Country : Brazil
Language : Portuguese
Genre(s). Quest, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy.
Published in English : 1993
Pages163 pp (first English edition )
The Alchemist is a novel by Paulo Coelho first published in 1988. Originally written in Portuguese, has sold more than 65 million copies in more than 160 countries, and into 71 languages as of 2011, becoming one of the best-selling books in history and winning the Guinness World Record for most translated book by a living author.
Summary :
The Alchemist follows a young Andalusian shepherd named Santiago ( Andalusia ,a Town in Spain. ) is in his journey to Egypt, after having a recurring dream of finding treasure there.
Santiago, believing a recurring dream to be prophetic, decides to travel to a gypsy in a nearby town to discover its meaning. Gypsy sees the passion and determination in boys eyes and tells him that there is a treasure in the Pyramids in Egypt.
Into his journey, he meets an old king, Melchizedek, who attires rough and looks so worn out to him, but carrying a gold plate and leading a simple life. The old king tells him to sell his sheep to travel to Egypt, and find himself what the nature has hidden in the treasure for him . and his Personal Legend: what he always wanted to accomplish in his life. And that "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." This is the core philosophy and motto of the book.
Along the way, he encounters love, danger, opportunity, disaster and learns a lot about himself and the ways of the world. During his travels, he meets a beautiful Arabian woman named Fatima who explains to him that if he follows his heart, he shall find what it is he seeks.
Santiago then encounters a lone alchemist who tells about personal legends. He says that people only want to find the treasure of their personal legends but not the personal legend itself. He feels unsure about himself as he listens to the alchemist's teachings. The alchemist states "Those who don't understand their personal legends will fail to comprehend its teachings." It also states that treasure is more worthy than gold.
Dreams, symbols, signs, and adventure follow the reader like echoes of ancient wise voices in "The Alchemist", a novel that combines an atmosphere of Medieval mysticism with the song of the desert. With this symbolic masterpiece Coelho states that we should not avoid our destinies, and urges people to follow their dreams, because to find our "Personal Myth" and our mission on Earth is the way to find "God", meaning happiness, fulfillment, and the ultimate purpose of creation.
Story :
The novel tells the tale of Santiago, a boy who has a dream and the courage to follow it. After listening to "the signs and reading the omens" the boy departs in search for a hidden treasure located near the pyramids in Egypt.
When he decides to go, his father advises him "Travel the world until you see that our castle is the greatest, and our women the most beautiful". In his journey, Santiago sees the greatness of the world, observes people with small dreams, and meets all kinds of exciting people like kings and alchemists. However, by the end of the novel, he discovers that "treasure lies where your heart belongs", and that the treasure was the journey itself, the discoveries he made, and the wisdom he acquired.
"The Alchemist" is a kind of novel that tells you that everything is possible as long as you really want it to happen. That may sound like an oversimplified version of new-age philosophy and mysticism, but as Coelho states "simple things are the most valuable and only wise people appreciate them".
As the alchemist himself says, when he appears to Santiago in the form of an old king "when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true". This is the core of the novel's philosophy and a motif that echoes behind Coelho's writing all through "The Alchemist". The old king says that the greatest lie in the world is that at some point we lose the ability to control our lives, and become the pawns of fate. .
Coelho also suggests that those who do not have the courage to follow their dreams or " Personal Myth", are doomed to a life of emptiness, misery, and unfulfillment. Fear of failure seems to be the greatest obstacle to happiness. As the old crystal-seller tragically confesses: " I am afraid that great disappointment awaits me, and so I prefer to dream". This is where Coelho really captures the drama of man, who sacrifices fulfillment to conformity, who knows he can achieve greatness but denies to do so, and ends up living a life of void.
It is interesting to see that Coelho presents the person who denies to follow his dream as the person who denies to see God, and that "every happy person carries God within him". However, only few people choose to follow the road that has been made for them, and find God while searching for their destiny, and their mission on earth.
Consequently, is Coelho suggesting that the alchemists found God while searching for the elixir of life and the philosopher's stone? What is certain is that the symbolism of the text is a parallel to the symbolism and the symbolic language of alchemism, and similarly the symbolism of dreams is presented as " God's language".
It is also symbolic that Santiago finds his soul-mate, and the secrets of wisdom in the wilderness of the desert. The "wilderness" is a symbol that has been used by many great writers e.g.. Austen in "Mansfield Park", and Shakespeare in "King Lear". In the desert, Santiago meets his "twin-soul" and discovers that love is the core of existence and creation. As Coelho explains, when we love, we always try to improve ourselves, and that's when everything is possible. The subject of love inspires a beautiful lyricism in Coelho's writing: " I love you because the whole universe conspired for me to come close to you."
"The Alchemist" is not just a novel, its a book that knocks on the door of your heart. It helps you generate so much energy for your soul that at once you start analyzing yourself. The novel skillfully combines words of wisdom, philosophy, and simplicity.
Theme :
The book's main theme is about finding one's self destiny. According to The New York Times, The Alchemist is "more self-help than literature"
EB.
For feed back and suggestions : emmadbuttpk@gmail.com
Sent from my BlackBerry® Smartphone provided by Ufone
No comments:
Post a Comment