Reviews with content warning for Racism - The Alchemist

Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

37 reviews

lycheeteareads's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous inspiring reflective medium-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

Content Warnings

applesaucecreachur's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a necessary reread throughout one’s life. For context, my first encounter with the tale of Santiago and the pursuit of his Personal Legend came as required reading between my freshman and sophomore years of high school; I’ve just finished reading it a second time on my phone, on a bus beside my childhood best friend who recommended it all those years ago, the day after completing our pilgrimage to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The Soul of the World sounds different to me now, and even more clear.

Santiago’s is a simple story told with masterful skill. Coelho weaves his own life philosophies into these pages and while they may not land with every reader, they create a sturdy base on which plot points and characters and grow. I can’t overlook the potentially harmful depictions of the non-ethnically Spanish characters, nor of

the only prominent female character, Fatima, serving as Santiago’s love interest

. These elements date the book and serve to make it less universally relatable. Still The Alchemist remains as a testament to one man’s truth, and in this way, to the truth of many. The Universe hosts many personal legends.

Content Warnings

heisiiri's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous inspiring reflective fast-paced

2.75

I think there are plenty of people who *need* to hear the message of this book, and so it makes sense that people cite it as something that really affected them.

Me, however... the things that this book preaches are either already beliefs of mine (like how we are all connected and we can all influence how good of a place the world is and love, in its many forms, is the most important thing in the universe) or stuff that I find a bit silly (like all the stuff about fate and the very religious stuff). I found this to be a bit of a boring read, and walked away without any major life lessons acquired.

Content Warnings

maresuju's review against another edition

Go to review page

Pretty early in the book, the MC has an interaction with a woman who might be Romani (he says that she reminds him of stories of Romani people). This section is filled with racial slurs and harmful stereotypes. The MC is immediately afraid of this woman and accuses her of tricking/cheating him, with no real explanation to the reader. His internal dialogue is pretty gross during this part, too, as he clearly doesn’t think this woman has any knowledge or understanding of the world. This might be a way for him to learn about his own prejudices, I don’t know. But there was nothing in the section indicating that, and what’s portrayed is a harmful and dangerous view of Romani people. This immediately made the book a DNF for me.

Content Warnings

parenthesis_enjoyer's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Content Warnings

shairah's review against another edition

Go to review page

inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

People usually recommend this book to activate some sort of spiritual awakening. I mean, there were some quotes I highlighted and some messages that I agreed with, but it’s more of a simple story with a simple moral.

Content Warnings