A Review on the Novel |The Alchemist| by Paulo Coelho

The Alchemist is a worldwide famous novel published in 1988 by Paulo Coelho. After an initially warmish reception, it became a worldwide bestseller, with more than sixty-five million copies sold. The theme is about finding one's destiny or purpose in life. This enchanting novel is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who started a journey to find worldly goods which finally turns into a discovery of the treasure found within.

 The author of The Alchemist is Paulo Coelho. He was born on August 24, 1947, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He worked as a theater director, actor, lyricist, and journalist. During the 60s and 70s, he published an unsuccessful Hell Archives. After the success of The Pilgrimage, he wrote The Alchemist in 1988 in less than one month. Over sixty-five million copies were sold throughout the world and it won several international awards. Some of the books written by Coelho are: Veronica decides to die, Eleven minutes, By the River Piedra I sat down and wept, Brida, Warrior of light, Beautiful disaster, The devil and Miss Prym, and The Zahir.

The Alchemist is fiction. It is an absolute masterpiece in its genre which is somewhere between Adventure fiction and Fantasy fiction.  The Alchemist was inspired by the short tale “The Ruined Man Who Became Rich Again Through a Dream” from the classic Arabic short-story cycle The Arabian Nights’ Entertainments, also known as The Thousand and One Nights (fifteenth century). This tale has been adapted by many authors because of the powerful message it delivers about discovering that one’s treasure does not need to be pursued; it can be found at home.

The Alchemist can be regarded as a symbolic text as Coelho, himself, states in the preface of the novel: “I discovered that the symbolic language, which so annoyed and confused me, was the only way to reach ‘the soul of the world’ or what Jung called ‘the collective unconsciousness. I discovered the personal legend and the signs of God, truths which my rational mind had refused to accept because of their simplicity. I discovered that carrying out the masterwork is not the work of a few, but every human being on the face of the earth.”

The title of the novel is very symbolic because ‘Alchemist’ means the “art of transmuting metals.” That is, both a philosophy and an ancient practice focused on the attempt to change base metals into gold. As we proceed with the story, we find out that Santiago goes through, more or less, the same process, and attains wisdom and maturity. In short, his personality and life completely transform like that of a metal, which passes through the process of alchemy.

Summary of the novel:-Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd who journeys everywhere with his sheep. He has a continuous dream every time he sleeps underneath a Sycamore tree that grows out of the ruins of a church. During the dream, a child tells him to seek the treasure lying under the pyramids of Egypt. Santiago consults a gypsy woman to interpret the dream. She tells him to travel to Egypt. A strange, magical old man named Melchizedek, who claims to be the King of Salem, says the same thing as a gypsy woman and tells Santiago that it is his Personal Legend to journey to the pyramids. Melchizedek convinces Santiago to sell his flock and go off to Tangiers. During his journey, he was robbed so he worked under a crystal merchant. He teaches Santiago a few lessons, and Santiago encourages the merchant to take risks along with his business.

 After saving an amount of money, he joins a caravan that will travel across a Sahara desert and decides to continue following his Personal legend: to search out treasure at the pyramids. He meets an Englishman, on his way, who is studying to become an alchemist. He learns a lot from the Englishman throughout the journey. For one, he learns that secret of alchemy is written on a stone known as the Emerald Tablet. The ultimate creation of alchemy is the Master Work, which consists of a solid known as the Philosopher's Stone which can transmute a lead into gold, and a liquid known as the Elixir of Life that may cure all ills. Santiago learns the Englishman is traveling with the caravan to the Saharan oasis of Al-Fayoum, where a powerful, 200-year-old alchemist lives. The Englishman plans to ask the alchemist the secret of his trade. The caravan stops on an oasis to avoid more violent tribal wars taking place within the desert. There, Santiago falls in love with Fatima who lives in the oasis. During a walk in the desert, Santiago witnesses an omen that portends an attack on the neutral oasis. 

He warns the tribal chieftains of the attack, and as a result, Al-Fayoum defends itself against the assault with success. When the alchemist hears about Santiago’s vision, he invites Santiago on a visit into the desert, during which he teaches Santiago about the importance of paying attention to his heart and following his Personal Legend. He convinces Santiago to leave Fatima and also the caravan for the time to end his journey to the pyramids, and he offers to accompany Santiago. While the alchemist and Santiago continue through the desert, the alchemist shares much of his knowledge about the Soul of the world. They were just a few days away from the pyramids when some Arab tribesmen capture them. In exchange for his life and the life of Santiago, the alchemist hands over to the tribe all of Santiago’s cash and tells them that Santiago is a powerful alchemist who will transform himself into wind within three days. Santiago feels afraid as he has no idea to transform himself into the wind. On the third day, he communicates with the wind and also the sun and persuades them to help him to produce a tremendous sandstorm. He prays to God, and at the peak of the storm, he disappears. He reappears on the opposite side of the camp, and also the tribesmen, awed by the ability of the storm and by Santiago’s ability, let him and the alchemist go free. The alchemist continues to travel with Santiago as far as a Coptic monastery several hours from the pyramids. There, he demonstrates to Santiago his ability to transmute lead into gold using the Philosopher’s Stone. He offers Santiago gold and sends him off. Santiago begins to seek the treasure at the foot of the pyramids, however, two men catch him there and beat him. When Santiago speaks to them about his dream vision, they decide he should don't have any cash and let him live. Before leaving, one of the men tries to illustrate the worthlessness of dreams by telling Santiago about his own dream. It was about a treasure buried in an abandoned church in Spain where a Sycamore tree grows. The church is the same one within which Santiago had his original dream, and he finally understands where his treasure is. He returns to Spain to search out the treasure buried underneath the tree and plans to come with it to Al-Fayoum, where he can reunite with Fatima, who awaits him.

The Alchemist is not only a fable but also a work of Magical Realism, evoking a realistic setting as well as magical and mysterious events. The main plot of The Alchemist takes place in the Spanish pasteurs, the Spanish town of Tarifa, The city of Tangier in North Africa, and the Sahara desert. The Alchemist is set in an indistinct time in the past. It is clearly a pre-modern time, before automobiles and most modern technology existed. The settings in this book are so vividly described that the reader can feel overgrown. Coelho makes such flawless transitions between these distant places that if Coelho hadn't mentioned it himself, the reader would not have realized that these settings, which look worlds apart, are only two hours away from each other.

The author weaves into the plot multiple philosophical notions that a philosopher could think of for years on. The ideas full of wisdom about one's fate, about rising above failure, about the unity of Nature are all things Coelho pens into the comparatively simplistic diction of the text. The description is magical and the word choice is excellent. Moreover, the plot is in the character's interaction not in a series of events. In short, it's a parable and has a didactic message.

Coelho has portrayed his characters vividly. Every character plays a vital role in this book. Every character brings a new twist in the story, new hopes, and lessons from which we can learn a lot of things. Further, Coelho has depicted characters acting as significant symbols in the novel. The very character of' Alchemist - isn't the only pen - pictured as a simple ordinary mortal being, rather having representative Wright - the man, who understands himself, the world, and the religion. He symbolizes spiritual attainment and understanding of the soul of the world. He encourages Santiago to fulfill his dream. He encourages him to go through the tribulations to become victorious;

"Every search begins with Beginner's luck and every search ends with the victor's luck being severely tested"

 Similarly, Santiago symbolizes the simple trueness of life that it should be taken as a journey in which we need to set our priorities. And one should be capable to sacrifice materialistic things to attain maturity, spirituality, and knowledge. For instance, throughout the novel, the boy had several chances to quit his journey and settle down, but he preferred to continue since he wanted to understand nature by having direct communication with it. This involvement of his soul with the principles of his nature transmuted him into a dignified religious person. At that time he speaks to the wind as

“We were all made by the same hand, and we have the same soul, I want to be like you, able to reach every corner of the world, cross the seas, blow away the sands that cover my treasure, and carry the voice of the woman I love".

And the final thought of Santiago sums up his entire philosophy of life that if a person pursues his Personal Legend, he succeeds. Life is kind towards a person who works hard to reach his goal.

"It's true; life really is generous to those who pursue their Personal Legend"

 The Englishman wanted to explore the secrets of the world through wisdom and books. Therefore, Coelho has represented him as the man of Europe, a master in wisdom and knowledge. He represents the scientific and technological advancements of the West. That's why throughout the novel he prefers to read the books and practice, instead of having firsthand communication with the principles of nature. This novel has a different story from other fable novels. The story is really inspiring about a shepherd who tries to realize the dream he believes in Egypt. The Alchemist has also many wise and meaningful words.

Melchizedek plays an important role as he introduces several of the key concepts which we see repeated throughout the novel. He plays a role in the lives of everyone who pursues his personal legend. He essentially motivates people to continue pursuing their personal legends as he does when he meets Santiago in the novel. He believes that once a person desires something and tries to achieve it, everything becomes his companion.

"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it"

He has also projected all other characters besides these very well. 

Stylistically, Coelho uses simplistic language, making his text accessible to the reader. He avoids complex metaphors and idioms, yet employs symbolism that alludes to spiritual guidance. The hawk leads Santiago to have a vision that enables him to save the oasis from attack, and a scarab beetle indicates the spot where Santiago will weep and then dig for treasure before the pyramids.

To many, realizing your dreams and fulfilling your destiny may seem like wishful thinking, but Paulo Coelho makes accomplishing these goals seem so simple and so easy that all the reader has to do is try. As Lynn Andrews (Author of The Medicine Woman Trilogy) said while describing this book:

"Paulo Coelho gives you the inspiration to follow your own dreams by seeing the world through your own eyes and not by someone else's".

The Alchemist is "more self-help than literature." The advice is given to Santiago that "when you really want something to happen, the whole universe will conspire so that your wish comes true" is the core of the novel's philosophy and a motif that plays throughout it.

The Alchemist is a fantastic book and the storytelling is beautiful. The choice of words is impeccable, full of wisdom and philosophy. The story is genuinely appealing and bursts with optimism which I suppose is really important in our lives. The book shows that the journey to your destiny is as important as the destination itself. I love how the book emphasizes the significance of faith, hope, and spirituality through the story of an ordinary boy. I think this book appeals to everyone because we all have dreams and sometimes we just want someone to tell us that they may come true. Overall, “The Alchemist " is a truly provoking fiction novel and it deserves a space on everyone's bookshelf.

“A remarkable tale about the most magical of all the journeys: the quest to fulfill one's destiny. I recommended The Alchemist to everyone who passionately committed to claiming the life of their dreams- Today".

                               (Anthony Robbins; Author of Awaken the giant within)

Written by Itrat Batool