One of them accepted and the rest, they say is history. He believed in his book however and tried knocking on multiple publishing houses and offering them the chance to publish his book. Originally written and published in Brazil, Paulo Coelho’s novel did very poorly and eventually, the rights to the book was given back to him. The Alchemist right now is one of the most translated books in the world. The Alchemist was written by Paulo Coelho in the year 1988. This is important to help support the creation of content on this site.*** A Background. So, if you keep those two things in mind or love reading the tried and true journey of self-awareness, then you’ll probably love this book.***Hey there, I’ve recently started using Amazon affiliate program and so if you indeed purchase the book using the link at the end, I get a commission for the sale. I can also appreciate that, at the time of its writing in 1988, the concept of seeking your personal legend in another country was not as popular as it is today. Take my review with a grain of salt, because I’m while I found myself saying, “blah, blah, blah,” to some of the life lessons, it’s also a great story that’s written really well. His impeccable writing style, luckily, trumps the overused life lessons. Lyrical and poetic, Coehlo makes the reader feel as if they are on the ground with Santiago, living and learning alongside him. We learn about treasuring the moment and things coming full circle, both of which are tried and true life lessons central to any fictional book about a spiritual journey. Although the lessons were redundant, the writing was amazing. Of course, no spiritual journey would be complete without some roadblocks and interesting characters, and The Alchemist stays right on target.

Armed with two stones and the money he made from selling his sheep, Santiago heads for the Pyramids. The Alchemistis about a young shepherd named Santiago who meets a king and sets off to fulfill his personal legend. Short and filled with life lessons, I can understand why The Alchemist is an international bestseller and has a worldwide following of its “teachings.” This type of book was probably pretty exciting back when it was published in 1988 but in today’s age of spiritual bestsellers ( The Secret, Eat, Pray Love, etc.), the concept of a spiritual journey was a little tired. This book has been on my to-read shelf for a good number of years and I finally got around to reading it at the recommendation of a classmate. The Alchemist Published by HarperCollins on 1988īuy the book: Amazon/Audible (this post includes affiliate links)

Alchemist coelho review