The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Hello fellow readers!
My book group, Lit'n'Lattes. read the book The Alchemist by Paul Coelho last month. Here is the review.
As we began discussing this internationally renown novel, all generally agreed that this book has the appeal of feeling "a long time ago in a land far, far away". The story also feels timeless in dealing with the subject of our "Personal Legends". Although we may aspire to many different things, all people want to make something meaningful of their lives. The whole idea of a Personal Legend brought up interesting questions about how much of life is destiny versus how much is based on the choices we make. It is clear that Coelho present both as Santiago, the protagonist, seeks out interpretation for a recurring dream regaring treasure and decides to pursue it, but his obtaining the treasure is very dependent on his choices to sell his sheep, work hard even after being robbed, etc. Santiago also learned a lot from observing other people: his father helped him get started as a shepherd even when it wasn't a glamorous career choice, the baker had delayed his dream of being a shepherd for years, the crystal merchant was more satisfying dreaming than actually realizing his dream, and the Englishman was guided by head-knowledge rather than heart-knowledge.
From a religious standpoint, the novel included a mix of Jewish, Christian, Muslim, and New Age ideas. There were definitely biblical references, such as Santiago meeting Melchizidek, the king of Salem, and Melchizidek giving him the Urim and Thummin stones. Our group observed that one could interpret the spiritual truths in the book to fit into the paradigm from which one was coming. For example, the omens the protagonist looks for seem to be parallel to the Holy Spirit guiding our lives.
Some of our readers felt that the book's ending was too abrupt, and I have to say that I agree; it seemed odd to have such a beautiful story wrapped up in a two page Epilogue. Other readers expressed surprise that Santiago's "treasure" was indeed an actually treasure of gold rather than something more abstract or symbolic. However, the ending seems to point to Coelho's idea that life is more about the journey than the destination, with a higher priority on fulfilling the dream than on the content of the dream itself. Throughout the story, the reader begins to question, "Do I have a Personal Legend that I was born with? What roadblocks get in the way of my dreams? Do I accurately see the signs and persevere when I need to?" Overall, The Alchemist is a thoughtful read that touches on our sense of our purpose in life.
Next month is A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.