"when you want something, the whole universe conspires to help you."

The Alchemist, categorized commonly as fiction, self-development as well as philosophy by most readers, did indeed give the feeling that it belongs to all these types, and then some. I believe, however, the meaning of the books is going to be entirely different from reader to reader, depending on his or her personal philosophical, religious, social and traditional systems of belief.

It's true that most might interpret much similarly the parts on not giving up, having unshaken faith and pursuing one's dreams amid numerous challenges. But there are a quite a lot more in this book, which could be interpreted in various ways. The intangible connection shared by everything that is in existence, certain implications that this is actually a one's journey to understanding universe or enlightenment, the drastic differences in how a single situation is viewed and understood by different spectators, are some of these differences.

But in the end, irrespective of your beliefs, you will well enjoy this book, that is most suited your own way of seeing the world.

"The story of one person is the story of everyone, and one man's quest is the quest of all humanity,"

"It's the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them."

~~~ T h e ~ A l c h e m i s t ~~ الـخـيـــميائـــي ~~~

Half-full Cauldron of Clever Story قدر به قصة محكية ببراعة
2 Measures of Legends of Wisdom مقدار من أساطير حكيمة
1 Bundle of Self-Help Motivations حزمة من دوافع تنمية ذاتية
1 Measure of Spiritual Experiences مقدار من التجارب الروحية
Some Drops of Love ~~~ قطرات من الحـــــب
A Bunch of Magic ~~~ حفنة من الســـحر
½ Cub of Philosophy ~~~ مقدار من الفلسفة
¼ Scoop of Thriller ~~~ ربع مغرفه من الأثارة
Mix it all together in the Cauldron..

أخلطهم جميعا في القدر
With Drops of an Oasis' Springs Water مع ماء من ينابيع واحة صحراوية
And Bunch of Golden Desert's Sands و حفنة من رمال الصحراء الذهبية
Let it all Stir by The Desert's Winds دع الخليط يقلبه رياح الصحراء
ِAnd Heat up by the Heat of the Sun rays ويسخنه حرارة أشعة الشمس

ِAnd Then you'll got the Treasure... وستحصل عندها علي الكنز
A Gold,even the Philosopher's Stone ذهــب، بل حجر الفيلسوف
A Great Charming Story, A brilliant literature قصة ساحرة، أدب لامع

The Alchemist --------- الـخيميــائـي
By the Master --------- للاستــاذ
Paulo Coelho --------- باولو كويللو

محمد العربي
في 24 اكتوبر 2013

قراءه من 25 اغسطس 2012
الي 2 سبتمبر 2012

©The Cauldron picture from http://www.pottermore.com

tl;dr - important message, disappointing execution.

for this to have been described as a story that changes lives, im a little let down. whilst this certainly had the potential to be ‘life changing,’ i felt there were many aspects which kept the story from delivering what could have been a meaningful experience.

firstly, this is told like a parable. i would consider this story to fall more along the lines of religious allegory than philosophical text. that, in itself, is neither here nor there. however, i read somewhere that effective parables should comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. unfortunately, this book does neither of those things - it pampers to the egos of the self-righteous and chastises those who dont adhere to certain values. which is a shame, because this was supposed to be a story about following ones heart by chasing dreams and passions. too bad that message got lost somewhere along the way.

secondly, i didnt connect with the any of characters, as i found them to be very two-dimensional. for a story that was meant to be about personal growth, i did not get any sense of emotion in the writing. a boy sells his entire livelihood, sets sail for distant continent, and crosses an entire desert in search of something he desperately desires - and yet, i couldnt care less about his journey. also, the portrayal of women in this is frustratingly poor.

anyways, i liked the idea. i personally try to live my life by many of the lessons and teachings in this book - i believe it is important for one to follow their dreams, to always listen to their heart, and to never give up on something they are passionate about (as much as realistically possible). but i think the effectiveness of those messages was lost in this story.

↠ 2.5 stars

I actually hated this book - when I finished it I threw it on the floor and if it wasn't borrowed id throw it straight in the bin. Normally there is at least one redeeming quality to a book - however the alchemist has none. Honestly, i struggle to see what anyone sees in it. An 8 year old could read it and even they would probably be bored. I mean every supposedly dramatic realisation was blindingly simplistic. And even the way it was written was simple, I mean can you remember when you were a kid and in a book it would explain something then get the character to repeat it like 'The sky is cloudly, it might rain today. Tom says to his mum "It looks like it will rain"' (I know crap example!) well thats what the whole book it like!! And the story isn't even worth it - basically it takes over 150 pages to tell you what destiny is. Utter rubbish.

It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.
The Alchemist ~~  Paulo Coelho



I preface my review by saying I am amazed how wildly passionate people are in their feelings toward this novel ~~ regardless of whether they love or hate  The Alchemist. I’m one of those people who love it. But, I understand why people are so passionate in their dislike of this work.  Paul Coelho looks to inspire passion in people with The Alchemist. And he succeeds in doing so ~~ especially in those who are so passionate in their dislike of this book.



The Alchemist is a novel that combines an atmosphere of medieval mysticism with the voice of the desert -- dreams, symbols, signs, and adventure follow Santiago and the reader like echoes of ancient wise voices. With this symbolic novel Coelho states that we should not avoid our destinies, and urges people to follow their dreams, because to find our "Personal Myth" and our mission on Earth is the way to find God, meaning happiness, fulfillment, and the ultimate purpose of creation.



The novel tells the tale of Santiago, a boy who has a dream and the courage to follow it. After listening to "the signs" the boy ventures in his personal, journey of exploration and self-discovery, searching for a hidden treasure located near the pyramids in Egypt. In his journey, Santiago sees the greatness of the world, and meets all kinds of exciting people like kings and alchemists. However, by the end of the novel, he discovers that "treasure lies where your heart belongs", and that the treasure was the journey itself, the discoveries he made, and the wisdom he acquired.



As the alchemist himself says when he appears to Santiago in the form of an old king "when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true". This is the core of the novel's theme. Isn't it true that all of us want to believe the old king when he says that the greatest lie in the world is that at some point we lose the ability to control our lives, and become the pawns of fate.



Coelho also suggests that those who do not have the courage to follow their “Personal Myth", are doomed to a life of emptiness, misery, and unfulfillment. Fear, fear of failure seems to be the greatest obstacle to happiness. The old crystal-seller tragically confesses: “I am afraid that great disappointment awaits me, and so I prefer to dream". This is where Coelho really captures the drama of man, who sacrifices fulfillment to conformity, who knows he can achieve greatness but denies doing so, and ends up living an empty shell of a life.



The Alchemist is a novel that will not appeal to everybody. Not everyone will identify with Santiago. We all have dreams, and are praying for somebody to tell us they can come true. The novel skillfully combines words of wisdom, philosophy, and simplicity of meaning and language, and this is what makes it so enchanting.

The Alchemist has been translated into like a million languages, and it feels like it. Bland sentences, simple story telling and zero nuance. It's a quaint parable about a shepherd who bucks the current course of his life - shepherding - to go in search of his Personal Legend (Coehlo's caps, and phrase). Coehlo's got a point, and he's going to drive it through your eyeball until he's absolutely sure you've got it.

If you ignore much of the language of the book, this is a paper-thin rehashing of Rand-like individualism  Atlas Shrugged  The Fountainhead. No one can show you your way but yourself. Step out on your own and you are invincible.

But all the trappings of this moral story are mystical platitudes. "Good luck shines on those who are following their Personal Legend." "Omens are the Language of the World. Learning to read them is communicating with the Soul of the World and the hand that wrote all." "All things are one." "Listen to your heart, it speaks in the Language of the World." I'd rather read  Siddhartha.

I've been meaning to read this for years; I probably should have left it a mystery because it irritated me no end. At one level it is a pleasant enough little tale of a spanish shepherd who seeks to fulfil his destiny/follow his dreams/seek his fortune. He meets a bloke from the Old Testament (Genesis to be precise) called Melchizedek (lots of symbolism surrounds this guy) who says he needs to go to the pyramids to find his dream/fortune. He sets off, spends some time in Tangier and then sets off with a desert caravan. He arrives at an oasis, falls in love and meets an alchemist who teaches him about the soul of the world and how to listen to his heart. He finds his treasure after some ups and downs.
On one level a simple heart-warming story of how to get your hearts desire by listening to your own inner voice and the world around you; it's that simple! So why did it wind me up so much?
A brief aside; the best review I have read of this book is a one liner;

"Jonathon Livingston Seagull meets Lawrence of Arabia"

Actually I thought the philosophy was more akin to Ayn Rand, it is very individualistic and you are the master of your own destiny. Of course, that only applies if you are a bloke; the women in the novel (very few), didn't do a lot. Fatima the love interest lived in an oasis and was content to stay there whilst her love was off having adventures and finding destinies. It was enough for her to wait for her man, knowing that he would return for her one day (if he wasn't daft enough to get himself killed, die of thirst in the desert, forget her or just get bored of her). An excellent role model for all modern women?
What really irritated me was the implication if you didn't manage to fulfil your destiny, it was your fault. Obviously those in grinding poverty or dying young of cancer really need to get a grip of themselves.

I simply could not finish this book. I got halfway through it only to wind up on goodreads.com to see what others thought. I simply felt guilty panning a book that has received such global acclaim; more than that, I felt lame and inadequate.

Well, it turns out that my sentiments were echoed. I basically felt I was reading an overblown parable and that the same lessons were being spelled out again and again. It was like the 16th verse of a hymn.

Throughout my life I have periodically reflected to get a sense of who I am, where I am going and whether I want to end up there. I am an extremely introspective person and I am constantly evaluating and re-evaluating my person; sometimes for the better, sometimes out of necessity. To put a fine point on it, I regularly do that which is, for lack of a better word, preached in this book. The problem I had with The Alchemist is that instead of feeling reinforced and validated, I felt uncomfortable and nagged.

The Alchemist is a book quite similar in style to Life of Pi. Although there is no connection between the 2 books, and they tell entirely different stories, their spiritual pursuits are highly similar: destiny, faith, ideals, and beliefs. Different people can find their own answers within them.

How to find one's destiny?

In the plains of Andalusia, Spain, the shepherd boy Santiago originally led a simple and straightforward life. He liked to read, had a flock of sheep, could freely travel around grazing, and liked the merchant's daughter. He felt that this was enough until he had the same dream twice in a ruined church, dreaming of a treasure hidden near the Egyptian pyramids.

He sought out an old Gypsy woman to interpret his dream. She told him that he would reach the pyramids and find the treasure, but he did not believe her. Later, he met an old man, the King of Salem, who asked himto fulfill his destiny and directed him to the pyramids to find the treasure.

Destiny is a core concept in the book.

What is destiny? There is a passage in the book that describes it:

”Destiny is what you have always wanted to accomplish. Everyone, when they are young, knows what their destiny is. At that point in their lives, everything is clear and possible. They are not afraid to dream, and to yearn for everything they would like to see happen to them in their lives. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible to realize their destiny.”

I like this passage very much. It tells us a simple truth: when we realize what we must do in our lives, as long as we have faith, as long as we desire, and as long as we act, the entire universe will help us achieve it. This is not mere motivational talk; after sufficient reflection on the world, one can see their destiny. If you do not believe in this, it is simply because you have not yet understood the world clearly enough.

Confucius said: "At thirty, I stood firm; at forty, I had no doubts; at fifty, I knew my destiny." The "destiny" Confucius spoke of is different from what Coelho refers to as "destiny." When we are no longer confused about the meaning of life and its value, that is when we discover our destiny.

What does your dreams mean to you, then?

The shepherd boy embarks on his treasure hunt. He sells his flock, crosses the Mediterranean to Tangier, a small town in Africa, only to be cheated out of all his money in a bar. To afford the trip to Egypt, he works in a crystal shop. It is then that he learns that the journey from Tangier to the pyramids involves crossing thousands of miles of desert, a journey ten thousand times more difficult than he imagined. He experiences profound despair. Eventually, he decides to give up on Egypt, stay in the crystal shop, save money, buy sheep, and return to his homeland.

A conversation between Santiago and the crystal shop owner is very enlightening.

The crystal shop owner is a devout pilgrim. His dream is to go on a pilgrimage to Mecca but has spent his life in the crystal shop.

Santiago asks him, "Why don't you go to Mecca now?"

The crystal shop owner replies, "Because Mecca is what keeps me alive. It allows me to endure these ordinary days, the silent crystals, and the dreadful meals in that terrible restaurant. I'm afraid that if I realize my dream, I'll have no reason to go on living. I have imagined countless times crossing the desert, reaching the square where the sacred stone is located, walking around it seven times before touching it. I've imagined people standing beside me, in front of me, our conversations, and shared prayers. But I'm afraid of being disappointed, so I prefer to just keep the dream."

The crystal shop owner represents the majority of us. Everyone has dreams. Some shout them out loud; others keep them deep in their hearts. In our youth, we often scoff at older people who seem to have given up on their dreams, thinking they live meaningless lives. Little do we know, we too might bury our dreams in our hearts, repeatedly pondering them in our midnight reveries, reminding ourselves that we still have directions to pursue in life.

Is it fate or coincidence?

Using his intelligence, Santiago earns enough money to return home. As he is about to leave, he realizes that Tangier is no longer a strange city to him. He feels confident that he can conquer the world the same way he conquered this place. So, he embarks on his journey to Egypt again, joining a desert caravan and meeting an Englishman searching for an alchemist, delving into alchemy himself.

Paulo Coelho, an alchemy enthusiast, mentions the core of alchemy: the Philosopher's Stone, also called the Soul of the World. It is the world's basic element, allowing communication among all things, much like the Five Elements in Chinese alchemy. Coelho tells us that the closer we are to fulfilling our destiny, the closer we get to the Soul of the World, and the universe will help us achieve our destiny.

Santiago finds love and almost stops his journey. Later, he encounters bandits in the desert, narrowly escaping death. He overcomes various difficulties and finally reaches the treasure's location.

Instead of finding gold, Santiago is beaten half to death by a group of refugees. After hearing his story, the refugee leader says something that enriches the entire tale. He says, "People cannot be stupid. Nearly 2 years ago, right where you stand, I too had a dream. I dreamt that I should travel to the Spanish fields, look for a ruined church where a shepherd and his flock spent the night. There was a fig tree at the place where the sacristy was, and if I dug at the roots of that fig tree, I would find a treasure. But I am not so stupid as to cross an entire desert because of a recurring dream."

Santiago returns to the church in Spain and digs up the treasure, which had always been buried beneath the spot where he dreamt. Had he not made the long journey, he would never have known this and never met his beloved Fatima. Both received the same dream revelation; Santiago found the treasure while the refugee leader did not. This is the difference between pursuing one's destiny and remaining complacent.

This is a powerful book full of life's wisdom. Through the story of a shepherd boy searching for treasure, Coelho weaves thoughts on life's value, the nature of the world, existentialism, and other profound topics.

Reading it at different ages yields different insights for me, which I think is the reason why this book is highly acclaimed worldwide.

4.3 / 5 stars

(Throwback Review)"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."

Many people simply love this book, while many others think that it is overrated. I truly, madly, and deeply love this book. I still remember a younger version of me reading this book while sitting perplexed at the crossroads of my life. The above lines from it had given me immense energy to face the setbacks and move forward in my life with the required enthusiasm. This book will always remain close to my heart. This is a must-read one if you are looking for a simple book that will inspire you and change your life.

Definitely, a must-read for everyone. The author did a splendid job presenting the most overlooked sophisticated corners of lives through the lens of a wandering protagonist. I have come across a few books engaging enough to hook you at the very beginning and keep reeling you in till the very end.

4.75 ⭐

GENRE - FICTION - DRAMA/SELF HELP.

Paulo Coelho is an interesting Story teller and an incredibly versatile writer, in The ALCHEMIST he has creatively explained the importance of following your dreams with the help of a story.

The book is very well written, equally well translated in English language, the book keeps you intrigued, interested and manages to inspire you with its message. It is more of self help book but with the help of a fictional story the author has put forward his message, point of view and notion of why it is necessary for all of us to keep following our dreams.

The book in the end also features an interview of Author Paulo Coelho in brief.

Thank you