message based on what is happening in your life. As many readers know, some books can truly be appreciated during a certain age. So if you read that novel earlier then that, you will not like that novel much. But this novel is evergreen and relevant no matter what age you are.
Conclusion
Whenever I read this novel, I feel reinvigorated and want to get up and do stuff and be productive. If you need a picker-upper, then you should give this novel a try. Maybe it will inspire a new idea that might help you push forward!
Thx for reminding and encouraging me, I own this novel I just havent read it.
It’s a great read that doesn’t take that long
My attention is on easy to read. I just finished Memory Called Empire, which I enjoyed but it was a very tough read.
Looked it up and it looks interesting
I enjoyed it, it is just a difficult book to read.
I’ll give it a try one of these days
The alchemist is the first novel of coehlo. It is no doubt a remarkable book. The whole concept of spirituality and Sufi love lies at the heart of the novel. A great book that deserves to be lauded.