Ava Ginley

Alchemist book review

This summer, I read The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. The story began with a boy named Santiago who

had a reoccurring dream, where he was told to find a treasure located at the foot of the Egyptian

pyramids. A gypsy and an old man convince him to go and achieve his personal legend. On page 24, the

old man says, “To realize one’s personal legend is a person’s only real obligation.”

Santiago does so and travels to Tangier because the old man tells him to sell his sheep and go there.

Unfortunately, he is robbed, so he finds a job with a crystal merchant so he can make more. They each

teach each other valuable lessons, and both are soon rich. An example of this is on page 60 when the

merchant says, “You have been a real blessing to me. Today, I understand something I didn’t see before:

every blessing becomes a curse. I don’t want anything else in life. But you are forcing me to look at

wealth and at horizons I have never known.” Santiago leaves him to pursue his Personal Legend with the

money.

He joins a caravan crossing the Sahara Desert toward Egypt and meets an Englishman. He meets an

Englishman, who plans to become an Alchemist, during the journey. The caravan must stop at Al-

Fayoum to avoid tribal wars. There, Santiago falls in love with a girl named Fatima. On page 95, the book

says, “he learned the most important part of the language that all the world spoke-the language that

everyone on earth was capable of understanding in their heart. It was love.” He also saves Al-Fayoum

from being attacked because he noticed an omen that warned him. The Alchemist is impressed by this,

and he teaches Santiago about the importance of listening to his heart and achieving his Personal Legend.

The two set off to the pyramids, leaving Fatima behind. As the two go through the desert, the Alchemist

teaches him to realize his true self and listen to his heart. The alchemist says on page 134, “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.” Suddenly, a tribe of Arab soldiers captures them. In exchange for

their lives, the alchemist hands over to the tribe all of Santiago’s money and tells them that Santiago is a

powerful alchemist who will turn into wind within three days. On the third day, he communicates with

the wind and the sun and has them help him create a big sandstorm. He prays to the Hand That Wrote All,
and at the height of the storm he disappears and reappears on the other side of the camp. The tribesmen,

awed by the power of the storm and by Santiago’s ability, let him and the alchemist free. The alchemist

gives Santiago gold and sends him off to finish his journey.

I thought this book was an interesting escape from reality, or to understand reality. It is not the type of

book I would usually like, and my reasoning opposed many things such as turning lead into gold.

However, I think it’s a beautiful story with many fascinating ideas about spirituality and destiny. The

setting of book is real, but the events are fictional. The quest and how he overcomes different obstacles

are truly encouraging to read about. I recommend it, the book makes readers understand having faith in

destiny, which ultimately leads to achieving it. The ending of The Alchemist was a little unsatisfying.

However, I didn’t think the book was as good as it is made out to be. Maybe I just didn’t connect enough,

or get a spiritual awakening, like another reader could. All things considered; I rate this book a seven out

of ten.