Name: Vojtech's review of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Item: The Alchemist
Rating: 3
Author: Vojtech

Paulo Coelho

A special 25th anniversary edition of the extraordinary international bestseller, including a new Foreword by Paulo Coelho. Combining magic, mysticism, wisdom and wonder into an inspiring tale of self-discovery, The Alchemist has become a modern classic, selling millions of copies around the world and transforming the lives of countless readers across generations. Paulo Coelho's masterpiece tells the mystical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure. His quest will lead him to riches far different—and far more satisfying—than he ever imagined. Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams.

The Alchemist

Cordula Swoboda Herzog

Santiago, ein andalusischer Hirte, hat einen wiederkehrenden Traum: Am Fuß der Pyramiden liege ein Schatz für ihn bereit. Soll er das Vertraute für möglichen Reichtum aufgeben? Santiago ist mutig genug, seinem Traum zu folgen. Er begibt sich auf eine Reise die ihn über die Souks in Tanger bis nach Ägypten führt, er findet in der Stille der Wüste auch zu sich selbst und erkennt, dass das Leben Schätze bereithält, die nicht mit Gold aufzuwiegen sind.

Roman

Der Alchimist

"Maktub. Wenn ich ein Teil deiner Bestimmung bin, dann wirst du eines Tages wiederkommen."

Und verlasse dich auf Allah. Allah genügt als Sachwalter.

"die Zukunft steht geschrieben, von Allahs Hand, und was auch immer passieren würde, es ist zum Besten des Menschen"

"Nur eines macht sein Traumziel unerreichbar: die Angst vor dem Versagen."

"Mein Herz fürchtet sich vor dem Leiden" [...]

"Dann sag ihm, daß die Angst vorm Leiden schlimmer ist als das eigentliche Leid."

Laura Pallas

and when each day is the same as the next, it’s because people fail to recognise the good things that happen in their lives every day that the sun rises 

Angelica Garcia 

The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.

Lukas

And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

Amanda Autumn Berrey

“Tomorrow, sell your camel and buy a horse. Camels are traitorous: they walk thousands of paces and never seem to tire. Then suddenly, they kneel and die. But horses tire bit by bit. You always know how much you can ask of them, and when it is that they are about to die.”

“If good things are coming, they will be a pleasant surprise,” said the seer. “If bad things are, and you know in advance, you will suffer greatly before they even occur.”

To do that successfully, I must have no fear of failure. It was my fear of failure that first kept me from attempting the Master Work. Now, I’m beginning what I could have started ten years ago. But I’m happy at least that I didn’t wait twenty years.”

“It’s like the camel driver said: ‘Eat when it’s time to eat. And move along when it’s time to move along.’”

Life will be a party for you, a grand festival, because life is the moment we’re living right now.”

“Because I don’t live in either my past or my future. I’m interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you’ll be a happy man.

“You have a mania for simplifying everything,”

He swept the floor with his jacket and lay down, using the book he had just finished reading as a pillow. He told himself that he would have to start reading thicker books: they lasted longer, and made more comfortable pillows.

The alchemist knew the legend of Narcissus, a youth who knelt daily beside a lake to contemplate his own beauty. He was so fascinated by himself that, one morning, he fell into the lake and drowned.

Samantha M Crawford

“If you start out by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work toward getting it."

Kyler Phillips

Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.

One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.

And when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.

People are afraid to pursue their most important dreams, because they feel that they don’t deserve them, or that they’ll be unable to achieve them. We, their hearts, become fearful just thinking of loved ones who go away forever, or of moments that could have been good but weren’t, or of treasures that might have been found but were forever hidden in the sands. Because, when these things happen, we suffer terribly

Listen to your heart. It knows all things because it came from the Soul of the World and it will one day return there.

There is one way to learn, it's through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey.

Don't think about what you've left behind" The alchemist said to the boy as they began to ride across the sands of the desert. "If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return.

Vojtech

Daniel Sampere

Offers an adaptation in graphic novel format of a modern classic about the globe-trotting spiritual journey of a humble shepherd boy.

A Graphic Novel

Sara

hm. I watched YouTube reviews of good books and many suggested this. It is much like a children’s book like one youtubers said. Anyway, it was a short book so I’m not gonna complain much but it was an ok book. There wasn’t much meaning though there was like one lesson and I don’t remember it so was it really that good of a lesson. goon, my brain hurts. p.s. this story was kinda cute, also written like a children’s story, so if that’s what you’re looking for read this! p.s. x2 ending was not satisfying

Perhaps I was unfair, now that I think about this I would rate it a 4/5. Though it’s written like a children’s book the underlying message in it is relevant to everyone on this planet; pursue your dreams by following your heart. 3/17/2020

Stan D

Alyson Russell

Every person should read this book. Quick simple story with a lot of lessons. I started copying quotes out of the book then I realized I had a couple of sentences I waned to save from each page. Definitely keeping to reread time and again.

"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky." Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams." Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come. The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.

Angela Tassone

anne caroline

absolument incroyable ! Un véritable bijou de poésie et de philosophie.

Schon sehr philosophisch und das ganze Weltenseele Thema war nicht so meins. Aber ich versteh die Message und es hat mich zum Nachdenken bewegt. Auch der "Maktub" Gedanke gefällt mir sehr gut. Es ist schön zu lesen, wie der Jüngling so sehr auf seine Intuation und sein Herz hört und schlussendlich damit auch sein Zeil erreicht.

Emily

Created by teachers and writers, each title in this series provides a complete and thoughtful analysis of several of the most valuable works of world literature. Intended as a starting point for a better understanding and appreciation of literature, each analysis also imparts information about the author, the social and historical background, structure and traditions of literary genres, facts about characters, and a bibliography to encourage further intellectual exploration. Esta coleccion es una herramienta indispensable para el estudio y analisis de obras clasicas de la literatura universal. Los libros de formato agradable y presentacion moderna ofrecen un analisis critico, informacion sobre los personajes y los generos literarios, una bibliografia, y un compendio de la obra en particular junto a un estudio del autor y su epoca.

O alquimista

Sam Marxz

Desire JoRay

Wrote down so many great quotes from this book. I wish I head read it sooner, the life lessons will definitely stick with me.

Lamia Hajani

I'd give it 3.5 stars in all. It was a little bit cliché with its messages, and it seemed to go on and on and on. I was pretty bored halfway through. The story was nice, and it wasn't horrible, but it's not the best book ever.

Hard to get into, but it goes pretty fast once you start to understand the flow and pace of it all. 

Elisabeth Thoresen

Hmmmm. What’s one to say about such a highly reviewed, universally read, massively loved book such as The Alchemist? 

I got the point. It was a bit in your face I thought. Carried a bit of a preachy tone if anything. 

But the message? I can run with that. Happiness lies within? Adventure and differing experiences open your world and your mind? Hell yes brother. 

For the 2 days of light reading it takes to work through it, I’d say it’s worth it. Did it change my life? No. Would it have if I read it when so was 15. Who’s to say, but I should have read it then.   

connor arnette

Hmmmm. What’s one to say about such a highly reviewed, universally read, massively loved book such as The Alchemist? 

Well not much really. 

I got the point. It was a bit in your face I thought. Carried a bit of a preachy tone if anything. 

But the message? I can run with that. Happiness lies within? Adventure and differing experiences open your world and your mind? Hell yes brother. 

For the 2 days of light reading it takes to work through it, I’d say it’s worth it. Did it change my life? No. Would it have if I read it when so was 15. Who’s to say, but I should have read it then.   

At times I felt like I was a child reading a parable from the Bible. I think this made me a bit antsy to get on with finishing the book. The ending made up for this, though I wasn’t convinced I fully understood the ultimate message… Never give up on your dreams? It’s the journey, not the destination?All you need is love? Or perhaps, that we need to go far away to realize that our greatest treasures are found at home? As with any parable, I suppose you can take what you want from this (or not). 

Jacqui Spears

Priya Chauhan

An overall good book, I found it a bit repetitive at times. The book pics up pace at the second half, in my opinion.

To the point, fable-like story that weaves in magical and religious elements. It's heart-warming and filled with quotable lines. 

On balancing interpersonal love and self-fulfillment: 

Love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend. If he abandons that pursuit, that’s because it wasn’t true love. A love that speaks the language of the world. 

“You don’t even have to understand the desert, all you have to do is contemplate the simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation.”

“How do I immerse myself in the desert?”

“Listen to your heart. It knows all things because it came from he soul of the world and it will one day return there.”

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. 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.”

“When I have been truly searching for my treasure, everyday has been luminous, because I had known that every hour was a part of the dream I’m finding. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I discovered things along the way that I would have never seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve.” 

That said, I think it's a simple story. Simple characters, motivations, conclusions. I think the simplicity does its job, but for me, I would have preferred a deeper and more logical story to appease my pursuit of life's meaning.

Xin Ma

To the point, fable-like story that weaves in magical and religious elements. It's heart-warming and filled with quotable lines. 

On balancing interpersonal love and self-fulfillment: 

Love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend. If he abandons that pursuit, that’s because it wasn’t true love. A love that speaks the language of the world. 

On finding self-fulfillment: 

“You don’t even have to understand the desert, all you have to do is contemplate the simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation.”

“How do I immerse myself in the desert?”

“Listen to your heart. It knows all things because it came from he soul of the world and it will one day return there.”

On why to find self-fulfillment: 

“My heart’s afraid it will suffer”

“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. 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.”

“When I have been truly searching for my treasure, everyday has been luminous, because I had known that every hour was a part of the dream I’m finding. When I have been truly searching for my treasure, I discovered things along the way that I would have never seen had I not had the courage to try things that seemed impossible for a shepherd to achieve.” 

That said, I think it's a simple story. Simple characters, motivations, conclusions. I think the simplicity does its job, but for me, I would have preferred a deeper and more logical story to appease my pursuit of life's meaning.

Sara Hazeltine

3.5 ⭐️

“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it's better to listen to what it has to say. That way, you'll never have to fear an unanticipated blow.”

the beginning was dry, i almost DNF. however it ended up being a beautiful story with lovely lessons throughout. your life’s purpose might be to end up where you started, but the journey along the way is what makes it worth it. lots of spiritual language and space for internal reflection.

Sofia Keita

I never write reviews and I’m not going to write a whole story, but I was quite shocked by the reviews. I don’t understand why people are tearing it apart and acting as if it was written to change their lives. I thought it was a beautiful story and beautifully written. I myself am an atheist, very skeptic, not spiritual at all and don’t enjoy self-help books nor poetry/sappy books, but I absolutely loved the Alchemist. Just because a book doesn’t align with your personal beliefs/perspective doesn’t make it ‘garbage’. Just enjoy the book and the culture surrounding it.

'It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting' HAD ME ON MY KNEES.

Christopher Saw McKaige

I think this was overhyped or maybe it just wasn't what i was in the mood for but i didn't enjoy it too much...

Kehinde Adeleke

I love this book. I love it’s Christian undertones and connection to Buddhism, platonism and even Islam. It really made me happy while reading it and I think I’m gonna be using the lessons moving forward.

A Fable About Following Your Dream

rumbledethumps

"To realize one’s Personal Legend is a person’s only real obligation. All things are one. 'And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.'"

This quote summarizes this book. It is new age prosperity gospel akin to The Gift, no doubt inspiring people around the world to think that the universe/God wants them to achieve their desires. It is not deep or profound or meaningful. It only serves to give permission to people who want to be selfish as they go about trying to achieve their dreams.

I wish I could return to a time in life where I had not read this book.

Brandon

I wish I could return to a time in life where I had not read this book.

0.5/5 is still too high. 

Bilge Ince

En karanlık an şafak sökmeden önceki andır.

E J Doble

A sweet book about finding purpose in life and pursuing your goals, it tells an interesting story a lot of people can relate to, whether you're religious or not - I would knock off a star only because it is a bit excessive at times with the character's various"revelations", and the ending was sweet but a bit unimpressive considering the journey undergone. Worth a read!

It's not that life changing as everybody was saying. It's book for people that don't read and their other favorite book is 

It's not that life changing as everybody was saying. It's book for people that don't read and their other favorite book is The Little Prince.

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The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

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