The Alchemist

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." --Gail Hudson

Product Description
My Heart Is Afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky."Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."

Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come.

The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist.

The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.

Just as I hated Jonathan Livingston Seagull when I was a teenager, I hate this book now! No, hate is too strong a word for this piece of insignificant and shallow tripe. In every generation along comes an over-hyped meditation which is nothing more than New Age, melange-religion twaddle. And this is the one for now.

And it's way over-priced.

Disappointingly, it's by the author of one of my favourite books of the past couple of years (Veronika Decides To Die) .

Personal Legends sound like some of advertising industry hype for the latest inspiration for how You Too Can Be President, or how You Too Can Win A Gold Medal at the Olympics.

But when I got to this nonsense on page 80: "Everything on earth is being continuously transformed, because the earth is alive....and it has a soul. We are part of that soul, so we rearely recognize that it is working for us. But in the crystal shop you probably realized that even the glasses were collaborating in your success", I just exploded in laughter. God, Allah and Crystals.

As a woman this book says absolutely nothing to me: "The desert was full of men who earned their living based on the ease with which they could penetrate to the Soul of the World. They were known as seers, and they were held in fear by women and the elderly." (p 103). Probably those other weaklings, children as well, though that is not specified. But there is a role for women - waiting around the oasis for their men to either return or hearing they have been killed. Grand! Just what I've been wanting to know - it's transformed my life! The most profound insight yet known to Man. Come, on pull the other leg!

If I want to go looking for The Philosopher's Stone, I think I'll choose Harry Potter as my companion!


New Age Blather   December 21, 2000
Joe Dew (Daly City, CA USA)
80 out of 99 found this review helpful

The most mysterious part of this book is its popularity. I understand that it's a simple fable and I'll even grant the "follow your heart" message may be a virtuous pursuit. But the manner in which this message is delivered is tortuous. The characters are passive and hollow and the plot is so contrived as to render the story ridiculous. Instead of having to resolve significant conflicts himself, Santiago floats through the story guided by a sequence of serendipitously fortuitous events. Coelho attributes this to the "universe conspiring" to help him attain his Personal Legend. I attribute this to weak writing.

The underlying message of this book is also troubling. Rather than finding happiness in the journey itself, it suggests that salvation lies in attaining one's Personal Legend--in this case material wealth. The implicit flip-side of this lesson is that if you don't reach your goals, you're either not trying hard enough or not following your "true calling" -- when in reality one's failure is more often attributed to a bunch of external factors over which one has no control.

Those who find this book inspirational probably also find wisdom in fortune cookies and horoscopes.


A Powerful Parable   June 21, 2006
Kevin Joseph (McLean, VA United States)
75 out of 87 found this review helpful

More parable than novel, "The Alchemist" uses the story of young shepherd Santiago's search for his Personal Legend as an allegory for everyman's struggle to break from the comfortable confines of conformity and pursue his life dreams. Along the way, of course, our young everyman is beset by all manner of setbacks, testing his resolve and forcing him to become attuned to the Soul of the World in order to survive. By paying attention to the details in the world around him, which serve as omens guiding him towards his goal, young Santiago becomes an alchemist in his own right, spinning unfavorable circumstances into riches.

Aside from the ubiquitous theme about the power of perseverance, my favorite part of the book was its glorification of simplicity. Like the pared-down manner in which the story is presented, Santiago's rare ability to get in touch with the Soul of the World comes not from the procedures described in arcane tomes pursued by traditional alchemists, but rather from a simple honesty and observance of the workings of the world. While the lack of character or plot complexity precludes this minimalist work from being considered a great novel, it will be a satisfying read for those seeking inspiration of the purest sort.

-Kevin Joseph, author of "The Champion Maker"