Do you like fictional books that explore the theme of inward journey of a human being? Then this book review of The Alchemist will tell you exactly why The Alchemist is a great read.
“When you really want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
This is what The Alchemist is about.
Originally a Portuguese novel, translated in English has been written beautifully by Paulo Coelho. The book talks about the internal journey of a man and his choice of acknowledging his own destiny.
The Story
The protagonist of the book is a young Andalusian shepherd named Santiago. He is in his teen years and is a shepherd because he loves to travel to different places and meet new people. Believing that his recurrent dream is some kind of prophecy, he ends up going to a gypsy lady who tells him that his dream is about a hidden treasure in the Pyramids of the Egypt. The boy first doesn’t believe it but then he comes across a king, the king of Salem who tells him about destiny and principle of favourability. To make the boy realise about his dream and destiny, the king writes some things about the boy in the sand with a stick, the things which the boy had never told anybody. He starts trusting the king and takes his advice of going to Egypt.
After selling all his sheep, he starts his journey and reaches Egypt but is miles away from the pyramids. However, he gets robbed and loses all hopes of crossing desert and reaching the pyramids and so he starts working at a crystal shop to earn his daily bread and butter. He works for a year and learns a lot about life in that one year. He is about to leave for his hometown when he remembers that king had told him to never give up. This is how he regains all the hope, starts believing in omens and intuitions and thus his journey towards his treasure begins. During the journey he finds true friends and love which metaphorically tell us about the freedom in love and understanding in friendship. His journey towards the pyramids; towards his treasure in turn becomes an inward journey of knowing himself and his soul.
About the Protagonist
The protagonist, Santiago has been portrayed in a perfect way. In the start he is shown as a naive boy who gradually becomes mature and grows as a person during his journey towards the treasure. The flashbacks of his life are perfectly placed in the story which lets the reader connect with his life and also doesn’t ruin the flow of the present life of the boy. The other supporting characters are also perfect who help in completing the story in a very dramatic way.
My Favourite Part
My favourite part of the story is when Santiago meets his true love, Fatima who unlike the other girl characters supports Santiago in finding his treasure by letting him go. She tells him that she will wait for him and will look at the desert with hopes. My other favourite part of the story is its stirring end.
Writing Style
The writing style is also very convincing. The book has a very simple language and can be understood by anyone. The setting of the incidents in the book mostly takes place in the Sahara Desert which the boy has to pass to get to the pyramids. The other places are open grounds of Andalusia, the place called Tarifa, the crystal shop; where the boy was originally working and the oasis in the desert. The writing style makes it possible for the reader to imagine scenes vividly and effectively.
The book is recommended for the people who believe in signs given by nature and spiritualism. Spending time with this book is completely worth it!
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