The Alchemist
Ratings1,107
Average rating3.5
I remember I felt a sensation of freedom and hope after reading this. I was still a child but probably I understood the meaning hidden in the story. When I think about the alchemist I imagine a big eagle flying above rocky mountains, in a shiny and glorious day, a new beginning after all.
It was a good book I'd say. The translation was bad at times and didn't get why the author simply mentioned Santiago throughout all the book as just The boy. The story was interesting and intriguing. Loved the equality of different ethnicities and especially religions! Islam and Egypt were described really well. The ending wasn't that satisfying tho... SpoilerI understand the author meant the journey to be more of a personal and spiritual treasure and self-discovery but... We don't even see him meeting Fatima again or The alchemist or what happened to the Englishman. Anyways I recommend it!
A book that meanders, meanders, meanders... meanders some more... and builds up to a miserably underwhelming conclusion.
the mc, supporting characters, & the setting reminds me of the little prince but a little more on the aspect of pursuing and finding one's passion? idk there are some interesting lines and points but it felt a bit draggy. kinda liked the ending tho
Have you ever yearned to do something in life so bad that it became an obsession? That obsession hits you in your early years when you have clarity of purpose. As you grow old, things become less certain, your inner drive gets replaced with your inner demons, the lies we tell ourselves about what we can and cannot do. This book is a journey to your inner-self, about what it means to step back and listen; about following your Personal Legend and pushing forward. It's a great book for anyone trying to do something hard and keeps thinking about giving up.
This book is simple, maybe too simple for most people these days.. but it manages to find me just when I need its message.
This book is silly. I would so much rather read a real spiritual text and learn something, or a real novel and be fully engrossed. This is a sloppy something in between. However, it did make for a great discussion at book club.
This book was immediately engaging, and I really enjoyed reading it. Probably the only thing that kept me from giving it 5 stars was the repeated religious theme...but it's a solid 4 1/2 in spite of that. Seriously well-written, and I loved the ending. =)
i've read many annoying books but NEVER ONE THAT ENDED UP BEST SELLING????? the writing style was just too simple, everything about this book annoyed the livid shit out of me. It just kept going on and on like dude stop, i had no attachment to any of the characters, i wasn't melting at the one day romeo and juliet wannabe relationship between the boy and fatima.
the book keeps repeating this one idea over and over again like STOPPPPPPPP I DOMT CARE ANOUT THE SOUL OF THE WORLDDDDJDJJDIRJDJR FIND THE STUPID TREASURE DAWG. this boy is so immature, going w anything that his heart sets on like dude???? where's the logic?
the dude gives up everything he's got to chase after something he saw in a dream. the whole heavy emphasis on destiny really pushed me to my breaking point. i really don't like this book.
0.5/10 cos i found some nice quotes
I absolutely loved this book. Finished it the same day I started because I just couldn't put it down.
Once I finally started, I could not put this book down. The Alchemist is the story of a boy named Santiago. He is content as his life as a shepherd until he meets a king that tells him to find and follow his personal legend. His legend was revealed to him once in a dream. One day he would travel to see the great pyramids in Egypt. There, in the sand, he will find a great treasure.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Many will find it preachy. Many will find it dull. Either they already have achieved their personal legends, they have tried and failed or they are too afraid to even start pursuing it.
A reader could look at this book and say “of course things will work out for him in the end. It's a story. Life isn't really like that.” I wholeheartedly disagree. Santiago has stopped and listened to the world. We often forget that there is a whole other world out there. One we need to stop and listen to. How many times have you stopped what you were doing and decided to just live in the moment? Listen to the waves crash. Feel the sun on your face. Breathe the scent of wind. Watched the bee collect honey for its hive.
The alchemist is more than a boy pursuing his legend. It's a reminder to enjoy the smaller things in life. It is to live in the moment, but never forget where you're headed. It's a reminder to keep going in the face of adversity. The worst that can happen is death. Would you rather die in pursuit of your goals and dreams, or would you rather die knowing you never even attempted them?
A lovely, very quick read (maybe a couple hours?). Simplistic language tending towards aphoristic works well as the reader follows the journey of the Shepard boy from Spain who crosses the dessert to achieve his Personal Legend. A deeply spiritual book, it inspires us to tune into the universe in the pursuit of our own legends, to claim our space in the world that's been carved out for us.
Estoy de acuerdo con las críticas diciendo que El alquimista es un libro de autoayuda con disfraz de novela. Paulo Coelho hasta escribe en mayúsculas los nombres de los conceptos importantes en la vida de los personajes. No creo en los conceptos como el “Alma del Mundo” que constituyen la filosofía del libro, pero me gustó la presentación de esas ideas en forma de una parábola. Hay una mezcla interesante de referencias religiosas también.
Los dos problemas principales del texto son la filosofía ya mencionada y el sexismo. Coelho propone siempre “escuchar al corazón” y “seguir los sueños”, lo cual me parece un mensaje superficial que el lector podría haber encontrado en cualquier libro de autoayuda. Al fin, el tesoro que Santiago ha estado buscando todo el cuento es... dinero, así que el libro se presta fácilmente al materialismo. Coelho le dice al lector que todas las cosas del universo tienen su propia Historia Personal, incluso los objetos inanimados, pero sólo se presentan ejemplos de los hombres siguiendo sus destinos. La mujer más importante en el argumento, Fátima, es el amor de Santiago y nada más. Es más, está contenta sólo con esperar el regreso de Santiago, porque es una “mujer del desierto”. El lector nunca aprende cuál es la Historia Personal de Fátima, sólo que su tesoro es Santiago, un hombre.
No obstante, aunque yo no sea una persona espiritual, me gusta que este libro me haya enseñado un poco sobre cómo ven el mundo las personas espirituales. Por ejemplo, me es interesante cómo Coelho mezcla dos conceptos contradictorios, el destino y el libre albedrío. Coelho dice que Dios ha escrito un destino para todas las personas, pero muchas no escuchan las señales de Dios y como resultado no siguen su camino predestinado.
El Alquimista es un libro con imperfecciones fundamentales, pero tiene una presentación atractiva y me ayudó a entender un poco mejor la perspectiva espiritual.
Edición (dos años después): No sé que me pasaba a la cabeza cuando escribí esta reseña, pero basta decir que no recuerdo este libro con tanta afección como cuando originalmente lo leí. Ya sabiendo un poco más sobre la religión y la filosofía, puedo decir que el pensamiento de Coelho es fundamentalmente hueco, vacío, y falso. De hecho, opino honestamente que El alquimista es una de las peores obras de literatura que he leído.
Very simple book, with a simple “follow your dreams (Personal Legend)” moral. Merely ok.
Really enjoyed the book a ton. I was kind of surprised and really appreciated how the book dealt with and respected different religions. I'm not sure how much of the book really got through to me, but definitely left me feeling inspired, and a bit melancholy that I don't know what my personal legend is and that I might not be pursuing it now.
This book is magical.
Paulo Coelho managed to create a charming tale about how everything is not impossible as long as we believe and try to achieve it.
Must read!
I loathed Aleph, found it horrendous, so someone gave this to me as a joke. But I actually kind of enjoyed it. It is sometimes a bit whimsical and sentimental, but it's a lovely little story about followint your dreams and trying to live close to your passion etc.
This book is the book that 20 year old boys that love mansplaining Infinite Jest “graduate” to loving when they are 24 and perceive themselves as more worldly and mature.
A lot of good tidbits throughout. Reads a lot like what I think the Bible sounds like and a bit pedantic and over explanatory. I do think it is overhyped a bit.
A short modern fable. Lots of woo woo about manifesting your true destiny. Peddles in individualism. I just never believed the premise that "when you're pursuing your Personal Legend, the whole world conspires to help you," or that when we don't pursue the dreams of our youth our lives become worthless and out of sync with the universe. Overuse of the phrase "Personal Legend," disappointing relegation of the one female character to the role of personality-free love interest... wasn't for me.