1. The Alchemist
Author: Paulo Coelho
Name of publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Year of publication: 2005
Genre: Novel
Name of the Characters
The Alchemist
Santiago
Englishman
Melchizedek
Fatima
Gypsy
The Tribal Chieftain of Al-Fayoum
Merchant’s daughter
Santiago's father
2. Brief summary
Wisdom is the theme of The Alchemist. It is an adventure story of
Santiago, a shepherd boy, who dreams of traveling the world and
discovering treasures . During one of his travels, he meets a beautiful
Arabian woman named Fatima who explains to him that if he follows
his heart, he shall find what he seeks. He makes plenty of sacrifices, but
he also gains a lot, like learning from the many people he meets.
Throughout the book, Coelho is trying to convey a deeper message,
what starts out as a boy’s journey to Egypt and transforms into a
universal message about trying to listen to our hearts and pursue our
dreams.
The book is named for the alchemist who guides the boy throughout his
quest with teachings of wisdom and treasures found within ourselves.
Plot
The Alchemist is a story about the journey of following one's dream. It's
about a shepherd in Spain named Santiago who dreamt of finding
treasure in the Egyptian Pyramids. He decides to pursue this dream and
he meets plenty of characters and adventures,both good and bad, on his
journey. He makes plenty of sacrifices, but he also gains a lot, like
learning from the many people he meets, finding the love of a woman,
and of course the treasure. The story is so well written as a narrative
3. that there are various turning points in the story. As a reader I was
engaged to follow Santiago's steps every step of the way even if you
have no clue where it leads him and there are plenty of surprises. It is
like being in the journey also, and mimics life, where every moment is
potentially a turning point.
Critical analysis
The alchemist is an enticing and inspiring novel filled with optimism.
The novel instills in us a belief that anything is possible if only you
could have the courage to believe in your dreams and pursue it. I
personally feel you have to be in a reflective mood to enjoy the book. If
you are feeling expecting too much, you might not like it. Moreover the
story has so many different layers and depths to it, that you might not
get a full grasp of the book in the first read itself. All the same, the
Alchemist is a combination of philosophy and wisdom making it on the
whole an inspiring read. The story handles the complex subject with
such an ease that reading the book becomes piece of cake .I would
definitely recommend others to read this wonderful inspirational novel
of Paulo.
