About this title: A fable about undauntingly following one's dreams, listening to one's heart, and reading life's omens features dialogue between a boy and an unnamed being. Reissue.
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Good. Light shelf wear and minimal interior marks. Millions of satisfied customers and climbing. Thriftbooks is the name you can trust, guaranteed. Spend Less. Read More. read more
Description: Acceptable. Book is in good reading condition. Cover has wear at edges and corners, and may have creases. Spine has wear at edges and creases. read more
Description: Good. 0062502182 Paperback, Condition: Good; somewhat worn; some pages are wavy due to prior exposure to moisture; will work well as a reading copy. read more
Description: Very Good. 0062502182 Great condition Soft Cover book, clean pages, mild creases to spine, light edge/corner rubs, this book is GREAT! Shop & Save With US. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: HarperOne
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780062502179ISBN:0062502174
Description: A wonderful copy with some minor edgewear to the cover. Dust Jacket has some edgewear present. -, Hard Cover, Very Good / Very Good. read more
Edition: Reprint
Binding: Trade Paperback
Publisher: HarperPerennial, New York
Date Published: 2001
ISBN-13:9780062502186ISBN:0062502182
Description: Very Good. No Jacket. 8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall. 167 pp. Thirty-eighth printing. The pages are slightly tanned at the edges. The text is tight and square, and the text is clean. Translated by Alan R. Clarke. read more
Description: Very good. 2004 HarperSanFrancisco Reprint Softcover(Trade PB) Edition. Some wear to cover, inscription to prev. owner, text clean with strong binding. Ships Fast! read more
Edition: (My copy has a different cover. )
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: HarperSanFrancisco
Date Published: 1993
ISBN-13:9780062502186ISBN:0062502182
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. appears to be unread. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 192 p. Audience: General/trade. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harperone
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780062502186ISBN:0062502182
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Spine straight w/o creases, binding tight, gift inscription else no reader/remainder/library marks, covers/pgs flat w/sharp corners, very slight shelf wear. 167 numbered pgs., Audience: General/trade. Photos/other info available by e-mail. Daily orders/e-mail responses. E-mail confirmation of shipment. Books stored in smoke-free, climate controlled environment. Check our feedback. read more
Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Harperone
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780062502179ISBN:0062502174
Description: Very good in good dust jacket. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. 192 p. Audience: General/trade. Appears to be gently read! Minor shelf and edge wear, no markings or highlighting. Cover has some scuffing and minor scratches. read more
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Harperone
Date Published: 2003
ISBN-13:9780062502186ISBN:0062502182
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 192 p. Audience: General/trade. Perfect condition; from a private collection. read more
"This book generated lots of discussion in our book club. Some of us did not go in for such mystic stuff...but still had a lot to say about the ideas brought up in this book. It starts out very literal and moves to the mystic. Enjoy a quick good read that will give you lots to think about!"
"Timing is everything. If I'd read 'The Alchemist' four years ago, I'm sure I would have loved it. It deals in big, bold pronouncements of 'follow your dreams' et cetera et cetera, and it certainly makes you think about your own life and the pursuit of your own "Personal Legend" if you will. But maybe I'm older and more cynical now, or maybe it's not cynicism so much as just seeing a reality that isn't so mystical and black and white as Paulo Coelho's, but in any event, I just wasn't buying what 'The Alchemist' was selling.
It's a good, quick read, I'll give it that. I enjoyed myself, and I definitely thought a little bit about my own life in the process, which I appreciate from my literature. And while I was more or less with it for a while, I just couldn't stay on board with an ending that left me saying, "that's it? Really?" Be forewarned, there will be spoilers after this point. The whole book Santiago is in pursuit of his "Personal Legend", which he is told is a great treasure found in the pyramids of Egypt. Along the way he befriends many people and makes a great sum of money, while also meeting a beautiful young woman who agrees to more or less be his life-partner, Romeo and Juliet-style (which is stupid in and of itself, but more on that later). It is at this point that he determines he has achieved a greater treasure than any he had ever dreamed of, and would go no further. Beautiful. Cue the music and themes of recognizing treasure in all its forms. Santiago has a wonderful, fulfilling life laid out before him, and would most likely die a happy man by the side of his lovely wife and adoring children, all while living comfortably as village counselor of a beautiful desert oasis. Sounds pretty nice, no?
Well, that's where the book lost it's footing. Santiago is urged, coerced even, into continuing to follow his "Personal Legend", leaving behind his "love" (who, it should be mentioned is a "woman of the desert" and so is completely fine being abandoned by her "love" and will simply wait and wait and wait for him, whether he ever returns or not) traversing the desert and (bizarrely) evading a hostile army along the way by turning himself into the wind (it makes about as much sense as it sounds). In the end though, Coelho reveals to us that Santiago does, indeed, reach his "Personal Legend" in a two and a half page epilogue, where it is shoddily revealed that Santiago's long-sought after treasure is...treasure. Literally. Buried treasure. A box in the sand filled with gold coins and diamonds and jewelry and crowns, and all the other cliche treasure images you can think up. What the hell?
So what message are we supposed to take from this book then? Money is the most important thing in the world? Women are objects meant to be seen and valued for their beauty, there to serve you and wait around forever while you go on wild goose chases across continents in search of money?
Obviously I'm being facetious, and Coelho intended to say that one should follow their dreams no matter what, even if it transcends a nice, content life, so long as you are in pursuit of a life that would be even greater than you can ever imagine, sacrificing what is good now for what can be great later. But he did so in an extremely simplistic way, and the revelation of the Santiago's treasure being literally treasure was a major disappointment.
The thing was, despite his simplicity, the book had a nice message going for a while. If Fatima was Santiago's treasure, that I could have gotten behind, even if it shows a good deal of contempt for the role of women in relationships (beauty being the most important factor in deciding on a mate, as Santiago is struck by her beauty and immediately professes his love; Fatima more or less acquiesces immediately and pledges herself to Santiago no matter what, even if he must travel the desert forever in selfish pursuit of his own dreams, with no regard for her), because that is something intangible that is meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of financial standing. But then Coelho basically goes on to say that that is just a roadblock in the way of real achievement, and that one should selfishly pursue their own dreams with no regard for those closest to them.
How a book can go on and on talking about seeing the everyday symbols and omens in life and taking heed of them, presumably leaving metaphors for life all along the way, and then have what was presumably the biggest metaphor of them all, Santiago's treasure, turn out not to be a metaphor at all, but just money? To me, that summed up everything. I suppose Coelho realizes this, as he begins the book with a brief fable about Narcissus falling into the river because he loved staring at his reflection, and the river's disappointment in this, as the river loved gazing into Narcissus's eyes and seeing the reflection of itself. This is a horrible little story implying that everyone is obsessed only with themselves, a sad, empty little thought that Coelho spends 167 pages endorsing wholeheartedly, under the guise of following your dreams.
I understand that other people love this book and find it inspiring, and I think I would have felt the same way years ago, when I was just out of college and it appeared I had my whole life ahead of me and a lifetime to live it. I'm older now, and I've found someone who I consider to be a real treasure, and while I still have dreams, I'm not willing to sacrifice the happiness that this life brings me every day in a single-minded pursuit of something that I want for selfish reasons (fame, fortune, etc.). If I was Santiago, I would have never left Fatima in the first place if she truly made me happy, as Santiago claimed she did. Perhaps that makes me a coward in Coelho's eyes, not unlike the Crystal merchant from the story. But it'd also make me not the sad Englishman, whose single-minded pursuit of his "personal legend" had cost him all his money, friends, and family and left him alone in an oasis burning lead in a tent in the vain hopes it will turn to gold.
I guess what I'm trying to say in this long-winded review, is that this book is all about being selfish and doing what you think will make you happy, regardless of everything else. I can see why that appeals to people, especially those who want to show the doubters and find their own treasure beneath a sycamore tree, but it's sad, in a way. We live in a culture where everyone wants selfish things like fame or money or power, just to satisfy some gaping hole in their own souls, ignoring the real problems that lead to these compulsions in the first place. To me, this book feeds and even encourages that misplaced ideal, and that's a shame."
""when you really want something, the whole universe conspires in helping you to achieve it"
This book has crossed the buondires of books, and has taken a life of its own, creating a movement all around the globe.
Santiago's journey and spiritual quest, the people he meets, the dreams he has, the omens he encounters, and the nature he speaks to, are all things that we can relate to..things that we've either forgotten about or simply dismissed as childhood fantasies. It is all about finding your Personal Legend and pursuing your dream regardless of any hurdles, and about being spitirually connected to the uiniverse, which is part of us, and part of God. we are all one.
Reading this book always sets me back on the right path towards achieving the dreams I have put on hold. We always try to do what everyone expects of us like pursuing a career that you hate just because that is what everyone does. Recognizing my personal legend, being able to talk to the trees, sky, ants, the core of the earth, the air particles, and to my heart, feeling a deeper spiritual connection with everything/everynoe that isd around me, feeling God inside me, and not being afraid of failing or facing challenges are just some of the few things this book has given me.
It is maktub that Coelho writes this book, shares it with the world, and affect so many lives. This masterwork is a legend and a precious treasure."
"It is one thing to read a great book and be inspired. It is an entirely different thing for the author to throw it in your face..."You will be inspired, you will be inspired..." I felt like I was bombarded with heavy handed one liners ever other paragraph. If you haven't started this book, don't bother. I will give it enough credit to say it was better than the Nanny Diaries. Although anything would be a better read than that horrid excuse for a book... Sorry, still mad at myself at wasting time on reading something so awful"
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