The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Here's what "The Alchemist" is about and why you should read it:

Genre: Novel, Drama, Fantasy Fiction, Quest, Adventure Fiction.

The questions normally asked about "The Alchemist" are: What's The Alchemist about? Is it worth reading? Why is The Alchemist the best book? Why is The Alchemist a must-read? What is the main message of the Alchemist?

This blog explains it all. The Alchemist is about your dreams and why you should follow them despite everything. The book gives the push that some people need to follow their dreams. The book explains why is it never wrong to follow your dreams if your intention is pure.

Some people who have read it said that it changed the course of their life. So there is obviously something about this book that everyone who reads it becomes a fan of.

Author: 

The name of the author is "Paulo Coelho." He is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist. His best-selling novel is The Alchemist book. It was originally published in Portuguese but because of its popularity, it was widely translated. So far, it has been translated into 83 different languages and has sold 150 million copies of the book. It also holds two Guinness World records.

THE ALCHEMIST BOOK SUMMARY:

The Story is about a shepherd boy who travels the World while following his dreams. The story is set in the Spanish region of Andalusia. A shepherd boy who belonged to a simple family had to work a lot for just food and water.

His family wanted him to become a priest and therefore, be the family's pride. Santiago, the boy had other plans. He wanted to travel the World. He wanted to do something more than just know about man's sins. 

One day, he mustered up the courage to tell his father that he did not want to be a priest. His father tried to convince him. He told him that they don't have the kind of money needed to travel the world. The boy suggested that he'd be a shepherd. His father did not argue anymore and gave him three coins to buy the flock.

The book starts with him being happy in his shepherd's life. He goes about selling wool. We are introduced to his love interest, the merchant's daughter. He went to the village of Tarifa only once. He was told that there's a merchant there who buys wool but it should be sheared in front of him so that he is not cheated.

In four days, he'll meet the girl again. When they first met, they talked about books and he told her about his travels.

The boy saw a dream twice and he wanted it to be interpreted. So he went to a gypsy, and he explained his dream that some children who played with his flock told him that he should go to the Egyptian pyramids. There he would get the treasure.

The woman said that the dream was difficult to interpret but her prize would be one-tenth of the treasure he finds. That is the interpretation of his dream. He doesn't believe her and continues his journey.

Do you want to read more books like this? Here:

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He is forced to think about it when an old man from Salem gives him a hint that it's true. Thus, he embarks on his journey to find the treasure. But how would he get there? Will it be easy? What challenges would he have to face? He thought about all that but he wasn't the one to give up.

Read the book to find out how his adventure goes, does he find the treasure or not?

THE ALCHEMIST BOOK QUOTES:

1. "Those people, when they see our land, say that they would like to live here forever," his father continued.

Well, I'd like to see their land, and see how they live," said his son.

"The people who come here have a lot of money to spend, so they can afford to travel," his father said. "Amongst us, the only ones who travel are shepherds."

"Well, then I'll be a shepherd!"

(Page 9)

2. "It's a dream in the language of the world," she said. "I can interpret it, but the interpretation is very difficult. That's why I feel that I deserve a part of what you find.

"And this is my interpretation: you must go to the pyramids in Egypt. I have never heard of them, but, it was a child who showed them to you, they exist."

(Page 15)

3. "Where are you from?" the boy asked. "From many places." "No one can be from many places," the boy said.

(Page 19)

4. "Give me one-tenth of your sheep," said the old man, "and I'll tell you how to find the hidden treasure."

The boy remembered his dream, and suddenly everything was clear to him.

 (Page 21)

5. "People learn, early in their lives, what is their reason for being," said the old man, with a certain bitterness. "Maybe that's why they give up on it so early, too. But that's the way it is."

(Page 25)

6. "What about one-tenth of my treasure?" The old man looked disappointed. "If you start out by promising what you don't even have yet, you'll lose your desire to work toward getting it."

(Page 25)

Even books like these also have some people who don't enjoy the read. That's because they don't view life in that certain way and that's completely fine if you don't like it too.

The Alchemist book gives us a lesson about hope. It gives you the confidence of dreaming of anything. It tells you that you can achieve anything if you put your heart and soul into it. The Alchemist teaches you that nothing is impossible if you are determined to do it. 

Although, there will be difficulties. There will be times when you're disappointed and you'll think of giving up many times. That is where you have to remember your dream and where you need to be persistent.

A famous The Alchemist quote about life is:

"It's the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting."

Here is the complete blog series I did on two other books.

Harry Potter

The Hunger Games

Read the book and let me know in the comments what you felt afterward.