The Alchemist

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭
𝐁𝐲 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥𝐨 𝐂𝐨𝐞𝐥𝐡𝐨
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐫: 𝐇𝐚𝐫𝐩𝐞𝐫
𝐏𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐚𝐜𝐤: 𝟏𝟕𝟐
𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝: 𝟏𝟕𝐭𝐡 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟓
𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐫𝐞: 𝐅𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐖𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠
𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫: 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑


Santiago's parents wanted him to be a priest, but he realized this was not what he wanted while studying in school. Santiago's father gave him money to purchase a flock of sheep since he thought being a shepherd was what he wanted to do. It gave him the chance to travel around, meet new people, and explore other towns. He had the same dream twice while traveling with his sheep. His dreams led him to a fortune teller, which led to his travels abroad. As the story begins in Spain and then switches to Santiago's journey through Africa, I was captivated by the scenery and conflict arising from each location.

I believe anyone could relate to Santiago, the main character. It's about following your heart and your life's destiny, and although it does mention religion and how God plays into it, its interpretation is very subjective. It was filled with adventure, fantasy, inspiration, and spirituality. This story may be interpreted and understood differently depending on one's cultural background.

This story had a very calming tone to it. Despite being a very short story of fewer than 200 pages, it is filled with philosophical thoughts on life and biblical references. In this story, culture and religion are woven together in a very beautiful way. Even though it's not my genre (classic), I liked it a lot and it reads very quickly. This book is very well written and equally well translated into English. It keeps you intrigued and interested, and manages to inspire you. It is more of a self-help book, but the author conveys his message, point of view, and the reason why we should all keep following our dreams through a fictional story. A story about the world's soul, and coming back to where you started, but not the same.

My Rating:

3/5

NOTE:   In this blog, the CONTENT and PICTURES are owned by Samayra Singh, and cannot be used or distributed without permission. Strict legal action will be taken against any infringement.