The Alchemist By Paulo Coelho
When people first started talking about this book, I didn’t get what all the fuss was about. It sounded like a cool fantasy story, but so what? So last week, at a loss for what to review next, my eyes landed on the text in question. I instantly knew that this was my chance to discover what all the buzz is about.
I wasn’t disappointed. Within the first chapter of the book, I knew that my initial assumption had been wrong. The Alchemist is far more than your typical fantasy story. It is a fairytale for grown-ups, combining the adventures of Santiago the shepherd boy with those critical life questions that all adults ask themselves.
Santiago has given up a traditional education in order to travel. On his journey he encounters Melchizedek, the king of Salem, who informs him of his destiny, or “Personal Legend”: to find the hidden treasure buried at the Egyptian Pyramids.
Santiago sells his flock and travels to Tangiers, Morocco, where he is robbed. Not knowing what else to do, he obtains a job with a crystal merchant. Within a year he transforms his master’s shop into a brilliant success, making enough money to return home. Instead, he joins a caravan across the Sahara in order to find the treasure.
Along the way he encounters a variety of characters and circumstances that teach him about the ways of the world – and how he fits into it all.
Coelho’s writing is understated, eloquent, and infused with the author’s personal history, making an already symbolic story even more relatable. Even though Coelho’s parents sent him to an asylum (twice) for wanting to be a writer, he stayed true to his vocation. It began with him dropping out of law school to travel, which got him into the drug culture of the 1960’s. He later dabbled in music, theatre, and magic, getting arrested before pursuing his writing career.
Readers come away with that delicious sensation of rediscovering something long-lost – perhaps the childhood belief that dreams are made to be followed.
Submitted by Alex Angst.
