The Alchemist. Review on The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

Dreams, symbols, signs, and adventure follow the reader like echoes of ancient wise voices in ''The Alchemist'', a novel that combines an atmosphere of Medieval mysticism with the song of the desert. With this symbolic masterpiece Coelho states that we should not avoid our destinies, and urges people to follow their dreams, because to find our ''Personal Myth'' and our mission on Earth is the way to find ''God'', meaning happiness, fulfillment, and the ultimate purpose of creation.

The novel tells the tale of Santiago, a boy who has a dream and the courage to follow it. After listening to ''the signs'' the boy ventures in his personal, Ulysses-like journey of exploration and self-discovery, symbolically searching for a hidden treasure located near the pyramids in Egypt.

When he decides to go, his father's only advice is ''Travel the world until you see that our castle is the greatest, and our women the most beautiful''. In his journey, Santiago sees the greatness of the world, and meets all kinds of exciting people like kings and alchemists. However, by the end of the novel, he discovers that ''treasure lies where your heart belongs'', and that the treasure was the journey itself, the discoveries he made, and the wisdom he acquired.

''The Alchemist'', is an exciting novel that bursts with optimism; it is the kind of novel that tells you that everything is possible as long as you really want it to happen. That may sound like an oversimplified version of new-age philosophy and mysticism, but as Coelho states ''simple things are the most valuable and only wise people appreciate them''.

The Alchemist'' is a novel that may appeal to everybody, because we can all identify with Santiago: all of us have dreams, and are dying for somebody to tell us that they may come true. The novel skillfully combines words of wisdom, philosophy, and simplicity of meaning and language, which makes it particularly readable and accounts for its bestselling status.