the alchemist book review

the alchemist book review

The Alchemist Book Review

1. Introduction

“The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho is the book that I have been reading for the last 2 months. I can now say that I am more than certain that this could be the best work of literature out there. It has been an international bestseller, translated into 56 languages. With the reading of this book, you are able to embark on a journey of self-fulfillment. This powerful tale will amaze anyone who reads it, just like it has amazed me. That is the reason I am writing a review on it today, to persuade you to read it and change as a person for the better. People have forgotten how to listen to their heart’s love, and “The Alchemist” gives hope and courage. It will build your dreams, and destiny has reserved something for you. Fulfilling your dreams will come at a great price, and Coelho gives the wisdom of the ages with the symbolism and philosophy that you will be able to understand and relate to. His message will improve anybody’s life and add to a person’s knowledge and understanding of life.

In the following, we will look at a persuasive tone focusing on delivering information and explaining concepts. The goal should be to convert the readers, so keep this in mind every time you produce content that involves the use of words. Good content will help deliver the desired conclusion. A persuasive tone is the best tone to adapt when aiming to achieve the desired objective and needs to be able to make the readers believe you. This type of content is also about creating desire, a way of making the reader feel that they really need this. Creating interest by using questions, testimonials, and showing benefits is necessary. This style of content should also leave limited options for questions.

2. Summary of The Alchemist

A boy (Santiago) is a shepherd in Andalucia. One night he dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. Then he dreams of an old king telling him to go to Egypt. He feels that he is destined (Personal legend). A gypsy tells him to go to the pyramids after selling 60 sheep, but to get half of the treasure. An old man claiming to be king of Salem tells him to go into Egypt. He sells his flock and goes to Africa. His journey ends quickly at a place called Tangiers. He is swindled out of his money from a thief pretending to be helpful. Santiago works for a crystal merchant for a year. He makes the merchant very wealthy, and during the year Santiago has been trying to the best of his ability to reach his dream. He ultimately decides that going to Egypt is too important and leaves the merchant. He joins a caravan leaving for Egypt. At Al-Fayoum Santiago meets the Englishman who is travelling through the desert in search of a 200-year-old alchemist, who can turn any metal into gold. The Englishman and Santiago take the rest of the journey together. When they finally reach an oasis, the tribal wars in the desert make the camel caravan turn back. The alchemist that the Englishman was searching for finds Santiago and takes him on as a student. The alchemist teaches Santiago to listen to his heart and personal legend and helps Santiago realize what he must do to pursue it. During this time Santiago falls in love with an Arabian girl named Fatima, to whom he proposes marriage in the future. He realizes at the oasis his treasure is not something material but is Fatima. When he sees that invading forces are nearing the oasis, Santiago tells the elixir that he has seen in his dream about his Personal Legend and is forced to test it at the pyramids so he could turn into wind and destroy an oncoming military threat at the oasis.

3. Themes and Messages

Santiago learns another lesson about the existence of fate in the form of the crystals. He is seeking assurance from the king about his current journey to the pyramids and seeks his counsel in regards to the dangerous trip ahead. The king, seeing Santiago’s love for the simple things in life, pokes fun at his expense to read the future by way of the crystal and then instructs Santiago to take two of his sheep and go to the castle where he would receive his answer.

Guideline 1, a persuasive tone implies the reader considers the book’s themes and messages as they could apply to their own lives. From page one till the end, The Alchemist constantly points out how some of our repeated actions can be harmful or beneficial. This can be summed up with one of Melchizedek’s earliest quotes: “When you want something, the universe has conspired to help you achieve it.” This quote presents an idea that whatever is held in the hearts of those seeking change will eventually come to them, even against their own personal will. The boy throughout the novel continues to bring this message up in the most dire of situations, hoping to find relief in the fact that he is destined for greater things.

4. Analysis and Critique

In the third point, I’ll try to analyze the character of Santiago or the people whom the story is about. According to Engdahl, Santiago is a simple country boy with an Andalusian accent. He is a typical person with a simple life and knows nothing about the world. With strong determination and persistence, he tries to pursue his treasure of life. I’ll emphasize his determination and wisdom gained through his journey. This will give us an illustration to follow the right way to pursue our dreams. And in the last point, we can evaluate this novel as a whole, considering the moral story contained in it and the literary aspects. We will assess whether they are easy to be understood by the readers and what kind of incitement they will get.

It can be taken in several parts to do analysis and critique on works of literature. By analyzing the story plot, where the main character tries to fulfill his “Personal Legend” and the forces that work against him. By doing this, I hope we will find what makes this novel acceptable in terms of the story. Then, in the second point, I’ll try to analyze this novel from the side of philosophies contained in The Alchemist. This is very important because Coelho writes this novel based on his own vision about the happiness of life. I hope that with this analysis, we can find some conclusions about how old philosophies can be modified into a simple and popular way but still leave an impression.

5. Conclusion

Another reason that I really enjoyed this book is the truth and message that is possessed by Coelho’s writing. There are numerous lessons that can be taken from reading ‘The Alchemist’. One of the most important, however, is to follow your dreams wholeheartedly. With hard work and dedication, your life will be fulfilling and form the way you have always envisioned. The most unfortunate thing in life is to not live life to the fullest and have constant ‘what ifs?’. This book serves as motivation and a testament that anyone has the potential to achieve greatness, as long as the person does not give up on their dreams. This is an important lesson and is taught all throughout the book. Who does not like reading a good story that can also inspire and teach valuable life lessons at the same time? This is often hard to come by in literature. Most stories that possess a moral lesson are children’s books. The fact that Coelho has written a unique story that possesses an abundant amount of wisdom and truth is a remarkable feat in itself. For these reasons, the book easily deserves an ‘A’ rating. A good story, inspiration, and valuable life lessons are hard to beat in value of a good piece of literature.

Another reason I liked this book is Coelho’s constant optimism that is displayed by Santiago. In the very beginning, Santiago has a recurring dream about finding treasure at the pyramids in Egypt. He believes that this is some sort of prophecy and sets out on a journey to find the treasure. He is faced with many difficult challenges, but never once loses faith or sight of his personal legend. The unity between Santiago’s constant optimism and his unwavering personal legend serves as an inspiration for the reader. It propels the idea that we also can be relentless and maintain hope while pursuing our own personal legends. This inspiration was another key factor in what made this book so enjoyable to me.

Overall, I truly enjoyed reading this book. The story was very interesting and I found myself wanting to keep reading more and more to find out what would happen to Santiago. While reading the story, I always put myself in Santiago’s shoes, wondering how I would do in the same situation. This is a major part in why this was a good book in my opinion. When the reader can place himself in the shoes of the main character, it’s generally a very good read because the reader has a constant thought process going on. This is the type of book that you don’t want to put down because you want to know what happens next. So for keeping my interest and having a thought-provoking story, I give an ‘A’ rating.