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The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream | 
| Author: Paulo Coelho
Publisher: Thorsons
Category: Book
List Price: £7.99
Buy New: £3.99
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Rating:  262 reviews
Sales Rank: 583
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Pages: 192
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0722532938
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780722532935
ASIN: 0722532938
Publication Date: September 6, 1999
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Like the one-time bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Alchemist presents a simple fable, based on simple truths and places it in a highly unique situation. And though we may sense a bestselling formula, it is certainly not a new one: even the ancient tribal storytellers knew that this is the most successful method of entertaining an audience while slipping in a lesson or two. Brazilian storyteller Paulo Coehlo introduces Santiago, an Andalucian shepherd boy who one night dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. And so he's off: leaving Spain to literally follow his dream. Along the way he meets many spiritual messengers, who come in unassuming forms such as a camel driver and a well-read Englishman. In one of the Englishman's books, Santiago first learns about the alchemists--men who believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the "Soul of the World." Of course he does eventually meet an alchemist, and the ensuing student-teacher relationship clarifies much of the boy's misguided agenda, while also emboldening him to stay true to his dreams. "My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night. "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies. "And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."
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| Customer Reviews: Read 257 more reviews...
 Many think it's great although I was disappointed. November 18, 2008
Alan Bridges (London, UK)
The Alchemist tells a story that is simple, yet is considered by many to be profound. The protagonist is the restless Santiago, who while training to become a priest feels the strong desire to travel. So he trades in the seminary life for a more peripatetic profession. He buys some sheep and takes up shepherding.
Day in and day out he watches over his flock. And while he loves them, he cannot help but feel that their existence is somehow limited - grass and water, water and grass. They never seem to appreciate the beautiful landscape of Santiago's homeland, the Spanish province of Andalucia. His sheep never seem to know that there might be something else to life. They don't dream.
Even Santiago's parents dream - or at least they once did. But theirs is a life of struggle, which long ago extinguished any thoughts beyond life's basics. Now Santiago dreams and has dreams. His is the heart of an explorer, one who longs to see what is just over the next hill.
After feeling that he's being shown some omens, Santiago consults a gypsy who interprets the signs as indicating that his future is to travel to Egypt. Whereas most would have listened but not heeded such advice, our hero sells his sheep and sets sail to find himself.
The Alchemist is an old-fashioned fable so it is short, sweet and an easy read. And as a fable it offers us a message, which is unabashedly simple. This is the story of someone who listens to their heart and follows their dream.
Coelho's point is that too many of us believe what the village soothsayer tells Santiago is the biggest lie of all time - that we cannot control our destiny. But this isn't a story to suggest that one can blindly do what one wants without consequences. Following one's dream has a price. Equally, not following one's dream has a cost.
While many consider this work to be a spiritual masterpiece, I have to say that I have never considered The Alchemist to be a life-changing read. To be sure, it is inspirational and it contains hefty doses of local colour. It might even get you thinking about your own dreams and what you could do to follow them. But its story is a relatively weak one. And disappointingly, the philosophy offered to its readers is not all that distinguishable from so many others on the self-help shelf.
 Charming Fable and Adventure October 28, 2008
Douglas P. Murphy (Charlottesville)
In a way this book mirrors Paulo Coelho's own life. Early in his life he left a career as a lawyer in Brazil to travel throughout South America, North Africa and Europe and explore mystical and spiritual philosophies as well as the different countries. The hero in this book is a poor boy living in Andalusia who has a dream that tells him to go to the Egyptian pyramids where he will find treasure. A gypsy interprets his dream and encourages him to go the pyramids. A man calling himself the King of Salem presents him with the Urim and Thummin stones to be used for divination. Thus the adventure begins, one that leads him to North Africa where he confronts perils in the desert and finds true love on an oasis. His journey pits him against both physical and spiritual challenges that change and enlarge his world view. The story has the charm, magic and spirit of adventure of many classic stories and well deserves it place as one of the best selling books of all time.
A beautiful story October 26, 2008
Barnaby Chesterman (Rome)
I was going to write a review and then saw that P. P. Kennedy had written pretty much what I was thinking. But as Magnus Magnussen used to say, I've started so I'll finish. Firstly, this is a novel, it won't change your life. But it is a beautiful simple story, written like a fable. The writing is beautiful, the central character goes to your heart and the story is moving. I would say, it's the best book I've ever read, I loved it so much I read about half a dozen other Coelho books. None of them come close to this one and other than Fifth Mountain and maybe Down By the River Piedra, I'm not a huge fan of his. But this is the book that made him the hugely successful writer that he is and just for this book he deserves all his success. If you read it thinking it's going to magically change your life then you maybe be disappointed. If you're too arrogant to be preached to then you may be disappointed. But if you read this with an open mind and open heart, you will surely enjoy this heart-warming tale. Within it is a lesson to everyone on following your dreams and how the important thing in life is the journey, not the destination.
Disappointing, overhyped and a touch childish October 1, 2008
John M (UK)
I read this because it appeared on the BBC 100 Best Reads list and had some good reviews. I was rather disappointed to say the least. The writing style is simple and lacking in depth, although it may just not translate well. The story is a parable with a message about 'following one's dream'. Although this message is repeated frequently the story line is a bit forced and ends as something of a shaggy dog story. It's a bit like a cross between an Aesop's fable and a self-help book, with a bit of half-baked philosophy in the mix. I think it would appeal to older children and those who like something cheerful and unchallenging.
A simple beautiful tale in a complex world September 27, 2008
Jack Baxi (Leeds)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is brilliant. Ignore the religious do-gooders giving this a kicking, and read it for what it is. A simple, extraordinary tale, which is uplifting and spiritually breath taking. In a complex, over analysed world, this book simply reminds us all that, there is genius in simplicity and beauty wherever we choose to find it. On a very simple level those who always think the glass is half full will understand it and love it, those who think its half empty will hopefully realise there is another way to view things. I've read it many times, and it never fails to be an uplifing experience.
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