Reviews

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

kaydunkz's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring fast-paced

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

5.0

apm1998's review against another edition

5.0

If you ever want to doubt your life choices this is the book to read. After reading this book I was ready to quit my job and spend my life savings on travelling. Unfortunately, i'll have to leave that up to influencers lol. However I could definitely take the lessons I learned from this novel and apply it to my everyday life. The Alchemist captured my heart since the beginning of the book. Everything about this book just hit every box for the perfect book. The overall story line kept me so hooked and the metaphors and lessons were not obvious enough to feel corny but not too difficult that it became a bore. The biggest lesson I took from this book is that there is a time for everything and that worrying about your problems is more damaging the problem itself. Paulo Coelho did an incredible job keeping the reader captured and displayed so much emotion. For the first time in a long time there was a romantic plot that did not want to make me rip my eyeballs out! In fact, I believe this had the best romantic encounter i have ever read. It was so simple yet so touching. It hurt to hear the line about finding the one person who makes you want to never leave. Throughout the whole book all i could think about was the song "Turn, Turn, Turn" by Pete Seeger. I read a lot of the reviews on this novel and people were saying it was basic and overrated. I think it's lame to hate something just because it's popular. With that being said it definitely deserves the popularity.

bubble0nex's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful lighthearted reflective relaxing fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

roshith98's review against another edition

5.0

The darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn.


Marvellous. This is so.....good.
What genre can we put this masterpiece of a book in?

Well, clearly it has the elements of fantasy and fiction : The God, Omens, The boy who can speak to the desert, the winds, etc; and also with the features of a self-help book.

I can say, that it is a fiction book with self-help content at the heart of it.

shreya_bajaj's review against another edition

adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

stfischer's review against another edition

4.0

My boyfriend bought me this book because it was one of his favorites. He always felt like it had a good message. I had heard about The Alchemist before but I never cared to read it until now. As I was reading this book, I found a lot of the similar views I had in life but I also found some new perspectives on things.

If you're ever feeling lost or questioning what the meaning of life is, I recommend this book! Remember it's about the journey, not the destination.

wucaterina's review against another edition

3.0

“The treasure is in the knowledge and experiences you get through your journey”

I should have expected it and I don’t know why I wasn’t more prepared for it. Perhaps the fact that this books has been so highly recommended and rated to me by friends and not, yet, I can’t quite help myself but feel the most slight tinge of disappointment.

It’s quite inexplicable, there being not really anything remotely wrong with the book in itself, the writing being good and the plot direction quite remarkable, but there is just something about the execution that just doesn’t sit right with me. It felt somehow bland, depthless and rushed in so many ways. I understand why people might like it, I just don’t get the high ratings, that’s all

mclean_watson's review against another edition

5.0

This book means more to me than I ever believed it would.

It’s the first book I’ve ever read aloud to someone else. And it helped me say the things I wanted to say to a person that I will always love.

My dad was in a very bad accident last week and is in a coma. I read this book to him and it will now hold a place in my heart forever.

I had a conversation with someone a couple minutes ago regarding the message behind this books words. And I was pleased to learn that we both got the main message, but we also got so many different things that the other didn’t consider. This is a parable that is written in the universal language; Hope, Adventure, Love, Home, Warmth, Curiosity, and above all else, Wonder.

I’m going to read him many more but none will match the words “The Alchemist” delivered. Thank you Paulo Coelho for an experience I got to share with my dad.

fethiye's review against another edition

2.0

Rating 2.5
I can't agree with some of the messages that this book sends. It's absolutely nonsense.

allistoria's review against another edition

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.75