The Alchemist

A shepherd boy searching for treasure and love.
He encounters a king and an alchemist.
And a thief.

Fictional story, yes.
Yet, "The Alchemist" dares stupendous assertions.

“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.” 
The whole book is based on this premise.

Do you really attain your dream if you truly will it?

The atmosphere of the story is ethereal.
It is filled with nudges to look within, such as, "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.  And that no heart has every suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."



Some have said "The Alchemist" is a vague New Age spirituality that would collapse under close application.   Published in 1988, it has sold about 35 million copies and is the most translated book in the world by any living author.

Perhaps it is a vague spirituality.
Perhaps it proposes what each person knows innately.
Perhaps this is why it is intensely popular.

“...and the world we live in will be either better or worse, depending on whether we become better or worse. And that's where the power of love comes in. Because when we love, we always strive to become better than we are”  (The Alchemist).  “The glory of God is a human being fully alive; and to be alive consists in beholding God"  (St. Irenaeus).

Paulo Coelho does not seek to be a guru.  He states, "Borges said there are only four stories to tell: a love story between two people, a love story between three people, the struggle for power and the voyage. All of us writers rewrite these same stories ad infinitum."

Possibly, his own life may give a clue to the book's mood.
His parents sent him to the mental asylum three times in his adolescence.
In the early 1970s, he was absorbed in sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll.

In 1986, at the age of 36, he decided to walk the 500-mile Santiago de Compostela.
Conceivably, it may be akin to the journey of Santiago in "The Alchemist."
Coelho quit his other jobs and started writing full-time.  His 26 books have sold more than 65 million copies in at least 59 languages.

If there are only four stories to tell, will your life be a story to tell?

ps.  Photo credit:  www.songzige.com

ps2.  Interview with Paulo Coelho:  http://www.nytimes.com/2005/08/30/books/30coel.html?pagewanted=all

ps3.  Biography of Paulo Coelho:  http://www.biography.com/people/paolo-coelho-5524