Once he has the feather in hand, he touches it to each page of the work when he prints out his manuscripts. Coelho sold the film rights to The Alchemist to Warner Bros.
In , Variety reported that Laurence Fishburne had signed on to direct and star in the film. BY Alvin Ward. Paulo Coelho only needed to weeks to write The Alchemist.
The Alchemist was not an instant success. Paulo Coelho kept faith that The Alchemist would be successful. The English translation of The Alchemist provided the huge break it needed. Paulo Coelho took a local approach to The Alchemist 's translations. Paulo Coelho also hit the road to promote The Alchemist. The Alchemist 's success was staggering. Wide translation helped Paulo Coelho and The Alchemist set a new record. Thanks for telling us about the problem.
Return to Book Page. Preview — The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. Alan R. Clarke Translator ,. James Noel Smith Illustrator. Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. This story, dazzling in its powerful simplicity and soul-stirring wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago, who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried near the Pyramids.
Along the way he meets a Romany woman, a man who calls Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world. Along the way he meets a Romany woman, a man who calls himself a king, and an alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the right direction for his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or whether Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles in his path; but what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a discovery of treasure within. Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is an eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts.
Illustrator: Jim Tierney Get A Copy. Paperback , 25th Anniversary Edition , pages. Published April 15th by HarperOne first published More Details Original Title. Santiago , Alchemist , Melchizedek. Other Editions Friend Reviews. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Alchemist , please sign up. Where did the saying come from: "When you want something the whole universe will conspire together to help you get it?
Huda Aweys It is not a new word, that Muslims have a verse in the Quran says that God created human to beings his successors in the land and make everything on t …more It is not a new word, that Muslims have a verse in the Quran says that God created human to beings his successors in the land and make everything on the ground to obey us less.
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Really, I did this so you don't have to. Shelves: novellas. My heart and I chatted, and we agreed, this book was short. My heart thinks it was also stupid, and after spending some time talking to the wind, I came to agree with my heart.
Yet, after beginning the journey with this book and despite the words of my heart, something impelled me to continue. Surely it had something to teach me? The book had a lovely cover made of nicely textured stock that felt good in my hands. It offered the added efficiency of a fold-over flap--something that more publisher My heart and I chatted, and we agreed, this book was short.
It offered the added efficiency of a fold-over flap--something that more publishers should make an effort to do, as it makes the use of a bookmark superfluous. In this case, this is especially true. The prose turned out to be not nearly as nicely textured. That is irony. This book knows not of irony.
Still, though, I needed to complete my journey. My heart tugged on my sleeve. As I continued my journey, I found that the text inside was set in a pleasing font. I could find no typos, which are always a portent of doom. So I kept going. I found the words that the font expressed were simple and easy to read. As I read them before falling to sleep each night, they neither challenged me nor troubled my dreams. Many people, I believe, enjoy this in a book, in the same way that they enjoy Hostess Twinkies.
They are filled up with calories, which causes their bodies to believe that they have been fed a nutritious meal, when in fact their brains are lulled into sheep-like somnambulism. They grow fat and stupid er under the illusion that they have received nutrition without ever experiencing the pain of having to cook, and possibly work up a sweat or burn one's fingers.
I wondered if this book was possibly dangerous. I wondered what kind of people would be deluded into thinking, within the guise of a poorly written but deviously well-conceived parable, that this book's philosophy was, in fact, Deep and Meaningful Truth.
This book, I felt, was perhaps insidiously evil, a force with which I needed to do battle. I did not know which weapon to use, as irony appears to be rendered completely ineffective within a 3-metre radius of this book. Still, irony and a love of absurdity hovered around me as I searched for the true meaning in this book, and why it appears to offer a powerful message to so many.
I consulted the Oracle, known across all the lands by many names. Now, there's an alchemist for you: Queen Wiki can turn knowledge into nonsense and then back again before your very eyes.
The perfect Oracle for this book. Queen Wiki turned out to be very entertaining and illuminating in this case. I learned that Joe Jonas and Russell Crowe loved this book. I glommed on to this as an omen that absurdity was lurking close. I interpreted it as a sign that I must continue.
Again, I was struck by the irony of that, but turning back to the book, this fleeting insight that might have had a grain of real value was immediately squelched. I sipped some sweet tea from a crystal goblet, and plodded on through the desert of thought that is this book.
This, I felt, was the lesson to be learned: in the Middle of the Centre of the Soul of the World, where blank-eyed acolytes are led like sheep? Absurdity goes unrecognized. Skepticism is turned back at the gates by ill-formed philosophies based on the unwavering power of evangelical groupthink and our species' rather fascinating susceptibility to cognitive bias, or errors in thinking, that cause us to believe as truth that which can actually be scientifically validated as false.
This book makes a mockery of spirituality and the search for truth and meaning, under the guise of the easy, anxiety-quelling New Age philosophies that spoon-feed the stupid with Twitter-sized bites of nonsense. Beliefs like, "good things happen to good people. If it's not right, it's not the end. Do not trade or give away--you'll just be spreading the bullshit.
My heart will go on. View all comments. I need to start this review by stating 1 I can't stand self-help books and 2 I'm a feminist no, I don't hate men- some men are quite awesome, but I am very conscious of women and our place in the world. Short summary mild spoilers : A boy named Santiago follows his 'Personal Legend' in traveling from Spain to the Pyramids in Egypt searching for treasure. Along the way, he learns 'the Language of the World' the 'Soul of the World' and discovers that the 'Soul of God' is 'his own soul.
If you think they are hokey and silly, then you'll think this is a terrible book. If you think statements such as "When you want something, all the universe conspires you to achieve it" and "All things are one" are moving and life-changing, you'll love this book. If such statements have you rolling your eyes, then this isn't your cup of tea.
Its not that I find anything wrong with these messages. They are important, but must be balanced with responsibility. In my experience, 'following your dreams' or personal legend is not the only way toward wisdom and strength.
Is the person who struggles to put food on the table every day for his or her family, consciously realizing that he or she may not be following his or her 'personal legend' any less heroic than some traveler who leaves everything and everyone he or she is responsible for to go on a spiritual quest?
Coelho comes close to labeling such people, as losers in life, which I find completely off the mark as some of these people have the most to offer in terms of wisdom. The issue of responsibility is also part of this book's sexism. The main male characters in the novel have 'Personal Legends' - they are either seeking them, or have achieved them, or have failed to achieve them. But Coelho never mentions 'Personal Legend' with regard to women, other than to say that Fatima, Santiago's fiance, is 'a part of Santiago's Personal Legend.
Instead of traveling to find her dreams, she is content to sit around, do chores, and stare everyday at the desert to wait for his return. This is her 'fate' as a desert women. The fact that women don't have Personal Legends is even more galling considering the fact that according to Coelho, even minerals such as lead and copper have Personal Legends, allowing them to 'evolve' to something better ie, gold. In the ideal world presented in THE ALCHEMIST, it seems that the job of men is to seek out their personal legends, leaving aside thoughts of family and responsibility, and its the job of women to let them, and pine for their return.
Of course, someone has to do the unheroic, inconvenient work of taking care of the children, the animals, the elderly, the ill If everyone simply goes off on spiritual quests, deciding they have no responsibility other than to seek their Personal Legends, no one would be taking responsibility for the unglamorous work that simply has to take place for the world to run. On the other hand, what if both men and women are allowed to struggle towards their 'Personal Legends,' and help each other as best as they can towards them, but recognize that their responsibilities may force them to defer, compromise, or even 'sacrifice' their dreams?
This may seem depressing, but it isn't necessarily. Coelho seems to think that Personal Legends are fixed at childhood or at birth, or even before and are not changeable: they have to be followed through to the end, no matter how silly. But in my experience, many people have chosen to adjust, compromise, and even 'give up' on their dreams, only to find that life grants them something better, or they have a new, better dream to follow, a path providing greater wisdom.
I really disliked this book. I dislike it in the way that I dislike a great deal of modern self help books. Their basic message is that if you want something to happen, you need to want it as hard as you can, without caring about anything else, not allowing yourself to doubt it, or let criticisms will get in the way then it will happen. I disagree with this notion, not only because it is false, but because it is bad. Just because we desire something, does not make it good.
This idea of 'following I really disliked this book. This idea of 'following your heart' is often wrong. Who are we to be the arbiters of truth? Why should our hearts be sources of information that go beyond logic, doubt and reasoning? Haven't we all desired things that have turned out to not be in our best interest, or to be harmful to others? Andrew Jackson was a man known to have a lot of integrity. He was always 'true' to himself and followed his heart. Andrew Jackson is the man who initiated the 'Trail of Tears'.
Moving Native Americans from their homes and into reservations. Next, this idea of not letting ourselves doubt or consider doubts. This is a terrible and dishonest way to live.
If we don't consider doubts, and entertain them often, then we are deliberately blinding ourselves. Deliberately making ourselves ignorant. If someone doesn't give serious consideration to the idea that they may be wrong. Give serious thought to why they believe what they do, and that perhaps those who doubt them may be correct, then they are behaving in a dangerous and dishonest way. Not giving heed to the concerns doubts and criticisms of others is something I believe is a major fault in modern society.
Often, people fail to recognize the needs of the group and the community. We place so much emphasis on the needs and rights of the individual. This causes people to focus so much on themselves to the detriment of others around them. At times, it can be beneficial to go against the group, but one should first give serious consideration to the groups concerns.
Suffice to say, he became a monk and I became a committed pragmatist. This book is eerily reminiscent of the kind of trite and patronising nonsense that I really dislike in a book. His dodgy accents are awful especially the cockney one for the Desert, Sun and Wind, and some are just noisy and grating. This one is for me. The Alchemist stirred questions within me. It revealed wisdom that had been staring me in the face, which I had failed to recognise.
The story of the Centurion struck a deeply personal nerve, at a most vulnerable time, bringing tears to my eyes. Jeremy Irons made the words leap of the page, as though they have a life of their own.
I would recommend this book to anyone who is afraid of failure. I had just listened to 5 second rule by mel robbins who in her book suggested this book i am so glad i decided to listen to this.
I listened to it in 1 day i just couldnt put it down. I have now ordered 2 of the paperback books for my children to read. This is a must on any book shelf :. What a fantastic book. A really complete story. Fantastic detail and insight into a world of mystery. This was recommended by Will Smilth during an interview on his ideas of success.
It's a simple and interesting tale with lots of twists and thought provoking ideas. Highly recommended to anyone, especially those interested in "the way" or personal development.
I thought it was banal, simplistic and patronising. I asked myself the same question. Great story! Every living being should read or listen to this story. Loved listening to Jeremy Irons voice, made the story so much more adventurous! So many life lessons contains in this small book. I would really recommend this book to whoever willing to learn about life.
This book is a great piece of work and should be read by anyone who seeks treasure and meaning in life Great story. Well read. I loved it. I will listen to this many times!
Certainly worth a look. Narrative is well done. Story is good with a nice message. My only negative is it felt like the ending was wrapping up and then it ended before conclusion. I got teary many times while listening to this. So profound and so many pearls of wisdom. I will be listening to this over and over.
I easily found time to listen to this book in one day. I tried stopping at one point but wanted to find out what was going to happen next and soon continued listening. I loved the narration, and thought the book was well thought through. My only complaint is that the book is too short and finished kind of abruptly.
Short, yet powerful. On the one hand, it's a tale about a shepherd boy who goes on a journey, and on the other hand it's much, much, more. There are so many messages conveyed throughout, but I found the moral of the story to be: follow your dreams and listen to your heart.
For me, the tale also really highlighted how it is that we can become own biggest obstacles - how we shackle ourselves with one hand and hold the key in the other.
The story never got boring, it has life lessons that it teaches you through the travels of the main character. It has a mystical, spiritual theme about it that i think is refreshing compared to other books in the self improvement genre. Jeremy Irons was a good narrator, his coarse voice fit the book perfectly. The performance in this was exceptional and captivating in the same.
Enjoyed beyond measure. Add to Cart failed. Please try again later. Add to Wish List failed. Remove from wishlist failed. Adding to library failed. Please try again. Follow podcast failed. Unfollow podcast failed. Stream or download thousands of included titles. The Alchemist By: Paulo Coelho. Narrated by: Jeremy Irons. No default payment method selected.
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Pay using card ending in. Taxes where applicable. Listeners also enjoyed Publisher's Summary Paulo Coelho's enchanting novel has inspired a devoted following around the world.
This story, dazzling in its simplicity and wisdom, is about an Andalusian shepherd boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of treasure buried in the Pyramids. Along the way he meets a Gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king, and an Alchemist, all of whom point Santiago in the direction of his quest. No one knows what the treasure is, or if Santiago will be able to surmount the obstacles along the way But what starts out as a journey to find worldly goods turns into a meditation on the treasures found within.
Lush, evocative, and deeply humane, the story of Santiago is art eternal testament to the transforming power of our dreams and the importance of listening to our hearts. Critic Reviews "The story has the comic charm, dramatic tension and psychological intensity of a fairy tale, but it's full of specific wisdom as well, about becoming self-empowered, overcoming depression, and believing in dreams.
Fiction Best Sellers Their words stay with us long after we've heard the last chapter. His critics dismiss his writing as New Age drivel, promoting a vague spirituality devoid of rigor. A confident writer who rejects the self-help label—"I am not a self-help writer; I am a self-problem writer"—Coelho dismisses his naysayers' critiques. Coelho has been married to his wife, the artist Christina Oiticica, since Together the couple spends half the year in Rio de Janeiro and the other half in a country house in the Pyrenees Mountains of France.
In , Coelho founded the Paulo Coelho Institute, which provides support to children and the elderly. He continues to write, following his own version of The Alchemist 's "Language of the World. We strive for accuracy and fairness. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us!
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Anne Rice is a best-selling author of popular series including 'Vampire Chronicles,' which includes the books 'Interview with the Vampire' and 'Queen of the Damned. Stephenie Meyer is best known for authoring the best-selling 'Twilight' book series, which was adapted into a hit film franchise.
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