Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Aug. 10th, 2007 06:49 pmOtherwise known as the book I was carrying around during the Harry Potter party, accidentally got face paint on, and was forced to buy. Which isn't to say that I wouldn't have read it, just that I would probably not have bought it. As silly as this is going to sound, I like to feel like I'm paying for an appropriate number of words when I buy a book, and The Alchemist is just not long enough. Plus, it's a "best seller phenomenon" -- meaning, the author doesn't need my money. So, I'd just as soon read it in-store or take it out at the library.
On to the the book. The Alchemist is a deeply spiritual book, which is I think what made it so popular. The trick here, and what Coelho manages beautifully, is that while it supports a kind of transcendent spirituality -- all things are God, those following their dreams follow Personal Legends, whereon they must listen to their Hearts, and to the Soul of the World -- it's also quite specific. The narrator, a Catholic from Andalusia, recounts stories of Christian saints and medieval Christian kings, but also spends most of the story traveling across North Africa in the company of Muslims, and the book's best anecdotes are specifically Islamic. ( Read more... )
Anyway, quibbles. It's a beautifully written story, albeit one that peddles an idiosyncratic worldview. (Though actually, that idiosyncrasy was part of what made the book attractive -- maybe I didn't buy into the book's inspirational message (even if I had, it wouldn't have applied to me), but I enjoyed the immersion. Up to a point, anyway.) I also really enjoyed the desert-y bits.
On to the the book. The Alchemist is a deeply spiritual book, which is I think what made it so popular. The trick here, and what Coelho manages beautifully, is that while it supports a kind of transcendent spirituality -- all things are God, those following their dreams follow Personal Legends, whereon they must listen to their Hearts, and to the Soul of the World -- it's also quite specific. The narrator, a Catholic from Andalusia, recounts stories of Christian saints and medieval Christian kings, but also spends most of the story traveling across North Africa in the company of Muslims, and the book's best anecdotes are specifically Islamic. ( Read more... )
Anyway, quibbles. It's a beautifully written story, albeit one that peddles an idiosyncratic worldview. (Though actually, that idiosyncrasy was part of what made the book attractive -- maybe I didn't buy into the book's inspirational message (even if I had, it wouldn't have applied to me), but I enjoyed the immersion. Up to a point, anyway.) I also really enjoyed the desert-y bits.