The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, is billed as a modern classic, yet I find it difficult to discern why. It has the feel of a fable; from a time as hazy as the desert in which it is set, and carries the lessons on life one would expect from such a parable. The feelings of distant memory that it creates, however, fashion a gap between the book and the reader.
A boy has some dreams and goes off in search of treasure completing a spiritual journey along the way. Unfortunately, the book is a load of mumbo-jumbo - it's like reading one long cheap inspirational, Hallmark card.
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Amazon Review
Like the one-time bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Alchemist presents a simple fable, based on simple truths and places it in a highly unique situation. And though we may sense a bestselling formula, it is certainly not a new one: even the ancient tribal storytellers knew that this is the most suT
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Amazon Review
Like the one-time bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Alchemist presents a simple fable, based on simple truths and places it in a highly unique situation. And though we may sense a bestselling formula, it is certainly not a new one: even the ancient tribal storytellers knew that this is the most successful method of entertaining an audience while slipping in a lesson or two. Brazilian storyteller Paulo Coehlo introduces Santiago, an Andalucian shepherd boy who one night dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. And so he's off: leaving Spain to literally follow his dream.
Along the way he meets many spiritual messengers, who come in unassuming forms such as a camel driver and a well-read Englishman. In one of the Englishman's books, Santiago first learns about the alchemists--men who believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the "Soul of the World." Of course he does eventually meet an alchemist, and the ensuing student-teacher relationship clarifies much of the boy's misguided agenda, while also emboldening him to stay true to his dreams. "My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night.
"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies. "And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."
"I used to love this book. Not so much anymore. Still think the author has his heart in the right place. I mean, if taken as a parable, it's pretty good. It puts a more human face on these otherwise kinda bland stories, so that's a good thing, right? I suppose I'm kind of selling this book short, but... I feel disillusioned with this book. It's not terrible, just not terribly interesting to me anymore. I do feel that it deserves a place on my list if only for the fact that it encourages pe"
"“You will never be able to escape from your heart.So its better to listen to what it has to say.That way you will never have to fear an unanticipated blow.”
“People need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want.”
“Making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.”
“"Courage is the qu"
andtunez added this to a list 1 year, 8 months ago
"This is the only story by Coelho I own. I have never before felt compelled to read his work, but then I did the idiotic thing of reading the prologue about Narcissus and got the impression that the story was going to be exciting.
It wasn't!
It was a disappointment.
This is one author I'm going to keep my distance from now on. "
theboylatham posted a review 5 years, 10 months ago
“A boy has some dreams and goes off in search of treasure completing a spiritual journey along the way. Unfortunately, the book is a load of mumbo-jumbo - it's like reading one long cheap inspirational, Hallmark card.” read more
“The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, is billed as a modern classic, yet I find it difficult to discern why. It has the feel of a fable; from a time as hazy as the desert in which it is set, and carries the lessons on life one would expect from such a parable. The feelings of distant memory that it creates, however, fashion a gap between the book and the reader.
It begins with Santiago, a shepherd boy, who gives up his customs to follow a dream he has, a vision of treasure found at the Egyptian pyramids. Along the way he meets a king, a crystal merchant, an Englishman, and an alchemist; all of whom, with their passing involvement, provide him with a piece of the spiritual jigsaw that is his life. Finally, when he arrives at the Egyptian pyramids, he learns a lesson in life that brings ” read more
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