Reviews

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

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chinarosesmith's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a book I received as a gift and will forever hold dear to my heart. It's one of those books that changes the way you see things. It takes some work to fully understand the message this author is trying to get across, but is completely worth it at the end. It is beautifully constructed and breathtaking.

book_concierge's review against another edition

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3.0

Audiobook performed by Jeremy Irons

This is Coehlo’s international best-selling classic tale of an Andalusian shepherd boy’s quest to find his own Personal Legend. Santiago is tending his sheep when he is puzzled by a recurring dream in which a boy says that there is hidden treasure at the Pyramids in Egypt. A gypsy woman offers to interpret the dream in exchange for a promise of one tenth the treasure. Santiago agrees, but feels no closer to a solution. The next day he encounters an old man, who says he is king of Salem, and tells him he must seek his own Personal Legend. And thus Santiago’s quest begins.

On his travels he also meets a thief, a crystal merchant, an alchemist, a desert woman, tribal chieftains, and a caravan leader, all of whom help – in some fashion or other – Santiago on his quest. But his ultimate discovery is that one’s treasure lies close to home.

This fable has captured the attention and imagination of a worldwide readership. And the story of how it came to be published, somewhat parallels the story told. The message is simplistic, even as the images are somewhat unrealistic, even fantastic. I can see why it became such a gigantic hit – it’s an allegorical fable about finding one’s true self, wrapped in an adventure and with a little romantic interest added for good measure, but it really didn’t do too much for me. I found it entertaining but not particularly inspiring.

Jeremy Irons does a magnificent job performing the audio version. He is a great actor and gives life to these characters. From the innocent boy, to the Crystal merchant and the Alchemist, each character comes to life with his performance. Irons’s performance was mesmerizing and engaging, but at the end I felt as if I had missed something. I think that is the fault of Coelho’s writing, though, not the narrator’s performance. I would rate the audio performance 5 stars.