Book Review on:

“The Alchemist”
“The Alchemist”

By Paulo Coelho

Reading and Writing

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

I. Introduction …………………………………………………………………………. 1

i. Book Information …………………………………………………………….

ii. Author’s Information …………………………………………………………

iii. Overview of the Book ………………………………………………………...

iv. Note on the Book’s Popularity ………………………………………………..

II. Summary of Novel …………………………………………………………………... 3

III. Analysis of the Story ………………………………………………………………… 5

IV. Critical Assessment on the Content …………………………………………………. 6

V. Reaction ……………………………………………………………………………... 7

VI. Recommendation ……………………………………………………………………. 8

VII. Book Review Rubrics ………………………………………………………………...9

 INTRODUCTION

“The Alchemist” is a novel written by Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho, and was first

published in 1988. It became a bestseller after it was translated in various languages. The novel

follows the story of a young shepherd boy, Santiago, who asked help from a gipsy woman to

interpret his recurring dreams of finding a treasure on the Pyramids of Egypt. The Alchemist is a

modern classic and globally admired as it continues to change the lives of its readers.

Paulo Coelho is a Brazilian lyricist and author born in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Before

establishing his name in the world of literature, Coelho experienced work as a theatre director,

actor and journalist. In 1986, Coelho documented his experience on the pilgrimage to Saint

James of Compostella and published it on his book, The Pilgrimage. His rising star came out on

year 1988, The Alchemist. It was written in a span of two weeks because of his ‘relation to the

spirit’ and became one of the best-selling Brazilian books of all time. Just like his novel, The

Alchemist, Coelho has an aspiration to pursue what he really wants in life and relate this

character of his to Santiago’s.

The Alchemist follows the story of a young Andalusian shepherd, Santiago, who risked all

his possession to seek for his beloved treasure. A recurring dream always trouble the boy’s

peaceful sleep under the sycamore tree. This resulted in him trying to interpret his dreams by

seeking other people’s help. Fate keeps playing with Santiago as his dreams were always about

the treasure hidden somewhere at the base of the Egyptian Pyramid. A mysterious, magical man

whose name is Melchizedeck appeared before the boy and echoed the gypsy woman’s advice to

seek for the hidden treasure. Melchizedeck was able to convince Santiago that it is his personal

legend to travel to the Pyramids of Egypt, bringing with him two omens: a white and black one.
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These omens served as his guide and strength during his travel towards his treasure. He

sacrificed his flock of sheep and everything within his care, in order to travel towards the land of

Egypt. Throughout his journey, he met a lot of people who made him realize the underlying

message of the world, as well as changed him to a better person during the process.

Melchizedeck, who claimed to be the King of Salem, provides Santiago several teachings which

served as his guide in travelling across the desert. As he continue towards his journey, he carry

on the word of the mysterious man “when you want something, the whole universe conspires to

help you”.

In 1988, a not-so-well known Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho, published a book about a

young shepherd and his journey towards a treasure at the base of the Pyramids of Egypt and

strongly believes that it was going to be a hit. Although the previous publisher dropped the

publication of the book due to its little sales, Coelho found a way to republish it and sold to

public. The Alchemist is now one of the bestseller novels and has been on the list for about 315

weeks. It has already sold 65 million copies and was translated into 80 different languages,

garnering the title of the most translated book by a living author. (Capretto, L., 2017)

SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL

An Andalusian shepherd named Santiago is a humble young man who desires only for 2

few- to travel with his flock of sheep, stores wine in his bottle and a book in his bag which either

serves as an entertainment or a sleeping pillow. However, fate intervenes as dreams of the same
situation hunts Santiago’s peaceful sleep under the sycamore tree. The situation shows a child

whom telling him to seek for the treasure at the base of the Pyramid in Egypt. With this, he ought

to asked the advice of a gypsy woman who was believed to interpret dreams. A mysterious man

who claimed to be the King of Salem, appeared before the young shepherd, echoing what the

gypsy woman have said. Both mentioned the boy successfully discovering his path towards

destiny and should strive hard to obtain the treasure. They also mentioned that Santiago should

understand the language of the world to be able to continue on his pursuit of the treasure. The

man convinces the boy to give up a part of his sheep, in exchange of his pocket money towards

the land of Egypt.  When Santiago arrives in Tangier, a thief robs him, forcing him to find work

with a local crystal merchant. The humble abode of the crystal merchant served as Santiago’s

home, in exchange of working as his helper in the business. The shepherd convinced the

merchant to take risk and explore possibilities which could improve his business. True to his

words, Santiago earned a lot of money because of his suggestions in just a year. Santiago decides

to cash in his earnings and continue pursuing his Personal Legend: to find treasure at the

pyramids. He joins a caravan crossing the Sahara desert towards Egypt and meets an Englishman

who is studying to become an alchemist. Throughout his journey with the Englishman, he

learned a lot about Alchemy through his words and the books he carries with him. The

Englishman has been in constant search of the Alchemist who could tell him the secret of his

trades. The caravan where both the characters are in took several stops in order to avoid the

violent tribal wars in the desert. There, he met the woman who caught his attention, the woman

who he was sure he will be spending his future with, Fatima. Santiago was forced by the

Englishman to ask the woman of the whereabouts of the Alchemist. A walk in the desert let

Santiago foresee what will happen in the future. He warns the tribal chieftains of the attack, and
as a result, Al-Fayoum successfully defends itself against the assault. The alchemist gets word of

Santiago’s vision and invites Santiago on a trip into the desert, during which he teaches Santiago

about the importance of listening to his heart and pursuing his Personal Legend. While the

alchemist and Santiago continue through the desert, the alchemist shares much of his wisdom

about the Soul of the World. They are mere days away from the pyramids when a tribe of Arab

soldiers captures them. In exchange for his life and the life of Santiago, the alchemist hands over

to the tribe all of Santiago’s money and tells the soldiers that Santiago is a powerful alchemist

who will turn into wind within three days. Santiago feels alarmed because he has no idea how to

turn into the wind, and over the next three days he contemplates the desert. On the third day, he

communicates with the wind and the sun and coaxes them to help him create a tremendous

sandstorm. During his travels, he also gets acquainted with the concept of the “Soul of the

World,” which makes all beings partake in the same spiritual essence. This allows him to turn

into the wind while facing some captors. Once he finally reaches the pyramids, he learns that the

treasure he’d been looking for was by the church where he was resting at the beginning of the

novel.

ANALYSIS OF THE STORY

The Alchemist challenges its readers to understand the purpose of the novel and as to how

the journey of a young shepherd would contribute in improving our decisions in life. The novel

showed a great sense of organization when it comes to writing. The following has been observed

throughout the story:

 Characters – The characters presented in the story were described through their

actions and the way they speak. Although a not-so-detailed physical description
 was provided, readers could imagine the how the characters look based on their

actions. The interaction between the characters was well executed, even including

realistic thoughts such as the boy’s irritation when the King of Salem kept on

bothering him. The characters left an impact to the readers by providing realistic

thinking and meaningful words. Each character stood out well by having their

own dialogue. Emotions was also distributed among the characters well.

 Plot and Structure – The novel was structured chronologically, with little events

not having smooth transition between them. Meanwhile, the story depicts a

simple journey led by the shepherd who once dreamt to travel across the world,

was able to do so as he seeks for treasure, understand the language and soul of

the world and discover a lot of things. His desire was simple, the process was

complex, nevertheless, it is within the complexity that a thing is considered an

object of succession.

 Conflict – The conflict of the story was unexpectable. It served as the peak of the

shepherd’s breaking point. In order to regain his consciousness, a walk in the

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desert was made. Because of this unexpected turn of events, Santiago was

confused whether to be contented with his newfound treasure or will he continue

on pursuing the treasure of his dreams.

 Themes – Dreams and desire was the main reason why Santiago ought to travel

towards the Pyramid of Egypt. Just like Santiago, each and every one of us have

their own dreams. It is up to an individual whether he/she will take the initiative

to pursue it or not. Love. Love helps us to understand the soul of the world.

Distance does not depict love, rather, it is the connection that bond the both of
 you. Destiny. Everyone has a destiny. In order to fulfill and discover ours, one

must acknowledge the presence of the language and soul of the world and

communicate not just throughout the thinnest things, rather, dig in deeper.

CRITICAL ASSESSMENT ON THE CONTENT

The Alchemist is a novel that aims to persuade and inspire people to pursue their dreams

while starting a journey and facing intriguing events.

It was an adventure worth-taking. From the shepherd’s daily routing, to his recurring

dreams, to the King of Salem’s presences, to the crystal merchant’s humbleness and to the

Englishman’s want to discover the secret of Alchemy, The Alchemist crawls its way toward our

heart as it displays beautiful and intriguing dialogues that challenges the reader’s thinking.
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Santiago, the protagonist, believed that he went into a lot of harships to be able to obtain the

treasure at the base of the pyramid. Little did he know that as he goes on with his journey, he will

gain a deeper understanding as to why he is travelling. The start of the novel may seem cliché

and boring but the adventure took a major turn which enables the events to turn out the way it is.

The author considered the readers’ role in the novel. The author incites the reader's

curiosity at the outset of the novel with the dream Santiago has that hints at the possibility of

hidden treasure. Overall, the author did not just took into consideration how the story will take

place, rather, he considered the audience participation in the novel. As the protagonist continue

on his way towards his treasure, the reader, together with him, discover deeper understanding as

to how people respond and fulfill their destinies.

 REACTION

I would consider myself a bookworm, but not really a fan of modern classic genre of

novels. The start of the story was common, cliché and boring but it took a major turn at the

middle of the story. It is my first time to felt so educated after finishing a literary work. I always

find time to read and finish works like sci-fi, instead of learning from it, I always end up being

astonished and speechless as to how there are explanations for even the tiniest detail. However,

this book proved me wrong of my assumptions. The novel depicts a short, simple story but left a

great impact to my thinking as an individual. I came into realization that although we all have

our own treasure. There would be times that success and destiny are almost reachable, yet to be
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able to be worth of it, we need to undergo a journey. It is within us as to how we will discover

and fulfill our destiny. May it be journey within ourselves or in the world, this will teach us the

purpose of our life.

RECOMMENDATION

The novel is a realistic representation of how people should lead their lives toward their

destiny. The story is a pure adventure as to what the protagonist experience throughout the

journey. Organization of ideas and texts were well-distributed: however, minimal and almost not

appealing mistakes were to be improved such as the transition from a character to an introduction

of a new one. I suggest to smoothen out the transition between the events, if possible.
 Overall speaking, I would highly recommend this novel, not only just for the students to

learn their purpose in life, but to everyone who are confused and does not know what path they

would take on, this would be a great inspiration and tool for fulfilling one’s destiny.