Synopses & Reviews
"My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer," the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky." Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams."
Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come.
The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist.
The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.
Review
“A touching, inspiring fable.” Indianapolis Star
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“A remarkable tale about the most magical of all journeys: the quest to fulfill ones destiny.” Anthony Robbins, author of Awaken the Giant Within
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“A most tender and gentle story. It is a rare gem of a book.” Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D., co-author of Change Our Mind, Change Your Life
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“A sweetly exotic tale for young and old alike.” Publishers Weekly
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“A magical little volume.” San Francisco Chronicle
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“A wise and inspiring fable about the pilgrimage that life should be.” M. Scott Peck
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“[This] Brazilian wizard makes books disappear from stores.” New York Times
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“An entrepreneurial tale of universal wisdom we can apply to the business of our own lives.” Spencer Johnson, M.D., co-author of The One-Minute Manager
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“[His] books have had a life-enchanting effect on millions of people.” London Times
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“An adventure story full of magic and wisdom.” Rudolfo Anaya, author of Bless Me, Ultima
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“A beautiful story with a pointed message for every reader.” Joseph Girzone, author of Joshua
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“As memorable and meaningful as Saint-Exuperys The Little Prince.” Austin American-Statesman
Synopsis
"To realize one's destiny is a person's only obligation."--from The Alchemist
The Alchemist tells the story of Santiago, the young Andalusian shepherd who dreams of buried treasure in Egypt and embarks upon a challenging journey to find it. With all the simplicity and symbolic richness of a fable, Coelho's novel is both a hunt for buried treasure and a spiritual quest, with a hero who overcomes trials along the way with the help of teachers who guide him.
Paulo Coelho's books have difficult--and valuable--lessons to impart, but much of their appeal comes from the way Coelho dramatizes these lessons. With exquisite simplicity, the author brings to these stories his own experience of confronting life's most profound challenges, his broad knowledge of philosophy, psychology, and literature, and a deeply-felt humanity.
Freshman Common Read: Erskine College, Montana State University at Bozeman, Immaculata University, Queensborough Community College
--Austin American-Statesman
Synopsis
The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho continues to change the lives of its readers forever. With more than two million copies sold around the world,
The Alchemist has established itself as a modern classic, universally admired.
Paulo Coelhos masterpiece tells the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found.
The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories can, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along lifes path, and, above all, following our dreams.
About the Author
Paulo Coelho, born in Rio de Janeiro in 1947, is one of the bestselling and most influential authors in the world.
The Alchemist,
The Pilgrimage,
The Valkyries,
Brida,
Veronika Decides to Die,
Eleven Minutes,
The Zahir,
The Witch of Portobello,
The Winner Stands Alone,
Aleph, and
Manuscript Found in Accra, among others, have sold 150 million copies worldwide.
Paulo Coelho nació en Brasil en 1947 y es uno de los autores con más influencia de hoy día. Conocido mundialmente por el bestseller internacional El Alquimista, Coelho ha vendido más de 100 millones de libros en todo el mundo, los cuales han sido traducidos a 68 idiomas y publicados en 150 países. Paulo Coelho escribe una columna semanal que se publica en los periódicos más importantes del mundo.
Amy Jurskis, the author of these teaching materials, holds a B.A. in English from the University of Georgia and a MAT from Agnes Scott College. A former department chair for language arts in a title one public school in Atlanta, she currently serves as a chairperson of curriculum and English teacher at Oxbridge Academy of the Palm Beaches.