The alchemist

22.01.2021

Yes. I did read this book in a single day. Do I not have a life you may ask? Well I do, I actually had school too, but somehow I still managed to read it, simply because it was so good and enchanting. I had heard about this book from many different places, like different internet resources as well as my mom, who I found had actually read a bunch of the author's other books. Usually before I start reading a book I only read the title and a few words about it from other people and then decide whether I should give it a try.

The books starts as a story of a boy, a shepherd precisely, named Santiago who walks around the country of Spain with his sheep. He talks about meeting so many people and falling in love with a girl on one of his visits to a city in order to sell his sheep's fur. He decides to go back to her, but before that he visits a city and decides to go to a fortune-teller, informing her that he had dreamed multiple times in a row now, of finding a secret treasure. The fortune-teller informs him he must go to the Pyramids and there he will find his treasure. From there starts Santiago's long, long journey to the Pyramids of Egypt. At the beginning of his journey he meets an old king named Melchizedek, who is actually the king of Salem. He asks for a few of his sheep and in return he tells Santiago what a Personal Legend is. Santiago has now arrived to Africa, where he is robbed, so he starts working for a crystal merchant trying to save enough money. After some time he starts travelling through the massive dessert along with an Englishman who was on a search for an alchemist. Upon the arrival at an oasis, Santiago falls in love with an Arabian girl, Fatima and he proposes to her. She agrees, but on the condition that he completes his journey and finds the treasure. Santiago meets finally the Alchemist who teaches him many things, including the act of realizing his true self. At the end, just as he arrives to the Pyramids, he is robbed yet again, and learns from one of the thieves that his treasure was in the church he had visited at the beginning of the book, way back in Spain.

Star rating: I give this book 4 stars. I truly enjoyed the story and the whole adventure of Santiago. Paulo Coelho has written the story beautifully and there is actually a really interesting meaning behind it. When reading, I really had to stop at times and really think about. This book was lovely and a great inspiration with the message of how important it is for people to follow their dreams and find their true selves.