The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

A Review by Anne Mills

In 1988, Paul Coelho, a renowned Brazilian author, originally wrote this book in Portuguese, but it became so popular, it was translated into 56 languages. It is a story of a simple shepherd, Santiago, who, while wandering from pasture to pasture to feed his sheep as was his rustic, prosaic living, aspires to follow a recurrent dream. Aided by opportunistic omens, he sells his sheep and sets out to pursue a spiritual and physical path to find love, treasure and the meaning of life. Along the way, he learns many things – the art of selling crystal-ware, alchemy, the making of the Philosopher’s Stone, the Arabic language, universal language, the way of the desert, and how it is possible to turn into the wind. He travels across the African continent through the Sahara desert to Egypt and the pyramids, where he finally has a painful epiphany.

The theme throughout is of the law of attraction and how if you really desire something and focus on it, the universe will contrive by harmonious vibrations to turn it into reality. There are strong parallels to this story in Hermann Hesse’s "Siddartha", the story of the a young Indian Bramin’s son to find his destiny; and the theme of luck or positive thinking is echoed in many books and stories including "The Secret" written more recently.

Deep and spiritual "The Alchemist" may be, but I found it written simply and easy to read, and once I had picked it up, it held me until the unanticipated end! Reading it, has inspired me further to follow my spiritual pathway, and I found it enlightening, and convinced me of the power of positive thinking.