By: Paulo Coelho Publisher: HarperCollins Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 208 Publication Date: May 01, 2006 Release Date: April 25, 2006 Studio: HarperCollins
Amazon.com Review: Like the one-time bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Alchemist presents a simple fable, based on simple truths and places it in a highly unique situation. And though we may sniff a bestselling formula, it is certainly not a new one: even the ancient tribal storytellers knew that this is the most successful method of entertaining an audience while slipping in a lesson or two. Brazilian storyteller Paulo Coehlo introduces Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who one night dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. And so he's off: leaving Spain to literally follow his dream.
Along the way he meets many spiritual messengers, who come in unassuming forms such as a camel driver and a well-read Englishman. In one of the Englishman's books, Santiago first learns about the alchemists--men who believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the "Soul of the World." Of course he does eventually meet an alchemist, and the ensuing student-teacher relationship clarifies much of the boy's misguided agenda, while also emboldening him to stay true to his dreams. "My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night.
"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." --Gail Hudson
Product Description: 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."
Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come.
The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist.
The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.
A disappointment ^ I'm sorry to say that The Alchemist has to be the biggest disappointment for me(when it comes to reading) in 2009. I really cannot understand what is so life changing about this story. I probably make it sound like I hated this book, that's not the case but I was just really disappointed after all the hype about this book.
Good book, short review ^ This was a great book, I read it in about two days. It's an easy read and a simple style. I got about halfway through the book before I decided to download it in Portuguese as well. Now that I'm through the English translation, I've gone back and started to read the Portuguese version. I would recommend it for anyone who speaks Portuguese as a second language, as lots of Brazilian literature is complex and hard to work through, this book is simple and to the point.
Exceeded my expectations! ^ I was very pleased, and surprised at the excellent condition of the book. It appeared brand-new. I also received 2 extra books by the same author as a bonus. I was thrilled. Thanks again!
not my style ^ Didnt it like this book, got half way through it and ive thrown it aside. Boring and predictabe. Perhaps if i was 10 id fancy it.
Bordering on Cliche ^ I'm not going to say that I don't understand the positive reviews here, because I do. This book is inspiring in the same way that a sunrise is, and that is a way that's been pointed out every day since the beginning of time.
I found this book to be a culmination of all the cheesy, so-called-encouraging "what's-meant-to-be" quotes that any distant friend gives you when you're stressed out.
As a book, I found it to be average. I was able to finish it easily, but the message was dragged. The final scene was exciting and written well, but the message was too Aesop for me.
A friend recommended it to me saying that it "changed her life." It certainly didn't change mine, and if it changes yours... I think you've been living under a rock for a while.
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