This story starts in the early hours of a Sunday morning, I have just finished reading Paulo Coelho’s the alchemist. It is the first Paulo Coelho book I’ve ever read. I have often heard a lot of good things about the man’s writing and I finally decided to see what all the fuss was about.
So this is a sort of review but more an unsolicited blab from my perspective. The alchemist is more than anything, an entrancing piece of writing. Beautiful, truthful and relatable in all the best ways. It has the feel of a tale woven by a master craftsman. The story begins with us meeting our protagonist, a Spanish shepherd boy called santiago, it then follows the most classic story curve in writing. Introducing us gradually to the boys hardships and to a seemingly unfathomable adventure that sees the boy sell his sheep and travel to Africa to find his destiny.
“You will never be able to escape from your heart. So it’s better to listen to what it has to say. That way you’ll never have to fear an unanticipated blow. “
The alchemist talking to Santiago in The alchemist by Paulo Coelho.
This story encompasses all the aspects of a good story, romance, war, adventure and longing among other popular topics. But what amazes me is not the story itself, but the depth with which it is crafted and narrated. The alchemist is deep and entrancing and based in a lot of universal truths. Mr Coelho conveys themes of pain, love and strife in a way that is almost biblical. The experience of reading the book was almost spiritual for me, some of the passages and interpretations of topics like love, leave you with a more metaphorical and idealistic but also practical and realistic view of how the world works. I loved the characters of first, the Shepherd boy, Santiago, the alchemist and the crafty gypsy at the beginning of the story.
I finished the book in three days, and with about 400 pages I am very proud of myself. I would recommend this book to anyone who ever reads this article. Paulo Coelho I agree is a genius writer and I am looking forward to tearing through his collective works. Also if you want a copy of the eBook, leave your WhatsApp number below in the comments and I’ll be happy to share it with you for only ksh 50.
Aesthetic Ian 