Review by Kenny O. for The Alchemist (Collins Readers) Rating:
Yes, much of what negative reviewers of this book have to say is true: the writing is blunt and simple, the characters lack depth and complexity, it is quite male-focused in its subject matter and language, it has a bunch of quasi-religious mumbo-jumbo, and so on. This book should not be put on the list of great literature for the ages. There are doubtless many novels that cover subject matter from this book far more artfully. As I read the book, I was aware of its hokeyness and lack of redeeming literary qualities. I am, in fact, usually the first person to criticize books that read like this.And yet, I have to say – and I feel a bit sheepish about this – that I found it meaningful, even profound at times. How can I say this, given my criticisms? First of all, unlike many reviewers, I did not approach this book with great expectations. No one told me that this was Shakespeare or Tolstoy; I had never even heard of it until it was recommended to me recently. And by the end of page 2, I had adjusted my expectations further. This clearly was not going to be winning the Booker prize.But I found the book moving in its simple way. The characters deliver their statements without subtlety, but subtlety is more a literary virtue than a philosophical one. In fact, I essentially came to view this work as a life philosophy expressed as a fable, so I didn’t particularly mind that its messages were not buried far beneath the surface.Are those messages novel? No, but what of it? Novelists have been recycling themes for centuries, becuase many themes are of enduring interest and relevance. The point is, the messages are worthwhile and deserving of consideration. They are simple, but I think that simplicity is itself one of the central themes of the book: that life is not that complicated when one follows one’s dreams honestly and passionately, or as the book says, “with love and purpose.” And yet the book reminds us that it is very easy to give up dreams and abandon one’s passion.I have to disagree with one often-mentioned criticism of the book, namely, that it advocates pure materialism. That is, in my opinion, a serious misinterpretation. The book is written in the style of a fable, and therefore the goals people strive for are the typical gold-and-buried-treasure stuff. But I think one would have to misread the book quite severely to think that it is advocating material gain. The book is not at all about the specific goals that the protagonist pursues. It is about the importance of wanting something urgently and how the wanting seems to reorient the universe in harmony with that goal (just as a magnetic field can reorder the particles around it), how genuine passion and enthusiasm are rewarded with success, how those who love us encourage us to pursue our goals, and how the act of reaching for goals – whatever they are, and whether or not ultimately reached – plunges us into a strong current that carries us to places that we can never expect or know when we embark. There is something here in common with the beliefs of the Romantics, in that much of the value of the goal is in the journey that it leads us on — the experiences gained and the lessons learned.It’s not a fair criticism of the book, I think, to say that it doesn’t tell us what happens when people’s goals conflict with one another, or disclose that circumstances outside of our control often render us unable to reach our goals however sincerely we may pursue them. We don’t need a book to tell us that. Anyone who has made it out of childhood knows that, and I have to believe that the author is well aware of this as well. I suspect that through his simple tale, he is trying to provide some kind of argument against the kind of cynicism or fear that the world can sometimes instill in us, and encourage us to keep diving into that “strong current” to see where it takes us.
Review by Kevin Joseph for The Alchemist (Collins Readers) Rating:
More parable than novel, “The Alchemist” uses the story of young shepherd Santiago’s search for his Personal Legend as an allegory for everyman’s struggle to break from the comfortable confines of conformity and pursue his life dreams. Along the way, of course, our young everyman is beset by all manner of setbacks, testing his resolve and forcing him to become attuned to the Soul of the World in order to survive. By paying attention to the details in the world around him, which serve as omens guiding him towards his goal, young Santiago becomes an alchemist in his own right, spinning unfavorable circumstances into riches.
Aside from the ubiquitous theme about the power of perseverance, my favorite part of the book was its glorification of simplicity. Like the pared-down manner in which the story is presented, Santiago’s rare ability to get in touch with the Soul of the World comes not from the procedures described in arcane tomes pursued by traditional alchemists, but rather from a simple honesty and observance of the workings of the world. While the lack of character or plot complexity precludes this minimalist work from being considered a great novel, it will be a satisfying read for those seeking inspiration of the purest sort.
Review by for The Alchemist (Collins Readers) Rating:
When I thought about reviewing this book, I had many things to say…but after reading some of the other reviews which pick apart and criticize it, I can see the meaning of the book even more clearly. The writing is simple and clear- not juvenile. It’s entertaining and brings a message which does not need to be complicated, except for those who are not ready to see the truth. They are the ones who like their truth heavily veiled and masked, as their self-gratification is in the pursuit. The reality is, the only place you need to look for the truth is in yourself. There is no search required- just your own personal journey. Life does not need to be complicated, and the folks who have made negative comments about those who enjoy this book have obviously missed the point of it entirely- and they bring to mind the phrase “Casting Pearls before Swine.” You are not going to get anything valuable from this book unless you are READY for the spiritual knowledge which it contains. And that is one of the main points of the book anyway. Personally, I received deep spiritual messages and peace from reading The Alchemist- and I have been on my own spiritual path for over two decades. This book presents information that only those who have actually paid attention to their journey would understand and appreciate. If you read it and don’t like it, I suggest you forget about it for at least 5 years and pick it up again. You might be surprised. Update, 10/2003:Oh. My. Gosh. I can’t believe how many people just “don’t get” this book!!! Look: the point is not about anyone’s “Personal Legend”!!! THE POINT, is that what you search for is usually RIGHT THERE all along, and that the journey you take to find it is about learning lessons and growing as a person. Get it yet? LIFE IS IN THE JOURNEY, NOT THE DESTINATION!! Santiago set off to find his “pot of gold,” and after a long journey during which he grew mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, he finally discovers the location of the treasure. He follows the directions and find it RIGHT WHERE HE STARTED! GET IT?!!! You have what you need inside of you all of the time. You don’t need to search outside yourself- you need to look within. THAT is the point. Sheesh.
Review by Chris Foreman for The Alchemist (Collins Readers) Rating:
Last spring I read “Illusions,” by Richard Bach. When I read the reviews online, one guy mentioned he thought “The Alchemist” was superior to the story of “Illusions.” I finally got around to “Alchemist” and I must say I was quite disappointed.First off, yes I realize it’s considered a fable, but the writing style is far too simplistic. I don’t know if it’s the translation, but it reads like a book an elementary schooler would read for a report. Annoying points: there are page after page of adolescent terms like “Master Work” and “Personal Legend” and “Language of the Universe”, repetitious redundancies of quotes, just in case you haven’t been paying attention, and very little masking of points. Coelho must not trust the reader to pick things up because he screams them at you. But, that’s just the writing style. As for the writing, there is a clear spiritual basis to the story, which is welcome, but the incessant talk of fate was a complete turn-off. I also felt there was an air of superiority to it. Santiago would pass people who seemed happy in their lives, and he would feel sorry for them because they weren’t on a trek. In the case of the crystal shop owner, yes, he was pathetic for not pursuing his dream of going to Mecca. But to look at another shop owner and judge he has not pursued his dream, when perhaps his dream was to settle with his family, was distracting. On to love….um, he meets a woman midway through the story and falls in love before they speak? Oooookay. And this woman he supposedly loves, and with whom he could settle with and be rich, he leaves to discover a treasure. Why is his dream that of a material/monetary nature? I had a tiny problemo with that one.So, before this becomes a lecture. I give it 3 stars for some of the dialogue Santiago has with the alchemist, and for its basic idea: pursue your dream, as it will haunt you if you don’t. However, this is hardly a fantastic book….it just speaks to the masses, where others may require one to think more.
Review by Steve R for The Alchemist (Collins Readers) Rating:
Contrived. Pretentious. Juvenile. That’s just the introduction, in which the author discusses his amazement at the popularity this book has gained. It is equally astonishing for any reader who is able to endure more than five pages of: “The Soul of the World spoke to the Heart of the Boy as he prayed to the God of the Dessert who commanded the Spirit of the Wind…” I found myself praying to the God of Literature that the boy’s beloved sheep would stampeded and trample him to death, sparing me from the Demons of Boredom. If you liked the Celestine Prophecy you’ll love The Alchemist. You can read it while you’re waiting for the mothership to return. Otherwise, take a pass and read something more intellectually engaging, like the tax code.
(out of 1490 reviews)
Review by Kenny O. for The Alchemist (Collins Readers)
Rating:
Yes, much of what negative reviewers of this book have to say is true: the writing is blunt and simple, the characters lack depth and complexity, it is quite male-focused in its subject matter and language, it has a bunch of quasi-religious mumbo-jumbo, and so on. This book should not be put on the list of great literature for the ages. There are doubtless many novels that cover subject matter from this book far more artfully. As I read the book, I was aware of its hokeyness and lack of redeeming literary qualities. I am, in fact, usually the first person to criticize books that read like this.And yet, I have to say – and I feel a bit sheepish about this – that I found it meaningful, even profound at times. How can I say this, given my criticisms? First of all, unlike many reviewers, I did not approach this book with great expectations. No one told me that this was Shakespeare or Tolstoy; I had never even heard of it until it was recommended to me recently. And by the end of page 2, I had adjusted my expectations further. This clearly was not going to be winning the Booker prize.But I found the book moving in its simple way. The characters deliver their statements without subtlety, but subtlety is more a literary virtue than a philosophical one. In fact, I essentially came to view this work as a life philosophy expressed as a fable, so I didn’t particularly mind that its messages were not buried far beneath the surface.Are those messages novel? No, but what of it? Novelists have been recycling themes for centuries, becuase many themes are of enduring interest and relevance. The point is, the messages are worthwhile and deserving of consideration. They are simple, but I think that simplicity is itself one of the central themes of the book: that life is not that complicated when one follows one’s dreams honestly and passionately, or as the book says, “with love and purpose.” And yet the book reminds us that it is very easy to give up dreams and abandon one’s passion.I have to disagree with one often-mentioned criticism of the book, namely, that it advocates pure materialism. That is, in my opinion, a serious misinterpretation. The book is written in the style of a fable, and therefore the goals people strive for are the typical gold-and-buried-treasure stuff. But I think one would have to misread the book quite severely to think that it is advocating material gain. The book is not at all about the specific goals that the protagonist pursues. It is about the importance of wanting something urgently and how the wanting seems to reorient the universe in harmony with that goal (just as a magnetic field can reorder the particles around it), how genuine passion and enthusiasm are rewarded with success, how those who love us encourage us to pursue our goals, and how the act of reaching for goals – whatever they are, and whether or not ultimately reached – plunges us into a strong current that carries us to places that we can never expect or know when we embark. There is something here in common with the beliefs of the Romantics, in that much of the value of the goal is in the journey that it leads us on — the experiences gained and the lessons learned.It’s not a fair criticism of the book, I think, to say that it doesn’t tell us what happens when people’s goals conflict with one another, or disclose that circumstances outside of our control often render us unable to reach our goals however sincerely we may pursue them. We don’t need a book to tell us that. Anyone who has made it out of childhood knows that, and I have to believe that the author is well aware of this as well. I suspect that through his simple tale, he is trying to provide some kind of argument against the kind of cynicism or fear that the world can sometimes instill in us, and encourage us to keep diving into that “strong current” to see where it takes us.
Review by Kevin Joseph for The Alchemist (Collins Readers)
Rating:
More parable than novel, “The Alchemist” uses the story of young shepherd Santiago’s search for his Personal Legend as an allegory for everyman’s struggle to break from the comfortable confines of conformity and pursue his life dreams. Along the way, of course, our young everyman is beset by all manner of setbacks, testing his resolve and forcing him to become attuned to the Soul of the World in order to survive. By paying attention to the details in the world around him, which serve as omens guiding him towards his goal, young Santiago becomes an alchemist in his own right, spinning unfavorable circumstances into riches.
Aside from the ubiquitous theme about the power of perseverance, my favorite part of the book was its glorification of simplicity. Like the pared-down manner in which the story is presented, Santiago’s rare ability to get in touch with the Soul of the World comes not from the procedures described in arcane tomes pursued by traditional alchemists, but rather from a simple honesty and observance of the workings of the world. While the lack of character or plot complexity precludes this minimalist work from being considered a great novel, it will be a satisfying read for those seeking inspiration of the purest sort.
-Kevin Joseph, author of “The Champion Maker”
Review by for The Alchemist (Collins Readers)
Rating:
When I thought about reviewing this book, I had many things to say…but after reading some of the other reviews which pick apart and criticize it, I can see the meaning of the book even more clearly.
The writing is simple and clear- not juvenile. It’s entertaining and brings a message which does not need to be complicated, except for those who are not ready to see the truth. They are the ones who like their truth heavily veiled and masked, as their self-gratification is in the pursuit. The reality is, the only place you need to look for the truth is in yourself. There is no search required- just your own personal journey.
Life does not need to be complicated, and the folks who have made negative comments about those who enjoy this book have obviously missed the point of it entirely- and they bring to mind the phrase “Casting Pearls before Swine.”
You are not going to get anything valuable from this book unless you are READY for the spiritual knowledge which it contains. And that is one of the main points of the book anyway.
Personally, I received deep spiritual messages and peace from reading The Alchemist- and I have been on my own spiritual path for over two decades. This book presents information that only those who have actually paid attention to their journey would understand and appreciate.
If you read it and don’t like it, I suggest you forget about it for at least 5 years and pick it up again. You might be surprised.
Update, 10/2003:Oh. My. Gosh. I can’t believe how many people just “don’t get” this book!!! Look: the point is not about anyone’s “Personal Legend”!!!
THE POINT, is that what you search for is usually RIGHT THERE all along, and that the journey you take to find it is about learning lessons and growing as a person. Get it yet? LIFE IS IN THE JOURNEY, NOT THE DESTINATION!!
Santiago set off to find his “pot of gold,” and after a long journey during which he grew mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, he finally discovers the location of the treasure. He follows the directions and find it RIGHT WHERE HE STARTED!
GET IT?!!!
You have what you need inside of you all of the time. You don’t need to search outside yourself- you need to look within. THAT is the point.
Sheesh.
Review by Chris Foreman for The Alchemist (Collins Readers)
Rating:
Last spring I read “Illusions,” by Richard Bach. When I read the reviews online, one guy mentioned he thought “The Alchemist” was superior to the story of “Illusions.” I finally got around to “Alchemist” and I must say I was quite disappointed.First off, yes I realize it’s considered a fable, but the writing style is far too simplistic. I don’t know if it’s the translation, but it reads like a book an elementary schooler would read for a report. Annoying points: there are page after page of adolescent terms like “Master Work” and “Personal Legend” and “Language of the Universe”, repetitious redundancies of quotes, just in case you haven’t been paying attention, and very little masking of points. Coelho must not trust the reader to pick things up because he screams them at you. But, that’s just the writing style. As for the writing, there is a clear spiritual basis to the story, which is welcome, but the incessant talk of fate was a complete turn-off. I also felt there was an air of superiority to it. Santiago would pass people who seemed happy in their lives, and he would feel sorry for them because they weren’t on a trek. In the case of the crystal shop owner, yes, he was pathetic for not pursuing his dream of going to Mecca. But to look at another shop owner and judge he has not pursued his dream, when perhaps his dream was to settle with his family, was distracting. On to love….um, he meets a woman midway through the story and falls in love before they speak? Oooookay. And this woman he supposedly loves, and with whom he could settle with and be rich, he leaves to discover a treasure. Why is his dream that of a material/monetary nature? I had a tiny problemo with that one.So, before this becomes a lecture. I give it 3 stars for some of the dialogue Santiago has with the alchemist, and for its basic idea: pursue your dream, as it will haunt you if you don’t. However, this is hardly a fantastic book….it just speaks to the masses, where others may require one to think more.
Review by Steve R for The Alchemist (Collins Readers)
Rating:
Contrived. Pretentious. Juvenile. That’s just the introduction, in which the author discusses his amazement at the popularity this book has gained. It is equally astonishing for any reader who is able to endure more than five pages of: “The Soul of the World spoke to the Heart of the Boy as he prayed to the God of the Dessert who commanded the Spirit of the Wind…” I found myself praying to the God of Literature that the boy’s beloved sheep would stampeded and trample him to death, sparing me from the Demons of Boredom. If you liked the Celestine Prophecy you’ll love The Alchemist. You can read it while you’re waiting for the mothership to return. Otherwise, take a pass and read something more intellectually engaging, like the tax code.