BOOK REVIEW: The ALCHEMIST
I recently read Paul Coelho’s ‘The Alchemist’. The very title of the book has scientific connotations. Alchemy is a science which transforms lead into gold; symbolically the book captures the transformation of dreams into reality.
The book urges to believe in dreams, personal myth. It’s a symbolic combination of medieval mysticism and the song of the desert.
The tale revolves around Santiago, the central protagonist of the book who is a shepherd. But unlike his kin’s and community members he has an earnest faith in his dreams. One night he sees a dream in which he is to find treasures in the pyramids of Egypt. He immediately sets out on a journey to find treasures embedded in the pyramids.
On his journey he meets a King, an Alchemist, the shopkeeper and a desert girl. While traveling he gets enriched with various experiences. He relates his circumstances to his shepherd’s life. Thus, Santiago’s character till this point in the plot proves to be a persona of immaculate intelligence who can decipher his past life in the light of his present.
The journey totally transforms his perspective towards things, people in particular and life in general. He realizes that the real treasure is “where your heart belongs”. The knowledge, wisdom, invaluable experience that Santiago acquires becomes his ultimate treasure.
The novel is optimistic which reaffirms the fact that “simple things are the most valuable and only wise people appreciate them”. The central philosophy of the novel is: if one really wants something to happen then the whole universe “conspires” so that h/she can achieve it. The book underscores another point though indirectly that those who do not follow their dreams are bound to feel emptiness ahead in life.
The Alchemist is a kind of book that everyone can relate to it. After all life is about dreams, aspirations and desires.
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Written by : Priyanka Chauhan
Book: The Alchemist
Author ; Paul Coelho
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4 comments:
Hello!
I'm a big fan of Paulo Coelho! You will love this! He's the first best-selling
author to be distributing for free his works on his blog:
www.paulocoelhoblog.com
Have a nice day!
Aart
hello Aart,
I am myself a very big fan of Paul Cohelho but for some reason he is considered to be a Plagiarist. And his critics have commented to an extent that content resembles self-help books. But I feel just because his style is simple direct he is made butt of unnecessary criticism. What say Aart as u seems to be a die hard fan of Paul too.
I think his critics fail to differ between what it means to inspire and advice! Self Help books advice,give point-based schedule for fixing life while Paulo Coelho's writings are far more sacred.. He explores the most inner fears of human mind and leads to the path towards solution based on our very own understanding of his text.
I have read his every book (except Brida and Valkyries) and consider him one of the most original authors about human life and its understanding.
Hello Tarun,
Welcome to my blog.
Yeah I agree with you that Paul Cohelo's writing do reflect the deepest faculty of human understanding.
Even I haven't had the chance to read Brida. The response of this book in particular hasn't been that good. Critics say that it doesn't make a good reading when compared with coelho's previous work. Well, as coelho's fans we won't mind to try this one out.....wot say?
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