Paul Coelho The Alchemist

Santiago, a young shepherd boy, spends several years traveling the countryside in southern Spain, enjoying the adventurous life of a wanderer. Santiago has a recurring dream about a child leading him to the Pyramids of Egypt. After he is told he must leave his Spanish homeland in search of a treasure at the Egyptian pyramids, he leaves all but hope behind and ventures into a world of ambitions. '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.' This book can make readers want to pursue an adventure of their very own.

Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel The Alchemist, has inspired many readers around the world. This story 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 a king, and an alchemist. These characters help Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to overcome the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find goods, turns into a discovery of the treasures found within your personal legend. Some may see this fable overworked. I disagree; I loved the messages that this book gives. This book speaks for itself in the ways of our personal legends. I was amazed and sucked into the tale, and found comparing myself to the fears, but I understood the message of following our dreams, listening to our heart, and learning to let go of fear. "Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one-day return there. Wherever your heart is, that is where you'll find your treasure. Your heart is alive. Keep listening to what it has to say." The Alchemist speaks these words of wisdom to Santiago when Santiago begins to doubt and question.

This tale is inspiring, and captivating. Santiago grows throughout the story, and in the end obtained his treasure by following his dream. The magnificent obstacles Santiago had to overcome, captured me to the point where I was inspired enough to figure out my own personal legend. To set a goal in our lives, to see what's ahead of us, to know what our personal legends are, are all important to know if we want to achieve our career or goals in life. At the first level, the story seems to be very simple, and as Coelho himself said it, "simple things are the most valuable, and only wise people appreciate them". It is by far a very complex story with very deep meanings.

One of the things suggested here, is that people who don't dare to follow their dreams, or their 'Personal Myth', will have a superficial and empty life.

In all honesty Paul Coelho's The Alchemist is not a book I would have picked up of the bookshelf as my next absorbing read but, as chance would have it my sister dropped it into my lap and said '....before you do anything else you MUST read this book - and don't forget to give me it back'!

Hmmm....so what was all the excitement about? We generally like the same books so, henceforth, it became the next book on my reading list.

I had no idea what to expect as I had never heard of Paulo Coelho before so his style of writing was new to me.

The book itself was very short, only 177 pages, and very simplictically written. It had an attractive front cover in orange and blue depicting a barechested boy with the Egyptian Pyramids in the background. A cover very symbolic to the storyline.

The book covers the journey of Santiago, a simple shepherd boy, who, feeling there is a lot more to life than his present lot, travels the world in search of his treasure and fulful his destiny. From his hometown in Spain to the sands of the desert.

Santiago has many eventful encounters along the way and each has a spiritual message within which Santiago interprets into omens to point the way ahead towards his hidden treasure. We are subsonsciously led to believe that there are no such things as coincidence but that each event has arisen for a purpose, which we need to understand if we are to heed the hidden agenda.

Paulo Coelho combines the mystical and the spiritual throughout the story in a very smooth flow of words which makes for a very easy read. I will not spoil the end of the story for those who haven't read it yet but it does leave you feeling inspirational and free. For a while after finishing the book you forget all about the 'baggage' we carry around with us and feel as free as a bird. Some people will no doubt act upon this feeling but the majority of us will just pick our 'baggage' back up and carry on as normal.

However this book affects you it does prompt you to question where your true treasure really does lie. It is worth a read if only for this thought provoking question!

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian writer and The Alchemist was translated by Alan R Clark. To date, the book has sold over 35 million copies worldwide and has been translated into 54 languages.

The book is priced at &6.99 and is available at W.H. Smith and almost all major bookshops.

Publishers: HarperCollins

ISBN Number: 0-00-715566-2