The Alchemist

Author: Paulo Coelho

Genre: Fiction

Rating: 5 out of 5

Date Started: 1 July 2021

Date Finished: 11 July 2021

This book was referred by many of my friends, apart from Goodreads and many other blogs and Instagram handles I follow. I do regret not reading this book soon enough. The reviews were either 'I loved it' or 'I hated it', but there was no in-between. I had also heard many people saying that the book was lost in translation. All these points made me pick up the book. This was my first book by, Paulo Coelho.

The book is about a boy, Santiago who lives in Andalusia, Spain. He is a shepherd and dreams that he needs to look for a treasure near the pyramids in Egypt. The book talks about the journey of Santiago from Spain to Egypt. He never would have left Spain but dares to take a trip into an unknown land and meet various people. The book explains the knowledge he gains during his journey, hardships, friendships, trust, and believing in himself the most. The book also talks about wanting something really bad and that one is ready to do anything to get that while trying to make sense of the hardships.

The book was not just a story of a boy, but I felt that it was philosophical in a way. We all have our goals to achieve and meet a variety of people and situations on the way. Treasure in this case is the things we chase in life that we feel make our lives better. There are heartbreaks that can either be a boon or a curse, but we all have to face them. The book is also about self-realization, which I feel is part of life and the goal we all try to achieve.

My favorite character in this book was Santiago. He represented me and the struggles of my life. Santiago is persistent about getting the treasures and tries to trust everyone he meets. He looks for a silver lining in every situation and never gives up easily.

This book was an eye-opener about life. The struggles, unexpected situations, and the chase towards a common goal were very relatable. I felt like this book resembled 'Life of Pi' in some ways. This book was also about resilience, struggle, and going back to one's roots. In the end, it leaves many questions - Was the journey worth the effort? Was that the treasure I was looking for? Did I find my treasure? Were my struggles worth the experience?

Favorite lines from the book:

• I weep for Narcissus, but I never noticed that Narcissus was beautiful. I weep because each time he knelt beside my banks, I could see, in the depths of his eyes, my own beauty reflected.
• Well, usually I learn more from my sheep than from books.
• The day was dawning, and the shepherd urged his sheep in the direction of the sun. They never have to make any decisions, he thought. Maybe that's why they always stay close to me.
• I couldn't have found God in the seminary, he thought, as he looked at the sunrise.
• It's this: at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie.
• And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you achieve it.
• If you start out by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work toward getting it.
• For her, every day was the same, and when each day is the same as the next, it's because people fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives every day the sun rises.
• Because it's the thought of Mecca that keeps me alive. I'm afraid that if my dream is realized, I'll have no reason to go on living.
• You must always know what is that you want.
• Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.
• The closer one gets to realizing his Personal Legend, the more that Personal Legend becomes his true reason for being.
• Learning something new is an unnecessary burden.
• We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our possessions, and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and history of the world were written by the same hand.
• Once you get into the desert, there is no going back. And, when you can't go back, you have to worry only about the best way of moving forward. The rest is up to Allah, including the danger.
• Walking along in silence, he had no regrets. If he died tomorrow, it would be because God was not willing to change the future. He had lived every one of his days intensely since he had left home so long ago If he died tomorrow, he would already have seen more than other shepherds, and he was proud of that.
• Every search begins with beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victor's being severely tested.
• When you possess great treasures within you and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed.
• "But this payment goes beyond my generosity," the monk responded. "Don't say that again. Life might be listening, and give you less next time."
• Everything that happens once can never happen again. But everything that happens twice will surely happen a third time.
• People are capable, at any time in their lives, of doing what they dream of.