Book Review of

The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho

THE ALCHEMIST

• O Alquimista - Portuguese title

• Published: 1988

• Translated into 71 languages

• Sold more than 65 million copies in over 165

countries

• Won GUINNESS WORLD RECORD

• ISBN number: 0-06-250217-4

Characters • Santiago

• Gypsy

• Melchizedek

• The Shopkeeper

• The Englishman

• Fatima

• The Alchemist

Santiago

The Gypsy

Melchizedek

The Shopkeeper

The Englishman

Fatima

The Alchemist

Metaphors & Quotes

• Destiny

“ It’s a force that appears to be negative but shows

how to realize your destiny, prepares your spirit &

your will…..there is one great truth on this planet…..”

• Principle of favorability

“ Every search begins with beginner’s luck & every

search ends with the victor’s being severally tested!”

• Soul of the world

• Language of the world

“Learn to understand the language without

words…..only then you can learn to

understand the world.”

• MAKTUB

• Omens

“ Learn to recognize omens & follow

them…”

• Alchemy

• Alchemist

• Emerald tablet

• Philosopher's stone & elixir of life.

19

Urim & Thummim

20

THE ELIXIR OF LIFE

THE

PHILOSOPHER’S

STONE

When tribes caught them….

“When you possess great

treasures within you & try to

tell others of them, seldom

are you believed…”21

22

“ We are afraid of losing what we have

whether its our life or

possessions…..but this fear evaporates

when we understand that

our life stories and history of the

world is written by the same hand”

“At a certain point in our lives, we lose

control of what’s happening to us ,our

lives become controlled by fate. That’s

the world’s greatest lie.”

“The closer one gets to realizing his

destiny the more that destiny becomes

his true reason for being.”

“We are afraid of losing what we have

whether its our life or our possessions

and property. But this fear evaporates

when we understand that our life stories

and the history of the world were written

by the same hand.”

“Its not what enters men’s mouth that’s evil.

Its what comes out of their mouths that is

evil.”

“Everything that happens once can never

happen again but everything that happens

twice will surely happen for the third time. ”

“No matter what he does, every person on

earth plays a central role in the history of the

world. And normally he doesn’t know it.”

Comments

Paul Zindel (Author of The Pulitzer Prize Winning Play)

• “A boy named Santiago joins the ranks of candide by taking us on a very excellent adventure.”

Lynn Andrews (Author of The Medicine

Woman Trilogy)

• “Paulo Coelho gives you the inspiration to follow your own dreams by seeing the world through your own eyes and not by someone else’s,”

Anthony Robbins (Author of Awaken the giant within)

• “A remarkable tale about the most magical of all the journeys: the quest to full fill one’s destiny. I recommended The Alchemist to everyone who is passionately committed to claiming the life of their dreams –Today.”

Spencer Johnson (Author of The One Minute Manager)

• “An entrepreneurial tale of universal wisdom we can apply to the business of our own lives.”

Kajol & Karan Johar at the 'Visual Journey' of the

Alchemist.

Decide your goals…

“Have faith that you will accomplish them”

Trust your instinct

Believe in yourself

Believe in God, he’ll never let you fail but will keep on taking your

tests

Learn from your experiences

Work for what you have aimed….

Obstacles to ones personal legend are merely obstacles….not

blockages

Different book covers of THE ALCHEMIST….

Recommendations

Who should read this book-

1. This book is not targeted towards any age..

2. Who believe and practice spirituality

3. Who wants to understand their own heart and

follow their dreams.

4. MUST FOR THE CONFUSED.

5. For budding entrepreneurs.

Rating

ReviewWhat's good-

1. A thought provoking book.

2. Challenges you to think about our ‘’Personal Legend’’.

3. Focuses on the individual and the pursuit of individual dreams.

4. Emphasizes constant learning.

5. The story telling is powerful and gripping.

6. Shows great knowledge and skill of author in binding fiction

with facts.

7. Important read. Why?

What's not good-

1. The arrangement of content is quite

clumsy.

2. Characters are not referenced with their

names enough.

3. Some moments of climax are written very

short and not detailed enough.