An Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest.
No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way. But what starts out as a journey to find worldly good turns into a discovery of the treasures found within.
Lush, evocative and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.
How many self-help books does the world really need? This and other probing questions were inspired by this month’s book The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
A few of us had read this before, some a few times before, and in true Tuesday Book Club tradition we had plenty to say of its content and what it all might possibly mean. Deep and meaningful? Not completely, there were plenty of laughs thrown in, mostly to do with the self-help market and its promotion strategies. Many thought it to be a well written fable/biblical telling of life’s lessons. Viti searched for symbolic meaning, such is her way, but came up with no ground breaking insight, just that she had enjoyed it more with each reading, which to date has been three, and that it was a metaphor for life. We all tended to agree, but not sure exactly what the metaphor was telling us other than the obvious; learning of life’s lessons through experience and travel; be true to yourself; grass is always greener; own backyard; life’s real treasures, the journey …. etc.
Anne was the biggest fan and found it to be a wonderful story full of beautiful language, innocence of youth and an uplifting coming-of-age tale.
On the negative side were comments such as under-whelming, repetitive, and lacked involvement. We discussed the time, place and setting aspects and also whether anything was lost in translation from its Spanish origins. This we thought could be a possibility.
Unanimously we decided this story had certainly been told before under the guise of new-age literature, which there is no shortage of, and that in all probability The Alchemist is more adhesive to the young, inexperienced mind. And as there is an unlimited supply of such, there will always be a place for this type of literature.
1 comment:
This is a book about adventure, self-discovery, and learning to believe in yourself. It's a book that will not only entertain you, but in the midst of that entertainment you will find inspiration and you will realize that it is never too late to do the things you have always wanted to do.
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