I perused Kim’s neat library last weekend when visiting Houston. She has her books organized by color like I’ve seen on a lot of interior design blogs. Pretty huh? I’d do that to my books too but I buy a lot of really old brownish books from secondhand bookstores. As I was sifting through, she pulled a couple of books for me to borrow. One of which was The Alchemist. I’ve heard about this book for years now, just never was enticed to read it. I was kind of excited to finally see why it’s so popular. I took my time with it and finished it in about 3 days but you can easily read it in one sitting.
Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist is a fable whose moral is basically, “Follow your dreams despite setback and despite love, and listen and pay attention to the omens as they will help you achieve your dreams.” I can see myself reading this to the five year old boy I sometimes babysit; the writing and storyline is very simple. A young shepherd sets off to find the Pyramids of Egypt because his treasure is allegedly there. He meets a handful of people along the way including the love of his life, who contribute to his “Personal Legend” in someway or another. A recurring message throughout the story is whatever it is you want, the universe will conspire to give you. (Doesn’t this remind you of The Secret?)
Whether or not someone can appreciate this story really depends on where they are in life. If you’re currently of a cynical, disbelieving disposition, this story may just feel really hokey. That was my reaction to The Secret. I have a hard time in general stomaching fantasy and so I struggled a little with the alchemy. I think I read this book just in time though. Things have felt uncertain in my neck of the woods lately and reading about following your dreams was encouraging. I really recommend reading Coelho’s introduction.
This isn’t really my genre so I appreciate Kim expanding my horizons a bit. It was enjoyable and I’m still digesting the message.
Excerpts
“The boy knew a lot of people in the city. That was what made traveling appeal to him – he always made new friends, and he didn’t need to spend all of his time with them. When someone sees the same people every day, as had happened with him at the seminary, they wind up becoming a part of that person’s life. And then they want the person to change. If someone isn’t what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own.”
“One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving.”