The Alchemist

The Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho is well known for his philosophical and spiritual writings. The Alchemist is his first book in my collection. Though I have read many of his books, none could catch my heart like 'The Alchemist'.

The story is all about Santiago,an Andalusian shepherd boy who sees a recurring dream about a treasure under the pyramids of Egypt. Trying to interpret the dream he meets an old man Melchizedek,who claims to be the king of Salem. He sets the boy off on his journey to discover his personal legend. The boy meets the title character of this story the alchemist from the oasis,who teaches him about the importance of listening to ones heart. Finally Santiago realizes that the treasure is not under the pyramids but it's buried under the abandoned church in Spain,from where he had seen the dream.

The story teaches us that every treasure lies in our own heart and there is no need to search for it in the outside world.

There are many inspirational quotes throughout the story, out of which my favorite is " If you wish something truly,the whole universe conspires in your favor": said by the old king. However I found the words of alchemist :" Don't think about what you have left behind, everything is written in the soul of the world and there it will stay forever" as an apt message for everyone, who regrets about the past.

The author really succeeded in grabbing the attention of the readers throughout the story. Unlike his other books, boredom was something that I didn't experience at all. I suggest everyone to read this wonderful book as it inspires us to follow our dream.

~aThi@~