This is my first ever attempt to write a blog. I love reading books since childhood but from last 6-7 months I have been reading more books than I did before . Till now it never occurred to me to start a blog about this but a few days back a friend of mine suggested me, so here I am giving it a try.
The Alchemist is one of my favourite books out there and it always will be. When we read it, it takes us to the world which is mystical with omens & destiny but also reminding us to be realistic by showing some non-pleasant scenarios of the main character.
The Alchemist is one fascinating story about Santiago, a shepherd boy who embarks on a journey to find a treasure buried somewhere that he had seen in his dream. The storytelling takes on wisdom, philosophy and optimism. I will not explain it in too much details and spoil it for you but it is also hard to write about this book without spoiling it a little bit.
About author
It was written by Paulo Coelho who was born on 24th August, 1947 in Brazil. Till date Coelho has written over 30 books. He wrote his first novel, the Pilgrimage in 1987. After a year in 1988, he completed his best work in just two weeks and published The Alchemist. It was originally written in Portuguese & then got translated into 67 languages and sold over 150 million copies worldwide.
Overview
The story begins when Santiago, a young shepherd whose life revolves around his sheep, has a dream about a buried treasure and he is not sure whether he should pursue it or not. Confused about what to do next he consults a fortune teller and starts his journey.
Santiago begins his adventure filled voyage from Spain, through Tangier to the desserts of Egypt, experiencing some good and some not-so-good situations.
In his quest, he meets many people, a Gypsy Woman, the Old King, the Englishman and the Alchemist, each one help Santiago in his journey in their unique ways and he learns some valuable life lessons from them.
The storyline in the form of characters
The Gypsy Woman shows Santiago where the treasure is buried.
The Old King Melchizedek offers him magic stones and teaches him about reading the omens.
The Englishman introduces Santiago to what an Alchemist is.
Afterwards he falls in love with a girl but for the sake of his dream he forsakes the love.
The Alchemist teaches him about what the future holds for him.
My favourite Quotes from the book
Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.
When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.
There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve, the fear of failure.
If someone isn’t what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.
To summarise The Alchemist in short, it is not just a novel but a self-help book. A great book for one's personal growth and development. Santiago's journey teaches us to follow our path never let go of goal. It shows us that we should follow our dreams and goals no matter what while overcoming whatever obstacles we stumble in our path.