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The Alchemist | 
 enlarge | Author: Paulo Coelho
Publisher: HarperCollins
Category: Book
List Price: $13.95
Buy Used: $4.91
You Save: $9.04 (65%)
New (95) Used (137) Collectible (6) from $4.91
Rating:  1290 reviews
Sales Rank: 293
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 208
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 0.6
ISBN: 0061122416
Dewey Decimal Number: 869.342
EAN: 9780061122415
ASIN: 0061122416
Publication Date: May 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Amazon.com Review
Like the one-time bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Alchemist presents a simple fable, based on simple truths and places it in a highly unique situation. And though we may sniff a bestselling formula, it is certainly not a new one: even the ancient tribal storytellers knew that this is the most successful method of entertaining an audience while slipping in a lesson or two. Brazilian storyteller Paulo Coehlo introduces Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who one night dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. And so he's off: leaving Spain to literally follow his dream. Along the way he meets many spiritual messengers, who come in unassuming forms such as a camel driver and a well-read Englishman. In one of the Englishman's books, Santiago first learns about the alchemists--men who believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the "Soul of the World." Of course he does eventually meet an alchemist, and the ensuing student-teacher relationship clarifies much of the boy's misguided agenda, while also emboldening him to stay true to his dreams. "My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night. "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself," the alchemist replies. "And that 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." --Gail Hudson
Product Description
My Heart Is Afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky."Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come. The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist. The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1285 more reviews...
 I wish that Amazon would have a rating of "ZERO STARS" November 22, 2008
Those that know me well already know that I have a propensity for being the last one in on a fad. That is to say, no, prior to this, I had never read "The Alchemist." But several friends told me I needed to, and so I finally got around to reading it.
I put this book in the same category as I do the "poetry" of Maya Angelou, or the "star appeal" of Britney Spears. OK, so what's all the fuss about? If that's poetry, then so is all the scribbling on bathroom walls, and if she's talented, I'm the next Emperor of China.
The only good thing I can say about this book is that it was mercifully short. I almost quit around page 80, but I thought, "well, I'm halfway through it: maybe the good parts are at the end."
Alas, such was not the case. There is, I believe, a fine line between true mysticism and pop-psycho-quacketry. (Don't look that up: I just invented the word.) This book simply ignores the distinction. To put it, as the Brits might, succinctly: What a lot of claptrap.
When I had finished the book I read all the accompanying articles in the book, including an interview with the author, in which he proudly states that Bill Clinton was seen reading the book and that Julia Roberts had declared it to be "the most amazing book!"
I wish I had read that interview first: had I known that THOSE two luminaries praised the book, I would have known better than to have read it myself....
 Simple But Strong Message November 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Paulo Coelho weaves a masterpiece confronting the very basis of the way we live in society today. He tries to show that if you follow your, "Personal legend" which is what your deepest dream is, and what God has planed for you, you will achieve true happiness.
Paulo Coelho was born in Brazil. He has always been devoted to art of literature. He was once captured by paramilitaries because of his deep faith in freedom of speech. He started writing at age 27, and his first book was not much of a hit. When he wrote the first edition of the Alchemist it only sold 900 copies. He brought it to a different publishing company. It caught on like wildfire and sold more than any other Brazilian literature. Since then, he has continued to write books and has sold more then 65 million copies in 150 different countries in 60 different languages of his various novels.
Paulo Coelho does an amazing job of showing his perspective on how life should be lived. He writes a vivid story of a Shepard that gives up all he can to find a treasure. The Shepard is constantly challenged along the way and has to overcome these challenges. Coelho focus greatly on following your heart and omens from God in order to achieve your personal legend. Personally, as a high school student, I think that it is a good book, but can seem a little far-fetched, as far as the ideology goes, to some people. I think that it takes an intelligent individual to understand the book for what it truly is.
This book is written extremely well and is full of very insightful wisdom. I agree with him when he states "To realize one's destiny is a person's only obligation." However, this can be quite hard to do in today's society. Overall a very good book.
The best book ever! November 20, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read the Portuguese version and I loved. I gave the English version as birthday gift to my American girlfriend and a friend and they both loved it. This book is full of wise lessons and easy to read (I finish it in 4 days). Once you start you never stop. I recommend to read it with a marker to highlight the life lessons which you are about to learn.
Actually life-changing November 17, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I know a million other people have already talked about how great this book is, but I had to add my own review too. (I just started reviewing things on Amazon and now I can't stop!) Read this book. It's really good, and really uplifting.
 And the moral of the story is... November 14, 2008
'The Alchemist' is essentially a fable that crystallises an age-old theme - that of stepping beyond one's comfort zone in the pursuit of one's dreams. The moral of the story is illustrated by Coelho with an unwavering single-mindedness. This is clear right from the onset when our protagonist, the shepherd boy Santiago, receives the 'calling' to pursue his dream, till when he finally attains it after many a trial and tribulation. Along the way, he is aided by the Alchemist, who is really a personification of the boy's conscience and an expression of the ideals he works towards. Neither the story nor the message is new. Nonetheless, what the book offers is a clear and uncluttered narrative, written in an accessible style, that serves to accentuate the author's key message.
The fable-like style of Coelho's storytelling, however, makes for a rather colourless read. The plot and the characters are forgettable. Even the stark settings conjured by the author - the chaos and commotion of the bustling port-side towns and the loneliness of the vast North African desert - become increasing pointless when set against the thin narrative and unremarkable cast of characters. Furthermore, the brand of spirituality proffered by the author, in all his ecumenical eagerness, ends up confusing the key message by failing to offer any concrete religious philosophy from any of the spiritual traditions that he draws upon.
This book is a clear and `feel-good' reminder about pursuing one's dreams, but otherwise an unremarkable piece of fiction.
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