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The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

Santiago, a young shepherd living in the hills of Andalucia, feels that there is more to life than his humble home and his flock. One day he finds the courage to follow his dreams into distant lands, each step galvanised by the knowledge that he is following the right path: his own. The people he meets along the way, the things he sees and the wisdom he learns are life-changing.
I think anyone who has heard of this book can safely say it is one of the world’s most read and most iconic novels and I can see exactly why.

I opened this at a time I felt a little confused and lost and I have to admit it massively helped. Not in the sense that I had a great epiphany and decided to roam the land with a herd a sheep, but it made me realise just how everyone feels a little lost at times and it is this reason why a novel like this is written and read in its millions! An incredible fable which has gained worldwide status. Beautifully written, yet gets to the point of why and how we should all listen to our hearts and really, do what is right for us.  

I will definitely be picking this up again in the future and recommending it. 

Since finishing this I have also bought his latest ‘Hippie’, along with ‘Eleven Minutes’.


A few excerpts which stayed with me:


“We are afraid of losing what we have, whether it’s our life or our possessions and property. But this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and history of the world were written by the same hand.”

“…the omens will abandon you, because you’ve stopped listening to them.”

“…love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. If he abandons that pursuit, it’s because it wasn’t true love…”

“Everyone has a treasure that awaits him…unfortunately, very few follow the path laid out for them – the path to their destinies, and to happiness. Most people see the world as a threatening place, and, because they do, the world turns out, indeed, to be a threatening place.”
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