The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream by Paulo Coelho

Product Description


Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world, and this tenth anniversary edition, with a new introduction from the author, will only increase that following. This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and inspiring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of the treasures found within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #9698 in Books
Published on: 1995-05-10
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
176 pages
Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
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 sniff 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 Andalusian 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." --Gail Hudson

From Publishers Weekly
This inspirational fable by Brazilian author and translator Coelho has been a runaway bestseller throughout Latin America and seems poised to achieve the same prominence here. The charming tale of Santiago, a shepherd boy, who dreams of seeing the world, is compelling in its own right, but gains resonance through the many lessons Santiago learns during his adventures. He journeys from Spain to Morocco in search of worldly success, and eventually to Egypt, where a fateful encounter with an alchemist brings him at last to self-understanding and spiritual enlightenment. The story has the comic charm, dramatic tension and psychological intensity of a fairy tale, but it's full of specific wisdom as well, about becoming self-empowered, overcoming depression, and believing in dreams. The cumulative effect is like hearing a wonderful bedtime story from an inspirational psychiatrist. Comparisons to The Little Prince are appropriate; this is a sweetly exotic tale for young and old alike. 50,000 first printing; $50,000 ad/promo.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
YA-- This simple, yet eloquent parable celebrates the richness of the human spirit. A young Spanish shepherd seeking his destiny travels to Egypt where he learns many lessons, particularly from a wise old alchemist. The real alchemy here, however, is the transmuting of youthful idealism into mature wisdom. The blending of conventional ideas with an exotic setting makes old truths seem new again. This shepherd takes the advice Hamlet did not heed, learning to trust his heart and commune with it as a treasured friend. Enjoyable and easy to read, this timeless fantasy validates the aspirations and dreams of youth.
- Sabrina Fraunfelter, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Customer Reviews

A Trip for the Soul
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, is the first book I've read by this author. I had been reading a lot of novels as of late, and was looking for a change, and something short! The Alchemist was the best choice that I could've made.

I would not be considered a very religious, or spiritual person, and I say that because this book can be viewed at many different levels, both from a spiritual journey, a mental journey, emotional, religious, but most important, it is a travel of the mind, and soul. The story is about a Boy, who has a dream of a great treasure. At the time in his life, he is but a Shepherd, traveling the lands of southern Spain with his flock. After meeting a Gypsy and feeling he got "ripped" off, he meets the King of Salem, where he begins to understand about your own "Personal Legend."

From here the Boy begins his travels, his troubles, and quest, to reach his treasure. Along the way he meets people who understand what their Personal Legend is, but either are too afraid to pursue it, or doubt they can achieve it, and those people who never come to realize what their dreams are. The book speaks about doing what you can to reach your treasure, and never giving up.

And sometimes, you don't have to go very far to realize your treasure is right under your feet. From what I took from the book is we should look towards the future, but live in the present, and try to understand the past. I believe everyone will take something different from this book, but as I said, you don't need to be spiritual or religious to take some meaning away after reading.

Life is a journey, and how we choose to get there, either by our own will or something else's, helps us reach our treasure and Personal Legend.

fabalist fantasy fluff
It's a sweet story -- While there are some charming and encouraging ideas --- The Magical Mystery Tour component leaves one longing for majic carpets,philosopher's stone, Samanthas majical powers, Merlin's Sight, Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny and the Tooth Fairy... Compared to this - Jonathan Livingston Seagull was pretty down to Earth

Just think Happy Thoughts and you too can fly! Just like Tinkerbell! (However, I suggest vertical takeoff as opposed to jumping off a building....)

Cunningly Crafted but Actually Empty
I must confess I fell into this trap. The Alchemist seemed to me a deep parable for some 150 pages and then... I realized that I had read it all before and usually much better written. It has all the pretences of a parable while actually it boils down to the banal - the very moment you realize the banality of Coelho's observations the parable form reveals only its own emptiness and seems ridiculous.
The messages (if you really think you need to know them) are "you may look far away for something that waits for you right under your nose", "it is the road not the aim that matters" or something to that effect but certainly of equal depth. In other words it represents the same intellectual depth as Bundy Bunch or Friends. If you need to read some 200 pages of lousy prose to confirm something your grandma told you when you were three, go ahead. You have just been warned.
The book has one good quality that I can see - it is so accessible that people who generally find reading book too tiresome a task may after reading it reach the conclusion that reading is not really that difficult and move on from Coelho to literature. And for that only it deserves one single star.