This was one book I looked forwarded to reading. May be due to the high amount of expectations involved, I was slightly disappointed in the beginning of the book. And the book is indeed disappointing, till you understand the underlying spirit of the parable.
The book is about the journey of a shepherd, Santiago. After receiving a prophetic message in his dream, Santiago sets out on a journey to an unknown land in search of a "treasure".A journey which starts from Spain and ends in the pyramids of Egypt, and on this journey nothing is going to help him more than "following his dream". And he is to meet many people, including the Alchemist, who will lead him nearer to his treasure. Does he get the treasure? Yes, He does, in a place where he least expected to find it.
The book is inspirational and is full of inspirational quotes. Did I enjoy the book? Well, Yes. I do not believe in "reading the omens" or "following your heart" but still I liked the book. Rather than seeing it as something that motivates me to "realise my dream", I would see it as a nice and sweet fable. Mr Coelho has not motivated me enough to "listen to my heart" but I have a strong feeling that I haven't really "read" this book; there is much more to be read between those lines. Maybe one day I will come back to this book and read it again. But one thing is definite: I will read any other other book by Paulo Coelho that comes my way.
Good but will not make to the list of my most favorite books. 3 out of 5.
I personally liked 'Veronika decides to die' by Coelho. Its Sort of a dark and revealing book, found it to be a lot more interesting and original than The Alchemist.
ReplyDelete