From the Bookshelf of Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge…

The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho

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2017 Read Harder Challenge

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What Members Thought

Aug 26, 2008 Marisa rated it really liked it

Shelves: commonbook-08-09, grown-up-books

I can completely see why someone recommended this for common book -- why someone would want an entire class of entering freshmen to read this book. It's all about following your heart, achieving your "Personal Legend." It's motivating and powerful, and might be the most empowering, positive common book ever if selected.

The parables throughout the story invite personal reflection without forcing it on the reader. I found myself thinking about how glad I am to be in the profession I'm in, and to h I can completely see why someone recommended this for common book -- why someone would want an entire class of entering freshmen to read this book. It's all about following your heart, achieving your "Personal Legend." It's motivating and powerful, and might be the most empowering, positive common book ever if selected.

The parables throughout the story invite personal reflection without forcing it on the reader. I found myself thinking about how glad I am to be in the profession I'm in, and to have my whole life ahead of me to do what I love doing. And yet I think if I were completely unhappy with my position in life, this book would make me feel like I had the power to change everything.

While Santiago must make a personal journey and accomplish tasks he felt were impossible to reach his goal, I'm slightly uncomfortable with the fact that a treasure is still the payout. Why end a spirital journey with material gain? Still, even the one aspect of the book I'm uncomfortable will make for lively discussions.

Two other practical concerns regarding selecting this for common book:
1) Can we actually get Coelho to come to Otterbein?
2) Is he fluent in English -- at least enough to communicate with the students effectively?

Some quotes:
"What's the world's greatest lie?' the boy asked, completely surprised.
'It's this: that 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."

"...there was language in the world that everyone understood, a language the boy had used throughout the time he was trying to improve things at the shop. It was the language of enthusiasm, of things accomplished with love and purpose, and as part of a search for something believed in and desired."

"When you want something, all the universe conspires to help you achieve it."

"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."

"It's not what enters men's mouths that's evil," said the alchemist. "It's what comes out of their mouths that is."

"Camels are traitorous: they walk thousands of paces and never seem to tire. Then suddenly, they kneel and die. But horses tire bit by bit. You always know how much you can ask of them, and when it is that they are about to die."

"When you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed." ...more

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Feb 01, 2013 Noam rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: in-translation, español, latin-america, europe, asia, africa, middle-east

It was interesting. I read it more to see why so many people need to believe the message of the book, than to actually get the message. Yes, I think we should follow our dreams. No, I don't think the universe cares. But I don't think we need the universe to conspire for us to follow our dreams. I don't think we need to rely on self-aggrandizement for life to be amazing and meaningful - it's pretty amazing and meaningful already. I think it encourages an unhealthy confusion between self-actualisa ...more

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Oct 19, 2009 Kecia rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: general_fiction

I don't believe in destiny or any of the other myths illustrated in this story, and therefore found the book to be just plain silly. Ernest Hemmingway's The Old Man and The Sea and Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha are far superior stories on finding meaning in life. I suppose stories like The Alchemist make some people feel better about living in an uncertain world but I find it mind-numbingly simplistic. Try this story with a female protagonist and it would fall apart, not to mention that the female ...more

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Oct 02, 2009 Ian rated it it was ok

This would perhaps have been good as a self-help book, but as a novel, it is very dull.

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Jun 13, 2007 Kristen rated it liked it · review of another edition

I think this book was overhyped for me. All I kept hearing was about how it changed people's lives. I found it interesting and somewhat thought provoking, but it was by no means life altering. Perhaps I have to read it at different stages in my life or something. Or I'm just dense. ...more

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