>>A Book about Following Your Dream<<
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Rating:★★★★
(link: naziehah.wordpress.com)
Synopsis
The Alchemist is about a young boy’s struggle to find his treasure, or his greatest desire. Santiago, a diligent Spanish shepherd, one day dreams about finding a treasure under the Pyramid of Egypt. Santiago decides to go on a journey to find his treasure after a king named Melchizedek tells him about the Personal Legend and the Soul of the World. Melchizedek states that every man has his “Personal Legend,” or a strong desire, and the “Soul of the World” guides him through omens and dreams. The journey isn’t easy for Santiago. In Tangiers, he gets all his possessions robbed by a swindler. He bets his life when he tells the chief of Al-Fayoum that the enemies are coming. He gets captured by a warring tribe and is forced to turn himself into a wind. There are also many instances when Santiago decides to give up. After making much money by working for a crystal shop in Tangiers, Santiago nearly decides to go back to Spain and buy a new herd. In Al-Fayoum (the oasis in the desert), he meets Fatima and falls in love. If it weren’t for Fatima, who convinced Santiago to continue his journey, Santiago would have definitely ended his journey in Al-Fayoum. In the end, Santiago does reach Egypt, only to find that his treasure is back where he started, in Spain. Not only does he find his treasure, but also the young boy learns to listen to his heart, and realizes how the Soul of the World controls everything in the universe, even his Personal Legend.
(link: http://internationaltravelvaccines.blogspot.com/2009/04/egypt-lets-talk-pyramids.html)
Reader’s Response
I was confused most of the time when I read this book. It wasn’t the language that made it so confusing; it was the completely new culture that the novel introduces. As a Korean, I thought some of the depictions of life in Paulo Coelho’s book were very new. For instance, there are no “bars” in Tangier (Arabic city) because Arabs do not drink alcohol. When a beggar asks for food, you are required to feed them with the best food. When walking in the street, you are forbidden to start a conversation with a lady wearing black clothes, because it is a sign that she is married. Furthermore, believing in the “Soul of the World”, “Personal Legend”, “Maktub”, and omens all seemed very distant from a Christian’s perspective. However, what makes the novel feel so distant is also the true merit. From The Alchemist, we learn a lot about a culture that isn’t widely discussed about in the media. Even though the book is highly unrealistic (for instance, we know that a human can’t turn himself into wind), much of the culture depicted in the book is actually true of the Arabic life. Their priorities and values such as omens and Allah are clearly explained in the book. That is why I liked this book so much. Personally, I have much interest in traveling and learning about different cultures, but haven’t been able to visit Africa nor Middle East because of frequent violence and constant terror. So, The Alchemist made me feel like someone who has been to Tangiers. Furthermore, I liked this book because it was didactic, and I agreed with most of what Coelho was trying to teach. For instance, I agree with Coelho’s central message that all paths to pursuing one’s Personal Legend are met with great obstacles.
Critique
The true merit of The Alchemist is that it introduces a culture that most people are not very well informed about. This is a novel that epitomizes the statement that novels can sometimes be a good way of researching about a culture (referring to the article we read in class). Although the novel starts out in Spain, Coelho’s main emphasis is on the Arabian culture. Furthermore, Coelho uses language very concisely and effectively. For instance, on page 10, he writes, “The horizon was tinged with red and the sun showed up,” making readers visualize the morning sun.
In relevance to what we are doing now (with the Chinese maxims), the author uses many proverbs and maxims throughout the book. For instance, the Alchemist states,
“Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.”(p. 156)
Therefore, Coelho mixes in some morals as well. The more you read this book, the more you learn from it. First time I read it, I learned about how everyone has his or her fate, and how the Soul of the World controls those fates. However, after the second time, I realized how Coelho defined true love. He tells us that love is true only when one is ready to sacrifice for the other person. It is also interesting to note how Coelho ends the story very abruptly. We don’t know what happened to Santiago after he found his treasure. Did he go back to Fatima? How does his life change? Although some might argue, the sudden ending is needed, because Coelho was trying to emphasize the boy’s process of finding his treasure, not the treasure itself. Coelho is trying to tell us that the process can sometimes be more fruitful than the result. Therefore, while telling a fun story, Coelho teaches the readers in a very effective way.
About the Author
Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian novelist. He had a rough start as a writer, with many of his books, even The Alchemist at first, not selling very well. However, when the time came, people started to recognize Coelho’s impressive style and creativity. It has been reported that 65 million copies of The Alchemist has been sold so far, which makes him one of the “most sold authors in the world.” Translated in 67 different languages, readers globally have come to like Coelho. Other notable works include:
The Devil and Miss Prym,
The Valkyries,
The Witch of Portobello,
The Fifth Mountain.
(link: cfulco.wordpress.com)
YouTube Video on The Alchemist
*Towards the second half, the video quotes some of the best lines from the book
(link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuBrnkEuxLd4&feature=related)
*Click on the photos for the original link. Citations to all materials are listed below↓
Sources:
Benbego – Ben Ora Bego. Web. 23 Aug. 2009.
<http://benrizki.files.wordpress.com/>.
“Biography.” Paulo Coelho. 22 Aug. 2009.
<http://www.paulocoelho.com.br/engl/bio.shtml>.
Coelho, Paulo. The Alchemist. International ed. New York: Harper Torch. Print.
“Novels ‘better at explaining world’s problems than reports’ – Telegraph.”
Telegraph.co.uk: news, business, sport, the Daily Telegraph newspaper,
Sunday Telegraph – Telegraph. Web. 22 Aug. 2009.
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3391740/Novels–better-at-
explaining-worlds-problems-than-reports.html>.
Paulo Coelho. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. <http://cfulco.wordpress.com>.
The Vast World: Welcome. Web. 23 Aug. 2009. <http://thevastworld.wikidot.com>.
“YouTube – “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho.” YouTube. Web. 23 Aug. 2009.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuBmkEuxLd4&feature=relate>.
Very well designed site. The film clip is very effective.
Thank you!
does santiago end up happy?