كلّ شيء مكتوب !

ما إن انتهيت من قراءة هذه الرواية حتى أحسستُ أن الدنيا سكتت ، و العالم سكت

و أنني أريدُ أن أسكتُ باقي عمري ..

أتأمل الحياة .. لعل روح العالم تغمرني فأفلسف الحياة كما شاء لي قلبي

مليئة هذه الرواية بالرموز و الحكم و التراث و الأخلاق بل وحتى الآيات الإسلامية



تحسّ و أنت تقرؤها برياح أندلسية تلفح فكرك ، تجعلكَ تبتسم بين حكمة و أخرى

ببساطة القدر ، و تعقيد البشر .. بعمق المعاني ، و سطحية الفهم

هذه الرواية تجسّد القدر و الحكمة في أسمى معانيها ، كما نؤمن بها تمامًا

أحببتُ حكمها جدًا " كيف يتحدّث الكون لغة واحدة هي الحب ، العمل ، متعة الهدف

و كيف نتعلّم تقديس الحياة من حولنا على بساطتها، والتفكّر في كلّ أحداثها على أنّها منحٌ و إشارات يلقيها الله في طريقنا لتقودنا نحو ذواتناو مجدنا

و كيف أن الكنز قريب جدًا جدًا من أحدنا كما كان قريبًا عند شجرة الجميز التي نام تحتها سانتياغو أو الفتى - كما يسميه الكاتب - إلا أن العمل من أجل الحصول و الجهد المبذول و التعب المضني في سبيل الوصول.. كان هو الغاية .. و هو سرّ الوجود و " الإنجاز العظيم " فما معنى الكنز إن لم تستحقّ الحصول عليه !!

أحسستُ بالقرب الشديد من جوّها ، صورة الراعي ، و الخيميائي .. إكسير الحياة والإنجاز العظيم ..روح العالم و الأسطورة الشخصية

حقًا ، لقد خلق كلّ منا لـ يحقق أسطورة

و الحياة لا تمنحُ الفرص إلا للراغبين

ترجمة "جواد صيداوي" ذات الهوية البصرية الخاصة بالطبعة الثالثة لدار "هاربر كولينز", بعنوان "الخيميائي" والتي كتب على طرفها: "الطبعة العربية الأصلية", وطبعت لتنتشر في كل ربوع مصر. في مقابل ترجمة "بهاء طاهر" التي يحمل غلافها الهوية البصرية للطبعة الأولى من نفس الدار بلون رمل الصحراء يبرز أعلاها كلمتا "ساحر الصحراء" أضيف فوقهما كلمة "السيميائي" بداية من الطبعة الثالثة.



وإني أتذكر جيداً ذلك الفتى الغِر, وهو ينظر إلى يده التي كانت تمسك بعدة كتب عتيقة, وعيناه تلمعان حماساً. فقد حصل لتوه من أحد أقرباءه على صفقة جيدة من الكتب النادرة
وكان الاستثناء الوحيد هو كتاب صغير ذو غلاف أحمر لم يمانع في استعارته لكثرة ما سمع عنه.
ومن فرط حماسه, لم تزغ عينيه عن كتبه عندما استدرك قريبه ناصحاً بترجمة أخرى من ذلك الكتاب الأحمر, ولم يتذكر الغِر اسم المترجم الآخر لاحقاً سوى بصعوبة شديدة وبعد محاولات عدة على فترات مختلفة للتذكر. ولربما لم يكن ليتذكر الاسم لولا أنه كرر الاسم بصوت عالي, وهي طريقة كان يتبعها الفتى ليظهر لمن أمامه أنه يفكر في الشيء الذي يردده. ردد كثيراً لكنه لم يستطع حينها التذكر, فهز كتفيه محاولاً إقناع نفسه بأن التذكر لم يكن ليفيده بشئ, فلديه كتاب ورقي في مقابل آخر يحتاج لبذل مجهود للبحث عن نسخة ورقية منه, ولشد ما كان يكره ان يبذل مجهود دون داعٍ لذلك. والنسخة الورقية أفضل حتماً من نسخة إلكترونية قد يجدها على الانترنت. كلها ترجمات وكله ماشي.

ظل هكذا حتى أفقدت كلمات الصفحة الأولى الفتى الغِر عذريته الساذجة, وتحت وطأة أولى كلمات الكتاب الأحمر والتي ترامت كهجوم لأحد عمالقة هاجيمي إيساياما, بلهاء على غير هدى. تحول الحادث لأحد كوابيسه, حتى أن الفتى قد قرر تسمية تلك التجربة بفتنته الصغرى.

ذات ليلة تذكر الفتى الغِر ذا العيون الناعسة دائماً, أنه لربما كان نائماً حينما حدث ذلك, ففي الأحلام لا يستطيع الإنسان قراءة كتاب جديد, فهو يرى مجرد حروف مبهمة. ولكن الفتى سرعان ما نفض عنه تلك الأفكار التي بدت له تفسر الكثير. أغمض عينيه ليريحها قليلاً ولعن الأفكار التي سقته إياها دي سي كومكيس: "اللعنة, فالفتنة لا يمكن أن تكون وهماً, فهي حدثاً مستمراً, وتمت على مراحل كثيرة"

كانت الفتنة تحمل ملامح كثيرة, غروب الشمس على غلاف الرواية, ولونها الأحمر, وثقة الناشر العربي المفرطة, وحيرة الفتى أمام الكلمات التي كانت تبدو مبعثرة علي الورقة. والملمح الأكثر غرابه كان إصرار الفتى لاستكمال ما بدأه في هذه النسخة الورقية وأبت الفتنة أن تحفظ له أياً من ماء وجهه.

فبعد جهده الجهيد لتذكر اسم المترجم, استخدم الفتى الاسم ليبحث عن الترجمة على الانترنت لكنه لم يستطع الوصول لها. وكان هذا هو الرفض الأول من ترجمة طاهر.

ماذا عن نسخة ورقية؟ لقد كان هذا مستحيلاً عليه؛ فالترجمة قديمة. لثاني مرة تتمنع ترجمة طاهر عن وصال الفتى.
وما كاد يتخلى الفتى الغِر ذا العيون الناعسة المجهدة عن البحث, حتى برز له صدفة أحد مراجعات الكتاب التي أخبرته بسر التجلي الخاص بها. فلقد كان لها اسم آخر تخفيه عن الفتى, اسم لديه ما يكفيه من الإغراء: "ساحر الصحراء".

قام الفتى بتحميل الترجمة, وشرع في قراءتها حتى انتبه على صدمه لم يكن ليتوقعها, لقد اندمج الفتى في القراءة من الكتاب الإلكتروني الذي يقرأه على شاشة الحاسب, في حين أنه لم يستطع قراءة أكثر من صفحة من النسخة الورقية التي كان لها طعم القيء. إذاً أين هو السحر الذي يميز قراءة الورق والذي طالماً آمن به بصدق ويقين!!
لقد كانت معتقدات الفتى تتهاوى أمامه, ولكنه لم يكن ليستسلم بسهوله, فتح كتابه الورقي محاولاً إمساكه باعتزاز. لكن الأمر كان أسوأ من المرة السابقة, لم يصادف جملة واحدة رضي عن طريقة ترجمتها, مقارنة باللغة السلسة لنسخة طاهر, كما أنها كانت مليئة بالأخطاء.
وهنا اشتعل قبس من نور داخل الفتى, شعلة جديدة تزيد الأجواء سخونة. معتقد آخر, وعالم جديد من الكتب الإلكترونية

أكمل الفتى باقي الرواية من ترجمة طاهر, رغم أن الشك والحيطة كانتا تتناوبان عليه أحياناً, فيعود للترجمة الحمراء لعمل مقارنة بين الترجمتين

وفي نهاية الرواية, كان الفتى قد انتقل لمذهب جديد, مذهب البي دي اف, وهي صيغة الكتب الإلكترونية الأكثر انتشاراً حينها!.


وبعدما أنهى الفتى الكتاب, أراد نشر أحد الاقتباسات التي أعجبته, ولكن يا للدهشة أصابه الكسوف والخجل منه. فبحث عن المقطع الذي أراده في نسخة باللغة الأصلية, واكتفى بنشر الاقتباس بالنص المبهم, بجانب جملة بالعربية نصها: "صدق اللي قال عنها إنها رواية ممكن تحول مسار حياة أي حد يقرأها :)", مع تقييمه لها بخمس نجوم. لقد كان فتى طيباً ومتفائلاً جداً في ذلك الوقت, كان الفتى غراً وأغراه الكنز. وإن سألتم الفتى الآن عن رأيه في الكتاب, لرد بامتعاض واستخفاف بأنه مجرد هراء تنمية بشرية في غلاف رواية مسلية, ولن تفيدك بشئ إذا لم تكن متفائلاً من البداية. فالعالم لا يتآمر ضدك ليوصلك للكنز.

SPOILER ALERT!

This book is very inspiring and what I really need right now to motivate myself with my everyday endeavors. In the end the boy in the story who was searching for his treasure, despite the long travels and experiences, find his treasure not in the place where he suspected it to be, but in the place where he came from. It's just pretty ironic that what have you looking for is in the end is just beside you right from the beginning. It's just that what he learned and discovered from his travel is another treasure that he should realize in order to appreciate himself and the things around him.

A very inspiring and positive book, it actually gives me hope that the things that I aspire for will in the end I would achieve if only I strive hard and don't lose hope until I get it. Sometimes the detours and the problems that we face now were later on in our life will make sense and when you remember that moment especially if you had overcome it you will know that you are thankful for that to happen because in the end you would learn something from it.

Superficially deep (ie deep on the surface and shallow underneath), but actually rather pretentious new age waffle - yet somehow manages to be beautiful despite that. I would have enjoyed it in my late teens/early 20s (when I enjoyed Jonathan Livingston Seagull), but reading this as an adult, I found it annoyingly unsubtle.

Reading, and disliking this, was something of a watershed: a few years earlier and I'd probably have loved it, but as it was, I realised I'd turned into a cynical adult (and I know where I get that from!).

كتاب درمانى
به كسانى كه هنوز مثل من به گرداب تلخ انديشى (يا آن طور كه سعی می کنم به خودم تلقین کنم: واقع بينى) دچار نشده اند و با جملاتى مثل "اگر چيزى را بخواهى، تمام كائنات دست به دست هم مى دهد تا آرزويت را برآورده كند"، ته ته دلشان نورى شیرین و گرم و لذت بخش مى درخشد. به اين ها اين كتاب را توصيه مى كنم، و ازشان برادرانه درخواست مى كنم با خواندن كتاب هاى نورکُش، مازوخيست گونه تلاش نكنند اين نور را خاموش كنند. بعد از نور، چیزی جز ظلمت نیست. گرایش های انتلکتوئلی فقط اسم شان خوب در رفته.

هزار و يك شب
پيرنگ اصلى داستان، از حكايتى از داستان هاى هزار و يك شب اقتباس شده. خود نويسنده در مقدمه ى داستان اشاره مى كند كه نويسنده ى آرژانتينى خورخه لوييس بورخس نيز از همين حكايت هزار و يك شب الهام گرفته و داستانى بر اساسش نوشته.

خلاصه ى حكايت هزار و يك شب چنين است:
آورده اند كه در بغداد مردى فقير شبى در خواب ديد كه گوينده اى همى گويد: روزی تو در مصر است.
آن مرد به مصر سفر كرد. شبى در مسجد جامع قاهره خفته بود كه دزدان به خانه ى متولى مسجد در آمدند و ناله و فرياد اهل خانه بلند شد. چون شحنه در رسيد، جز آن مرد فقير كسى را نديد. او را بگرفت و تازيانه بزد و به زندان بينداخت.
بعد سه روز او را خواند و گفت: سبب آمدن تو از بغداد به مصر چه بود؟
گفت: در خواب ديدم كه كسى به من گفت روزی تو در مصر است.
شحنه بخنديد و گفت: اى كم خرد! من سه سال است خواب مى بينم كه گوينده اى مى گويد كه در بغداد، در فلان محلت، در فلان خانه، حوضى است و به زيرش مالى فراوان. ولى خواب را باور نكرده ام. تو به سبب اضغاث احلام از شهرى به شهرى شده اى؟!
و آن خانه كه صفت كرد، خانه ى همان مرد فقير بود. به بغداد بازگشت و به زير حوض خويش گنج فراوان يافت.

If books were pills, Alchemist would be a sugarcoated placebo with no real effect. Let's call it a feel-good homily. I have never read a book as meretricious as this one. Many reviewers have pointed out the problems with this 'celebrated' novel so I'd rather not expend any more words. Suffice it so say that this is a good example of portentous writing that is best avoided if your benchmark is quality literature.

Timing is everything. If I'd read 'The Alchemist' four years ago, I'm sure I would have loved it. It deals in big, bold pronouncements of 'follow your dreams' et cetera et cetera, and it certainly makes you think about your own life and the pursuit of your own "Personal Legend" if you will. But maybe I'm older and more cynical now, or maybe it's not cynicism so much as just seeing a reality that isn't so mystical and black and white as Paulo Coelho's, but in any event, I just wasn't buying what 'The Alchemist' was selling.

It's a good, quick read, I'll give it that. I enjoyed myself, and I definitely thought a little bit about my own life in the process, which I appreciate from my literature. And while I was more or less with it for a while, I just couldn't stay on board with an ending that left me saying, "that's it? Really?" n  Be forewarned, there will be spoilers after this pointn. The whole book Santiago is in pursuit of his "Personal Legend", which he is told is a great treasure found in the pyramids of Egypt. Along the way he befriends many people and makes a great sum of money, while also meeting a beautiful young woman who agrees to more or less be his life-partner, Romeo and Juliet-style (which is stupid in and of itself, but more on that later). It is at this point that he determines he has achieved a greater treasure than any he had ever dreamed of, and would go no further. Beautiful. Cue the music and themes of recognizing treasure in all its forms. Santiago has a wonderful, fulfilling life laid out before him, and would most likely die a happy man by the side of his lovely wife and adoring children, all while living comfortably as village counselor of a beautiful desert oasis. Sounds pretty nice, no?

Well, that's where the book lost it's footing. Santiago is urged, coerced even, into continuing to follow his "Personal Legend", leaving behind his "love" (who, it should be mentioned is a "woman of the desert" and so is completely fine being abandoned by her "love" and will simply wait and wait and wait for him, whether he ever returns or not) traversing the desert and (bizarrely) evading a hostile army along the way by turning himself into the wind (it makes about as much sense as it sounds). In the end though, Coelho reveals to us that Santiago does, indeed, reach his "Personal Legend" in a two and a half page epilogue, where it is shoddily revealed that Santiago's long-sought after treasure is...treasure. Literally. Buried treasure. A box in the sand filled with gold coins and diamonds and jewelry and crowns, and all the other cliche treasure images you can think up. What the hell?

So what message are we supposed to take from this book then? Money is the most important thing in the world? Women are objects meant to be seen and valued for their beauty, there to serve you and wait around forever while you go on wild goose chases across continents in search of money?

Obviously I'm being facetious, and Coelho intended to say that one should follow their dreams no matter what, even if it transcends a nice, content life, so long as you are in pursuit of a life that would be even greater than you can ever imagine, sacrificing what is good now for what can be great later. But he did so in an extremely simplistic way, and the revelation of the Santiago's treasure being literally treasure was a major disappointment.

The thing was, despite his simplicity, the book had a nice message going for a while. If Fatima was Santiago's treasure, that I could have gotten behind, even if it shows a good deal of contempt for the role of women in relationships (beauty being the most important factor in deciding on a mate, as Santiago is struck by her beauty and immediately professes his love; Fatima more or less acquiesces immediately and pledges herself to Santiago no matter what, even if he must travel the desert forever in selfish pursuit of his own dreams, with no regard for her), because that is something intangible that is meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of financial standing. But then Coelho basically goes on to say that that is just a roadblock in the way of real achievement, and that one should selfishly pursue their own dreams with no regard for those closest to them.

How a book can go on and on talking about seeing the everyday symbols and omens in life and taking heed of them, presumably leaving metaphors for life all along the way, and then have what was presumably the biggest metaphor of them all, Santiago's treasure, turn out not to be a metaphor at all, but just money? To me, that summed up everything. I suppose Coelho realizes this, as he begins the book with a brief fable about Narcissus falling into the river because he loved staring at his reflection, and the river's disappointment in this, as the river loved gazing into Narcissus's eyes and seeing the reflection of itself. This is a horrible little story implying that everyone is obsessed only with themselves, a sad, empty little thought that Coelho spends 167 pages endorsing wholeheartedly, under the guise of following your dreams.

I understand that other people love this book and find it inspiring, and I think I would have felt the same way years ago, when I was just out of college and it appeared I had my whole life ahead of me and a lifetime to live it. I'm older now, and I've found someone who I consider to be a real treasure, and while I still have dreams, I'm not willing to sacrifice the happiness that this life brings me every day in a single-minded pursuit of something that I want for selfish reasons (fame, fortune, etc.). If I was Santiago, I would have never left Fatima in the first place if she truly made me happy, as Santiago claimed she did. Perhaps that makes me a coward in Coelho's eyes, not unlike the Crystal merchant from the story. But it'd also make me not the sad Englishman, whose single-minded pursuit of his "personal legend" had cost him all his money, friends, and family and left him alone in an oasis burning lead in a tent in the vain hopes it will turn to gold.

I guess what I'm trying to say in this long-winded review, is that this book is all about being selfish and doing what you think will make you happy, regardless of everything else. I can see why that appeals to people, especially those who want to show the doubters and find their own treasure beneath a sycamore tree, but it's sad, in a way. We live in a culture where everyone wants selfish things like fame or money or power, just to satisfy some gaping hole in their own souls, ignoring the real problems that lead to these compulsions in the first place. To me, this book feeds and even encourages that misplaced ideal, and that's a shame.

این کتاب رو تو لیست "الکی معروف ها" دیدم ، ولی واقعا اگه نگاه عمیقی داشته باشید خیلی کتاب معناگرا و پرحرفی هست ، نمی دونم چرا این کتاب رو تو اون لیست قرار دادن!

"The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them."

What do I say about this book? It's simply not as great as it's talked about and not as bad as it's criticised about. The alchemist was quickly engaging and a short easy read. As a story, it was enjoyable, particularly the first third. Although there was a strong moral, as a self-help book.

I suggest reading it without any prejudice or high expectation. If you pick this book read it as a simple fictional story and take away the lesson according to your perspectives. The story is very limited to the idea of dreaming, exploring, and sacrifice et cetera, et cetera. So the takeaway can be very different for each individual.

n  You might like to check out more similar books here.n

n  

n    “When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”n  

n

~ Rating- 1 star ~

Content/ Trigger Warning- Poverty, Sexism, Desert

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is an extremely hyped up book. I picked it up in the hopes of finding an interesting read that I could gain something from, but I hadn’t expected to be so thoroughly disappointed.

The Alchemist isn’t a terrible book, rather I am the wrong kind of reader for this book. The message of The Alchemist is to essentially find the true meaning of life and follow your heart all the time. While I agree with it to a certain extent, I didn’t like the way it was portrayed in the book. It made not following a ‘personal legend ’ a bad thing and people who don’t abandon their fairly happy life in pursuit for a greater goal a bad thing, which I disagree with. Apparently if you don’t leave your life to search for a ‘personal legend’ then you are either unhappy, afraid, or both. That makes no sense. It is not a bad thing to keep living your life the way it is, in fact it is an admirable thing to find happiness in what you already have.

There were some sentences in The Alchemist that were quite cliche, like-

n  “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”n

Yes that is true, but it is never the only factor that is responsible. Sometimes people may not have enough resources to achieve their dreams, or sometimes they may not have the ability. Sometimes people can’t abandon their life only for the sake of a dream that might not be achieved. I’m not saying that we should never make an effort to pursue our dreams, but we should also be practical and plan it properly. The fear of failure is more of a mental aspect, but overcoming it does not guarantee that your dreams will be fulfilled.

The main character in The Alchemist is a shepherd, Santiago, who is earning enough income, has a passion for reading. He has plans of getting engaged to someone and is content in his life. When he is offered the opportunity to pursue something, (which by the way, he doesn't even know what at this point) he jumps right at it for absolutely no reason. The character doesn’t think it through properly. Someone tells him to go in search of some hidden treasure and pursue his ‘personal legend’ and he listens. It is so impractical, irrational, and something that wouldn't exactly work out in real life. If everyone abandoned their life and went to a desert to pursue a ‘personal legend’, the world would collapse, and there would be no one to ensure it functioned.

What bothered me a lot more than this though, was the fact that the male characters are the only ones who are allowed to pursue a ‘personal legend’. The female characters in this book are expected to wait around at home, while the male characters leave everything behind.

We have sentences these-

*Mild Spoiler alert*

n  “The desert takes our men from us, and they don't always return. We know that, and we are used to it. Those who don't return... they become part of the Soul of the World. Some do come back. And then the other women are happy because they believe that their men may one day return, as well. I used to look at those women and envy them their happiness. Now, I too will be one of the women who wait."

And, "The boy fell to his knees and wept. He thanked God for making him believe in his Personal Legend, and for leading him to meet a king, a merchant, an Englishman, and an alchemist. And above all for his having met a woman of the desert who had told him that love would never keep a man from his Personal Legend."n

Now I get it, this book was written years ago. I also get the fact that this is Santiago’s story, and I don't expect anyone else to tag along with him on his personal legend. But that still doesn’t make me want to ignore this, as it was just upsetting and something I hadn’t expected in a book hyped so much.

In short, The Alchemist was a thorough disappointment. I like the general message of the book, but I wish it was discussed in more depth and I wish the other side (and more practical side) wasn’t completely ignored and tagged as ‘bad’.

Before people argue that this is fiction and I should not take it so seriously, I picked this up expecting a life-changing read, so I suppose I can complain if it didn’t meet the mark. If you are debating whether you should read this, my advice is to read through the quotes. If you find them inspiring, I’d recommend reading the book!

Audiobook Comments
The narration was alright. Nothing extraordinary, but not bad either. It would be good for beginners I’d recommend it. Audiobook Rating- 3/5 stars.

n  

n    “Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.”n  

n

n  n    Review written on September 10th, 2021.n  n

DISCLAIMER-All opinions on books I’ve read and reviewed are my own, and are with no intention to offend anyone. If you feel offended by my reviews, let me know how I can fix it.

How I Rate-
1 star- Hardly liked anything/ was disappointed
2 star- Had potential but did not deliver/ was disappointed
3 stars- Was ok but could have been better/ was average / Enjoyed a lot but something was missing
4 stars- Loved a lot but something was missing
5 stars- Loved it/ new favourite


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Finished. Didn’t really enjoy this. In short, good message but poor execution. Probably 1.5 stars. Review to come soon. I’ll try to write it by tomorrow.

This was one of those books that I never would have picked out myself if my book club had not chosen it for us to read. Being the only guy in the club, I have to say that they all loved it. To me it was one of those books that I kept asking my wife, "How on earth did this become so popular?" I was thinking that it was one of those 'fad' books that everyone reads because 'everyone' else is reading it. But to be honest, I did finish it and there were even moments when I had to read just one more page. It did teach me a lot about the life in the desert and such, so it wasn't a waste of my time. Would I recommend it? Depends on the audience. It is easy to read and you feel good reading it. Military History buffs would be bored.

Coelho’s finest?

Andalusia, Spain. Young poor shepherd Santiago has a very vivid dream in which he finds some lost treasure in a remote unknown location. After consulting a fortune teller, he learns that in order to find it he may need to travel as far as the Egyptian pyramids. A practically impossible task, since he doesn’t have a map, any rational reason, or even the means to fulfil it. This is the story of his fantastic journey, and how he attempts to fulfill a wild quest, that could potentially change his life.

Coelho’s most acclaimed masterpiece and famed work hands down; a very short allegorical tale about listening to your heart, and following your dreams, no matter what. I particularly enjoyed the exchanges with the mysterious old king, the time spent with the crystal merchant, and meeting Fatima, the desert girl. The oasis and the encounter with the Alchemist was good, but felt a bit farfetched, and his teachings somewhat repetitive. Still, a considerable amount of quotes and moments to remember by; with some very nice plot twists, a sublimely satisfying ending, and a spiritually uplifting message. I remember enormously enjoying this novella back in the day, the wowing feeling sadly gradually diminishing over the years. Still, I don’t regret reading it; this was overall a worthy read, and memorable, despite de glaring self-help vibes. I liked learning about the “Personal Legend”, among other curious esoteric concepts. Recommendable, for the right audience.

Personally I must admit I enjoyed  Veronika Decides to Die a lot more; but if you ever had in mind picking up Coelho someday, this is a good choice too. A highly uplifting story with a very memorable message, for those willing to listen to it.

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n  PERSONAL NOTEn: The introduction also mentions this story is plagued with symbolisms. I wouldn’t be able to point out a single one, but that’s because I simply don’t register them. Yes, I’m that stupid; for certain things.
[1988] [182p] [Classics] [3.5] [Recommendable] ["When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.”]
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★★★★★  Veronika Decides to Die
★★★★☆  The Alchemist  [3.5]
★★★☆☆  The Fifth Mountain  [2.5]
★★★☆☆  The Pilgrimage  [2.5]

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¿Lo mejor de Coelho?

Andalucía, España. El joven y pobre pastor Santiago tiene un sueño muy vívido en el que encuentra un tesoro perdido en un remoto y desconocido lugar. Después de consultar una adivinadora, descubre que para hallarlo necesitaría viajar tan lejos como hasta las pirámides egipcias. Una tarea prácticamente imposible, ya que no posee un mapa, ni una razón racional, o los medio para completarla. Esta es la historia de su fantástico viaje, y cómo intenta lograr una alocada misión, que potencialmente podría cambiar su vida.

La obra maestra más aclamada y famosa de Coelho por lejos; un muy corto relato alegórico sobre escuchar tu corazón, y seguir tus sueños, sin importar qué. Particularmente disfruté los intercambios con el misterioso viejo rey, el tiempo que transcurrió con el mercader de cristales, y el encuentro con Fátima, la chica del desierto. El oasis y el encuentro con el Alquimista fue bueno, pero se sintió un poco demasiado increíble, y sus enseñanzas un tanto repetitivas. Aun así, una considerable cantidad de citas y momentos para el recuerdo; con unas muy interesantes vueltas de trama, un sublimemente satisfactorio final, y un mensaje espiritualmente elevador. Recuerdo disfrutar esta novela corta enormemente en su día, la maravillosa sensación de asombro lamentablemente gradualmente disminuyendo con el correr de los años. Sin embargo, no me arrepiento de haberla leído; esta fue por sobre todo una valiosa lectura, y memorable, a pesar del llamativo tinte de autoayuda. Me gustó conocer la “Leyenda Personal”, entre otros curiosos conceptos esotéricos. Recomendable, para la audiencia correcta.

Personalmente debo admitir que disfruté  “Veronika Decide Morir”  mucho más; pero si alguna vez tuviste en mente leer Coelho algún día, “El Alquimista” es también una buena elección. Una historia altamente elevadora con un mensaje muy memorable, para aquellos dispuestos a escucharla.

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n  NOTA PERSONALn: La introducción también menciona que la historia está plagada de simbolismos. Yo no podría señalar ni uno sólo, pero eso es porque simplemente no los registro. Sí, soy así de idiota; para ciertas cosas.
[1988] [182p] [Clásicos] [3.5] [Recomendable] [“Cuando realmente quieres una cosa, todo el universo conspira para ayudarte a conseguirla.”]
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