Book review: The Alchemist

Last night I finished reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho and thought it was wonderful.

Honestly, I only picked this book up because it was on the "buy 2, get 1 free" table at Barnes and Noble and it was my free book. I was so surprised by how much I liked it!

It is the story of a Spanish shepherd boy who has a dream of finding buried treasure at the pyramids of Egypt. There are some religious themes throughout the book but I never knew if the author was religious until I read more about him. The book is all about following your heart to achieve your dreams and never giving up. In the book, the boy's heart speaks to him to keep him moving toward his goal and I always felt like it was God's voice leading him. I loved the way the boy appreciates nature and the world around him.

The boy meets an alchemist who tells him "you don't have to understand the desert: all you have to do is contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation."

It is all about the obstacles that must be overcome to accomplish one's dream, the way someone can choose to have a positive perspective during a negative situation, and how every encounter can lead a person in one direction or another. It was very thought provoking.

One of my favorite quotes is:

"What would you do if you knew you could not fail?"
~Robert H. Schuller

My dad always tells me: "Never Give Up."
Dad has a copy of this cartoon hanging in his office and it's been there for as long as I can remember.


I love the word "PERSEVERANCE" and this is probably another reason why I liked the book. (Plus it's a much nicer word than stubbornness)

definition from dictionary.com: steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.