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alyssapolis 's review for:
The Alchemist
by Paulo Coelho
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Reread after over 15 years. I loved it back then and was curious how it’s aged, and I still enjoyed it.
Doesn’t necessarily say anything that hasn’t already been said, but says it in a very clean, simplified, poetic way. It’s a good book for those with a healthy interest in light mysticism.
Has a lot of inspiring tidbits that help with motivation and connectedness.
Favourite quotes:
“…at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie."
“when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."
"In the long run, what people think about shepherds and bakers (how people see them) becomes more important for them than their own Personal Legends."
“The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon."
Every blessing ignored becomes a curse
“…it's the thought of Mecca that keeps me alive.
That's what helps me face these days that are all the same, these mute crystals on the shelves, and lunch and dinner at that same horrible café. I'm afraid that if my dream is realized, I'll have no reason to go on living.”
They were conversing in Arabic, and the boy was proud of himself for being able to do so. There had been a time when he thought that his sheep could teach him everything he needed to know about the world. But they could never have taught him Arabic.
Making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.
"Everything in life is an omen," said the Englishman, now closing the journal he was reading. "There is a universal language, understood by everybody, but already forgotten. I am in search of that universal language, among other things.
That's why I'm here. I have to find a man who knows that universal language. An alchemist."
"If I could, I'd write a huge encyclopedia just about the words luck and coincidence. It's with those words that the universal language is written."
"I've crossed these sands many times" said one of the camel drivers one night. "But the desert is so huge, and the horizons so distant, that they make a person feel small, and as if he should remain silent."
The boy understood intuitively what he meant, even without ever having set foot in the desert before. Whenever he saw the sea, or a fire, he fell silent, impressed by their elemental force.
The boy was beginning to understand that intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it's all written there.
People need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want.
"We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand."
"Why do they make things so complicated?” he asked the Englishman one night. …
"So that those who have the responsibility for understanding can understand" he said.
If I'm on the march, I just concentrate on marching, If I have to fight, it will be just as good a day to die as any other. "Because I don't live in either my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man.
The closer he got to the realization of his dream, the more difficult things became. It seemed as if what the old king had called "beginner's luck" were no longer functioning. In his pursuit of the dream, he was being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage. So he could not be hasty, nor impatient. If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path.
“… There are powerful forces on both sides, and the war is important to both armies. It's not a battle of good against evil. It's a war between forces that are fighting for the balance of power, and, when that type of battle begins, it lasts longer than others-because Allah is on both sides."
“Now, I'm beginning what I could have started ten years ago. But I'm happy at least that I didn't wait twenty years."
The omens will abandon you because you’ve stopped listening to them.
"You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend. If he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love ... the love that speaks the Language of the World."
"If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return."
"They were looking only for gold," his companion answered. "They were seeking the treasure of their Personal Legend, without wanting actually to live out the Personal Legend."
“The desert will give you an understanding of the world; in fact, anything on the face of the earth will do that. You don't even have to understand the desert: all you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation."
"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."
"Every search begins with beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victor's being severely tested."
"When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed."
"Your eyes show the strength of your soul"
"If a person is living out his Personal Legend, he knows everything he needs to know. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."
"But this payment goes well beyond my generosity" the monk responded.
"Don't say that again. Life might be listening, and give you less the next time."
Interview quote of Coelho:
Once someone asked me, "What do you want to be your epitaph?" [on your tombstone]. So I said, "Paul Coehlo died while he was alive." The person said, "Why this epitaph? Everybody dies when he or she is alive." I said, "No, this is not true." The same pattern repeating and over again, you are not alive anymore. To die alive is to take risks. To pay your price. To do something that sometimes scares you but you should do because you may like or you may not like.
Doesn’t necessarily say anything that hasn’t already been said, but says it in a very clean, simplified, poetic way. It’s a good book for those with a healthy interest in light mysticism.
Has a lot of inspiring tidbits that help with motivation and connectedness.
Favourite quotes:
“…at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That's the world's greatest lie."
“when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."
"In the long run, what people think about shepherds and bakers (how people see them) becomes more important for them than their own Personal Legends."
“The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world, and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon."
Every blessing ignored becomes a curse
“…it's the thought of Mecca that keeps me alive.
That's what helps me face these days that are all the same, these mute crystals on the shelves, and lunch and dinner at that same horrible café. I'm afraid that if my dream is realized, I'll have no reason to go on living.”
They were conversing in Arabic, and the boy was proud of himself for being able to do so. There had been a time when he thought that his sheep could teach him everything he needed to know about the world. But they could never have taught him Arabic.
Making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision.
"Everything in life is an omen," said the Englishman, now closing the journal he was reading. "There is a universal language, understood by everybody, but already forgotten. I am in search of that universal language, among other things.
That's why I'm here. I have to find a man who knows that universal language. An alchemist."
"If I could, I'd write a huge encyclopedia just about the words luck and coincidence. It's with those words that the universal language is written."
"I've crossed these sands many times" said one of the camel drivers one night. "But the desert is so huge, and the horizons so distant, that they make a person feel small, and as if he should remain silent."
The boy understood intuitively what he meant, even without ever having set foot in the desert before. Whenever he saw the sea, or a fire, he fell silent, impressed by their elemental force.
The boy was beginning to understand that intuition is really a sudden immersion of the soul into the universal current of life, where the histories of all people are connected, and we are able to know everything, because it's all written there.
People need not fear the unknown if they are capable of achieving what they need and want.
"We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand."
"Why do they make things so complicated?” he asked the Englishman one night. …
"So that those who have the responsibility for understanding can understand" he said.
If I'm on the march, I just concentrate on marching, If I have to fight, it will be just as good a day to die as any other. "Because I don't live in either my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man.
The closer he got to the realization of his dream, the more difficult things became. It seemed as if what the old king had called "beginner's luck" were no longer functioning. In his pursuit of the dream, he was being constantly subjected to tests of his persistence and courage. So he could not be hasty, nor impatient. If he pushed forward impulsively, he would fail to see the signs and omens left by God along his path.
“… There are powerful forces on both sides, and the war is important to both armies. It's not a battle of good against evil. It's a war between forces that are fighting for the balance of power, and, when that type of battle begins, it lasts longer than others-because Allah is on both sides."
“Now, I'm beginning what I could have started ten years ago. But I'm happy at least that I didn't wait twenty years."
The omens will abandon you because you’ve stopped listening to them.
"You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his Personal Legend. If he abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love ... the love that speaks the Language of the World."
"If what one finds is made of pure matter, it will never spoil. And one can always come back. If what you had found was only a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you would find nothing on your return."
"They were looking only for gold," his companion answered. "They were seeking the treasure of their Personal Legend, without wanting actually to live out the Personal Legend."
“The desert will give you an understanding of the world; in fact, anything on the face of the earth will do that. You don't even have to understand the desert: all you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation."
"Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."
"Every search begins with beginner's luck. And every search ends with the victor's being severely tested."
"When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed."
"Your eyes show the strength of your soul"
"If a person is living out his Personal Legend, he knows everything he needs to know. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure."
"But this payment goes well beyond my generosity" the monk responded.
"Don't say that again. Life might be listening, and give you less the next time."
Interview quote of Coelho:
Once someone asked me, "What do you want to be your epitaph?" [on your tombstone]. So I said, "Paul Coehlo died while he was alive." The person said, "Why this epitaph? Everybody dies when he or she is alive." I said, "No, this is not true." The same pattern repeating and over again, you are not alive anymore. To die alive is to take risks. To pay your price. To do something that sometimes scares you but you should do because you may like or you may not like.