Book review -- The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
My most recent expedition into the realm of fiction was the reading of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. A friend of ours lent it to my wife, and of course, if there is a book lying around, I have to pick it up and read it. This time, my spending the time on this fairly short novel paid off handsomely.
This is a book one could perhaps compare to The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupèry . The richness of their story telling while keeping the language simple, the imagery, the clear lessons given, the heavy emphasis on finding one's true treasure, and listening with one's heart are all common themes between these two beautiful books.
The story itself is as follows (not to worry, I will not give away enough of the story for anyone to think there is no more need to read the real book): Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who one night dreams of a distant treasure near the Egyptian pyramids. He leaves Spain to literally follow his dream, and along the way he meets many spiritual messengers. Santiago learns about the alchemists--men who believe that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what would be left is the pure "Soul of the World". Of course, he does eventually meet a real alchemist, and the ensuing student-teacher relationship clarifies much of the boy's misguided agenda, while also emboldening him to always stay true to his dreams. "My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," Santiago confides. "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." The treasure will be found in a strange twist that I will not spoil for those who will want to read this rewarding book.
Through dreams, symbols, signs, and adventure, Coelho's book speaks about growing up, not about remaining childlike, like the hero of The little prince. Santiago has to peel away his immature fantasies about the treasure and immerse himself in the spirit of the world. The spirit that speaks through everyone and everything. One just has to learn listening to its voice and understanding the meaning. Once one put himself or herself in complete harmony with the way of nature, of the world spirit, one can realize that: "when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true".
Rating (out of 5): *****
My most recent expedition into the realm of fiction was the reading of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. A friend of ours lent it to my wife, and of course, if there is a book lying around, I have to pick it up and read it. This time, my spending the time on this fairly short novel paid off handsomely.
This is a book one could perhaps compare to The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupèry . The richness of their story telling while keeping the language simple, the imagery, the clear lessons given, the heavy emphasis on finding one's true treasure, and listening with one's heart are all common themes between these two beautiful books.
The story itself is as follows (not to worry, I will not give away enough of the story for anyone to think there is no more need to read the real book): Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who one night dreams of a distant treasure near the Egyptian pyramids. He leaves Spain to literally follow his dream, and along the way he meets many spiritual messengers. Santiago learns about the alchemists--men who believe that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what would be left is the pure "Soul of the World". Of course, he does eventually meet a real alchemist, and the ensuing student-teacher relationship clarifies much of the boy's misguided agenda, while also emboldening him to always stay true to his dreams. "My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," Santiago confides. "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." The treasure will be found in a strange twist that I will not spoil for those who will want to read this rewarding book.
Through dreams, symbols, signs, and adventure, Coelho's book speaks about growing up, not about remaining childlike, like the hero of The little prince. Santiago has to peel away his immature fantasies about the treasure and immerse himself in the spirit of the world. The spirit that speaks through everyone and everything. One just has to learn listening to its voice and understanding the meaning. Once one put himself or herself in complete harmony with the way of nature, of the world spirit, one can realize that: "when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true".
Rating (out of 5): *****
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