BootsnAll Travel Community

Has anyone else read "The Alchemest"? I read it about a year ago and after reading that novel it made me realize the my goal in life would be to see the world.
If you havn't read it I urge you to head straight out to the book store or the library, or however you can get it! Just read it! It will change how you look at the world.
Weeman
http://blogs.bootsnall.com/best

This is a great book Weeman. You should check out the Pilgrimage, since it's set along the Compostella pilgrim trail: agreat spieitual/travel book.

I found it more lame than was touted....but that's probably because I was crazy for such spiritual, enlightening, thought-provoking material at the time and had been reading tons and tons and tons.

I did enjoy it and gathered a bunch of great quotes from it. It was just repeating a lot of the same things I was finding in other material, nothing new.

For those new to the whole genre of such books, I'd certainly recommend it.

I think it's totally appropriate and cool that there's a thread dedicated to this book. I first read it in hs, and didn't "get it." I then read it later, and liked it a little more. I read it a few months ago, and it's definitely one of my faves. It seems like almost everyone on BnA has read it.

I like The Alchemist b/c it's spiritual w/o being preachy. I love the symbolism: so classic (see: the crystals in The Golden Flower Pot), yet still meaningful.

I love this book. I did have to get over the elementary writing, but the message behind the book is amazing. I have given it to everyone I know to read...highly inspirational.

I think its one of those books that will reach out to you depending on where u are in your search. Sometimes I felt it was too simple to be true but there was that symbolism which was great and got u thinking...

A must read....

I agree, Madhu- I noticed that after I read it again, it hit me much harder- partly because I was at a point in my life in which I think I needed to hear what it was saying. I do think it is a powerful book, and that it's one of those books that warrants reading again...

I just finished this one before registering for this site.

I think that it's over-rated, but I'm glad that I read it. It's charming. I'm not sure I learned anything, but I was thinking that it would be a great book for my son to read.

He turned me down- he's 11.

It reminds me of the movie Holes in a way (based on a book I guess)the way it's a type of human journey, or a way to view that journey, anyway. He loved Holes.

I was really disappointed with this book, especially after such high praise from BNA. It did not impress me at all. I thought it was overly simplistic and a waste of my money. I felt like the whole thing was geared towards young adults (i.e. early teens or younger). I'm clearly in the minority opinion, but I'd recommend giving this one a miss unless there wasn't anything else available to you. I demand much more out of the literature I read.
Liz

Well jeez, it may not have the syntactical complexity of Henry James or require the divine spark like Hegel, but it still speaks in so many ways to different people at different times.

I felt the child protagonist makes it universal b/c everyone was a child once. His sense of wonder and hope is something we can remember from childhood, thus restoring it in our adulthood.

i read this book, i know i did. i just cant remember a single iota of info about it. i walked the camino of santiago and can tell you lots of iotas about that trip. i cant even recall the connection between this book and the camino so i guess that means it was kinda

dumb
forgetable
uninspiring.

zopa

I'd finished this book about a month ago and I found it charming, if a little basic. A friend sent it to me as she knew I'd be travelling soon and I'm to pass it on to another friend when I go to help him consider travelling again. I quite like the idea that, although the book is very basic, the message it carries is clear and can be an influence.

elv

Bloody Good One That

I liked The Alchemist. The scenes in the oasis with Fatima were lovely and the ending is just perfect. Although I can see why it's not everyone's cup of tea.

verdict on some other Coelo books: I found The Pilgrimage disappointing. Hated Eleven Minutes. Loved Veronika Decides to Die, better than The Alchemist IMHO.

I'm not a huge fan of this book, but it was worth reading. Some ideas were quite basic, I agree, but there were enough "lessons" (although I don't like that word) for different people to find something relevant/useful/worthy of discussion.

I guess I am a bit surprised that it is so popular, because to me the message didn't sound that unique. But I can see how people find it moving and the story has kind of that fable quality.

The writing style was hard for me to get over too. I wonder if this is partly because of the translation or just difference in languages. My boyfriend loves most of Coelho's books and has read some in English and some in Slovenian and he has noticed a difference sometimes between the Slo. and English version of the same book.

I picked The Alchemist up at random from a hostel book swap shelf.

I'd never heard of it before, and I read the entire thing in one evening in a Queenstown, NZ cafe. It re-affirmed my belief that everything always works out in the end.

An ex-girfriend of mine suggested I read The Alchemist about 5 years ago. She also said I shouldn't read the epilogue because doing so would ruin the book for me.

I didn't, and despite having spotted the book in exchanges, stores and libraries ever since I've resisted the temptation.

Cute read, but that was it for me. I didn't really feel at all inspired or WOW! like some of you did. It was just.. ok.

Funnily, the first thought that pops in my head whenever I hear/read about this book is that it's Madonna's favourite book. I saw it on tv so it must be true.

quote:

Loved Veronika Decides to Die, better than The Alchemist IMHO.

That's what I was going to say. The Alchemist was good, Veronika was great. Neither one made my all time favorite list, but both made me think. A simple style doesn't bother me either.

An interesting tidbit I recently learned:

The plotline of the Alchemist (especially the "thrilling conclusion") was borrowed from ancient persian folklore. In A Thousand and One Nights (aka: The Arabian Nights) a short story called "The Dream" was clearly the inspiration for the Alchemist.

Whether this counts as plagiarism or homage is up to the reader, I suppose.