Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come.

The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist.

The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.

Average Customer Rating:

Great read!!	Customer Rating:
The Alchemist is a wonderful book that integrates fiction into philosophy. I would highly recommend this book to those who live their lives with depth and faith.

Good read	Customer Rating:
Very enjoyable. Easy read and easy to follow through the story. Nice twist at the end.

Naive	Customer Rating:
There are some simple and nice ideas in the book which perhaps would work for kids under 10. For adults the concepts discussed are naive and the storyline is simplistic and character development is thin. I was very disappointed.

Overall, quite enjoyable

Customer Rating:

I do agree that the author can be quite redundant. This could be due to the fact that it has been translated. Had the original been written in English, I am sure the author would be able to spice up the diction a bit. Even though it was simply written, it evoked such imagery; I found that I could not put the book down. It was quite entertaining, and I thoroughly enjoyed the journey. I have a feeling that I will read it again in a few years, and have an even better understanding of its meaning, and its reflection on my life as well.

There are no coincidences.......

Customer Rating:

After reading "The Alchemist", I gave the book to both my children. My son has just graduated from college, and my daughter is a sophomore, and in many ways this book distilled a message I have been trying to teach them in one way or another since they were very young. Although the setting and the story is exotic for many of us (the story is about a young Andalusian shepherd boy who leaves everything familiar to go in search of a "treasure" in Egypt) the message is universal, eternal and very simple. That message is to live your Life consciously and thoughtfully in order to determine the path your Life should take. My own life has been amazing. Like the young shepherd, I left everything that was familiar to me and I allowed myself to be guided by my own strong yet inexplicable feelings, signs and omens, doors that opened unexpectedly, and people I met along my path. As a result, I met and married my Soul Mate in a country not my own, and have two children who have brought immeasurable and unspeakable joy to me. But you have to be willing to have faith, to believe in yourself and the voice of your heart. You even need to occasionally disregard the so-called good advice of people close to you in order to do something which at first makes no sense, something not entirely easy to do, and that is discussed in "The Alchemist" as well. For me, this book was astonishing and affirming because I immediately appreciated the Truth of it. I felt compelled to pass it on, hoping that all my "teaching moments" could take the form of a simple parable, to be remembered and renewed, for years to come. As others have demonstrated, this is not the book for everyone, just as there is no universal religion or view of the world. Because it was written by a Brazilian, there are language traits, cultural perceptions and beliefs which are alien and might bring discomfort to many people who live in the United States. But for others who really believe they are here for a purpose, this little book is nothing but encouraging.