Book Review-The Alchemist

The Alchemist -which is 154 pages- is by Paulo Coelho, who has written 28 books since The Alchemist came out, and is an adventure fiction novel that consists of drama and quests. The Alchemist was originally published in Portuguese in 1988 and was translated and published in English in 1993. The Alchemist is about finding one’s true self and never giving up.The message it shows is that one should not change their goal for others and always “follow their own pursuit.” The Alchemist talks about a shepherd tending to its flock, then going and finding treasure in Egypt.

     An important quote is to “Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure.”  “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it,” is another important quote from The Alchemist. The story talks about an Andalusian shephard boy named Santiago that travels from Spain to a desert in Egypt to find his treasure. He meets an alchemist, a so-called king, and a gypsy woman. He also finds items to help him find his true treasure. Santiago used to think life was well-spent herding sheep and reading books, yet he soon found out he was wrong. I was able to connect to the story because I had always accepted that what I had was enough for me, and I did not need anything more. I enjoyed the use of dialogue and description wherever it seemed fit. My favorite part was towards the beginning where he first decided to go on an adventure. 

     I enjoyed reading the book because it had very helpful and inspiring messages. I enjoyed the adventures in the story, and the end was a nice finale to the book. Book lovers that enjoy stories written by Terry Pratchett or other books by Paulo Coelho, then I greatly recommend The Alchemist. I, Riley Mohn, greatly enjoyed reading The Alchemist, and I started reading the book just to spend my time better than scrolling on my phone, but I came to enjoy the book the further I read.