The Alchemist question

I had been looking forward to reading this book, having had it sat on my shelf for a while and seen it on multiple "must read" lists. What a disappointment!
I can't imagine how this book gets the attention it does, as it definitely doesn't deserve it. The story is linear, the dialogue is stilted, the character development is non-existent, and I probably cared more about the sheep than any character in the book. Everything about the story feels so contrived and artificial.
Also annoying were the constant (failed) attempts at profundity and revelations of blindingly obvious "life lessons".
For anyone with this book on their bucket-list, then do yourself a favour and find another one; it's a quick read, but it's still a waste of time and effort.

The story itself is kind of forced, but the core message I brilliant.
I loved it!
Can't say I'd read it again, but it's a good book nevertheless.

Me too. My friend raved about it. ( She also worshipped Wayne Dwyer, which should have been a tip off.) I read it once. Left me cold. Wondered if it was just me. Read sgsin 10 yrs latar. Still nothing. Boring. Pseudo symbolism.
Gack.

And I agree with another reviewer on their comparison to Jonathan Livingston Seagull, which seemed trite to me. But if people get domething out of this stuff, great!

Personally, I now go to my Own Inner Being for the Truth.

I appreciate what he may do for some readers. I think for some, there's a treasure in its simplicity. When I read "The Alchemist" however, I remember feeling a similar way as you. I was frustrated with the repetition of "The Alchemist," its lack of refinement, as well as a lack of detail. It was over so fast though that I didn't have time to feel angry about it, but I was unimpressed. I maybe too generously gave it a 3/5. I didn't feel a sense of outrage for it, because nobody had hyped it up or personally recommended it to me. I got it for $3 used at a foreign bookstore in Korea and so I wasn't put out much financially. Ultimately, "The Alchemist" quenched my curiosity for the author and I can't see reading anything else of his, though I do think I understand why his books are beloved by some.

The only lesson that The Alchemist gave me was to preserver. But even that, the whole book was tainted with unrealistic magic that it took all the meaning away. It wasn't spirituality, it was unnecessary. Waste of time

this is my favorite book

Nope I loved this book, I have effectively read over 4000 books, over 10,000+ educational videos on youtube and talked to over 10,000 people and this book is one of the best out there.

If you know how to read it, you can EASILY get over 200 lessons

https://imgur.com/a/YIIYj1M

People are just mad they're intellectual dilettantes as Charlie Munger says, well read enough to FEEL profound (hence why they hate this book), not well read enough to know what true profundity is; simplicity.

As the book says "Only the wise are able to see and understand simple things"

"Simplification is the ultimate sophistication"-Leonardo Da Vinci,

"It was the same with information. A rite of purification became necessary.

And then, when it was made simple, distilled, counted in bits, information was found to be everywhere.” ― James Gleick, The Information: A History, a Theory, a Flood

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction.”
― E.F. Schumacher

“Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.”-Steve Jobs

"Most important of all; keep WATCH, observe, work STRENUOUSLY, rewrite everything five times, CONDENSING and so on"-Anton Chekhov on system improvements, always streamlining and always paying attention to your environment

"It is vain to do with more what can be done with fewer"- William Ockham on resource optimization

"Simplicity is the highest goal, achievable when you have overcome all difficulties. After one has played a vast quantity of notes and more notes, it is simplicity that emerges as the crowning reward of art."~ Frédéric François Chopin

"Math is just condensed info"-Brian Greene on math's simplification of the world

EΨ=HΨ, Schrodinger's equation that describes wave functions or the things that make up our universe, 4 letters to describe the universe, notbad huh? I should take notes haha!

E=MC2, Einstein's simple theory of relativity of space and time, 4 letters for all

Z = Z2 + C, Mendelbrot Set, the reason we have modern day graphics

dx/dt=a(y-x), dy/dt=x(p-z)-y, dz/dt=xy-bz, the way we understand "chaos" from Lorenz is a basic XYZ formula

V-E+F=2, Euler's equation or our understanding of spheres
F=G MN/r2 Newton's equation of gravity

...........

It is what it is though, all paths lead to one, they'll have their day, they still can in this lifetime, but it's probably not going to happen.

Kobe Bryant saw it
Warren Buffet saw it
I've seen it

People stop learning as they age or as Kobe said "when I got to the NBA I felt like (going after players) got even EASIER because they lacked the passion, the drive or the energy to get better, they were just playing for financial stability"

"I thought EVERYONE was going to be amazing in the world, but I got out there in the big bad world and it was like I was alone" Warren Buffet

These people who dislike the book can't even tell you what intelligence is, I bet right now someone reading this will know in their heart of heart how I got them, but may attempt to say something anyways. The world is such a funny place, we don't even have an agreed upon definition of the word they all claim Coelho or this book lacks, so they use a word with no meaning :)

“Thinking is difficult, that’s why most people judge.”
― C.G. Jung

"Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens." - Carl Jung

The secret of the Alchemist is for everyone, but you have to deserve it:

"Every life has the potentiality of greatness." - Henri-Frederic Amiel

Kobe, Will Smith, Pharell, Tony Robbins, Kyrie Irving, Madonna.....I guess the commenters here know better than them LMFAO

I could keep going but I won't, an alchemist could appear in front of these people, they wouldn't even know what to look for, what one would look like or have the courage to even approach him :)

“Courage is the quality most essential to understanding the Language of the World.”-Paulo Coelho

“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist

To quote Alexander the great (you know you're a boss when you have Great after your name):
"Through every generation of the human race there has been a constant war, a war with fear. Those who have the courage to conquer it are made free and those who are conquered by it are made to suffer until they have the courage to defeat it, or death takes them."

https://www.nature.com/articles/s4159...

Predator-induced fear causes PTSD-like changes in the brains and behaviour of wild animals

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imposto...

Impostor syndrome (also known as impostor phenomenon, impostorism, fraud syndrome or the impostor experience) is a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".[

It has been estimated that nearly 70% of individuals will experience signs and symptoms of impostor phenomenon at least once in their life.

“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, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity.”

I found the writing style odd. I like the message, but it didn't draw me in. Parts of it were charming, I guess?

just imagine I have to read it again as a university project, and again this idea came to my mind what's wrong with me, why I cannot enjoy this piece and everyone just seems so interested .

For people who have lived risky travels or misadventures, it reads like a poetry. Sure, there are some parts that are just absurd. Frankly I really liked the simple language as it gave ample room for my imagination to operate.

I wonder how many critics of this book are fans of The Time Machine by Wells, which is no less heavy-handed, however considerably more sardonic. My theory is that some people fear optomism.

For magic surrealism, I'd recommend Gabriel Marquez, but this book was still charming to me.

Charles wrote "I thought the book was silly, pretentious, predicable, pseudo-philosophical, not spiritual (in any sense that I use the word) and embarrassing. It is one of the (thankfully) small handful of truly awful books that I have read. At least it was short."

This is a savagely accurate review by Charles. I really struggled with this book. I found it very hard to read.

Thank God I came across this page because I was just reading the book and I felt so irritable because it is not as good as it was supposed to be. I decided to stop reading it because I really felt like it is a waste of time.

I was never a book reader till my 34 , started with this book and now I can't sleep without reading :)
Anyone can recommand more books like Alchemist\Power of Now\ New Earth\Awakening\Secret etc.

I read The Alchemist 4 times in the last 6 years. The book is inspirational. Especially for individuals similar to myself on the search for their personal legend.

I find this book amazing, it articulates the journey people take through their lifetime; hope, despair, triumph, defeat in a beautiful way. I think it is one of his finest books indeed,i felt so motivated and inspired while reading it, i actually read it somehow like 17 years ago, I don't know if I read it now, would it feel different.

If you're someone who has just started reading books, then it's a good book for you. All Paulo Coelho books are quite simple and interesting. This might get boring in between. But most people just read it for the end. It opens your eyes in a way you were not expecting.

I hated this book. I read it with no knowledge of it prior, and i just hated it. I hated the message, the story everything. But i can not deny it not being art, art is meant to elicit an emotion and this book did. Still hate it, for soooo many reasons but none the less tis art

Oh God !! How late i am to this party, but i am happy that amongst the very like minded people, the book is such a incoherent, plotless, nada inspiring, banal, and top of it an over hyped marketing gimmick added... Never ever i picked up any other book of that writer again, never will period.

The book isn't for "spiritual" person. It's for those who like to think they're spiritual. It was fun reading when I was young and on the first step in my search for knowledge, I thought I was so spiritual and smart (like many people think) when in reality I was actually not smart enough to understand the better sources.
For spiritual person there are more serious books, on actual spiritual practice.

Although I am not a spiritual person, still I am so confused how this book is so well-known and read by almost every other person. How this book even became so popular in the first place? The language used in the book is corny at best. All the talk about stars, moons, sun, wind, soul of the world, language of the heart is so cringe-inducing, it feels very similar to Bollywood drama movies.

I feel less alone now. Thank you to this thread!

It's uninspired bloat with the core message being an encouragement to just shit on everyone else and do your own thing cause everything is just going to magically work out in the end. And that's not mentioning the fact that you're indeed just completely ignoring the consequences your actions might have on the people around you

I do not like Paulo Coelho’s books at all. They are for children) I like deep physiological books.

I think it isn't supposed to be an absolutely lifechanging, spirit-altering book for sure. There's a lot of hype about it because I do feel it is a genuinely good read, but it is easy to fall into the "That book was life changing HAVE TO read it!" trap and expect it to be like Siddhartha, or The Prophet.
The messages and wisdom within the book are certainly there, but they don't smack you in the face. The wisdom is strewn throughout, but can easily be something you lose interest in due to the storyline, and how it all wraps up (the most disappointing part for me). Credit is due for this great book, just not the overzealous, fantastical credit it has for some reason!

I think it is super cliche and superficial like all his books, it is very standard bland phrases written as he was some messiah.

Same here 😅

Kirsten wrote: "I'm a very spiritual person, but I have to admit this book kinda went in one ear and out the other. At least I can say I've read it." Thank you so much for this post, I thought I am a weirdo, because I did not like the book at all!

certianly not me . This book is one of the most overrated books of all time imo .

I just read it because it's part of a summer school program I'll be teaching and I *hate it*! To me, it's pandering to the deeply religious who need to hear that their chosen deity listens to them and will make their wishes come true. (And if he doesn't, it wasn't REALLY their wish.)

I agree with you Kirsten....though I cant claim to be very spiritual...Alchemist was a let down, given the hype around it. Perhaps because I had already read more complete philosophy...i did not really find it touching the heights I imagined it would. I would recomment Herman Hesse/Somerset Maugham much higher in terms of spiritual insight..

Agreeing with everyone so far, esp. Steven's comment that it is "a rather simplistic and predictable tale. It seemed like I was reading a self help book that was poorly done." Exactly. I found it tedious & overwrought, like a cheap soap opera. Spirituality? Really? I really have never understood why this book is so highly rated & recommended by many.

Glad to see that there are at least a few of you out there who feel the same way! :-)

NOT IMPRESSED AT ALL! What was all the hype about???

An easy and quick read.Can say I read it, can say I am a spiritual person, but this was def. not a lifer.

This book was so boring and overrated that I actually can't explain to any of my friends what it was about.

Vindication! Thanks! I expected more. I can see how we can learn morals from it, but it definitely left me wanting something...........something completely different. :)

this was the first book i've ever read and it's also the worst. i find it overrated! my friend gave me a copy of Eleven Minutes and i liked it so I tried to read other Coelho books. i bought The Valkyries and The Winner Stands Alone. I did not finish them. What a shame disappointing myself again. I will never read a Coelho book again.

I wasn't impressed. It's so simple(

Me too!

I didn't find this book particularly enlightening, and he didn't tell me anything new. I can understand why so many people like it though, as it delivers concentrated, bite sized religio-esoteric information for those who wish to be seen to understand that there are different ways of looking at life and the world, as opposed to just the usual crass materialism. From what I see, it makes little difference to the situation.

The problem with this books is that it has one singe (and not very insightful) idea and apart from that there is nothing else - just the plot. somehow it seems to me that Coelho writes for money, and not because he has an unstopable inner urge to write. And than it makes sense, for the majority of people aren't so insightful and this might be a good read for them.

Didn't like the book. It was a pain just to read it till the end. Did it somehow. Steering clear of Coelho books after this!

I did not enjoy it very much at all. Seemed too cute by half. I plugged away anyway, hoping I'd get into it. Not sure what the appeal is.

The book is a good read for those who have not read a book in years!!! it's easy to read that's the only adjective I can use for it. Useless, pointless and nothing that you would remember a few days later. A total waste of 25 minutes.

Quite simply the worst book I've ever read. I read books to my pre-schooler with more plot, characterization, and better writing skill then I saw in this. Prior to reading this I though Fan-fic was bad, but now, in posession of a new low, I just can't call Fan-fic horrendous anymore.

I found this book really inspiring and that boy i could see as myself. He wanted the "treasure" which i also have my own of. He showed me some things like how we learn when we try to reach the goal. I found myself having this analogy of practicing to reach the goal. (Hint: Learn from mistakes). This book clearly deserves top 15 novels of all times. I definitely don't agree it to be 5's, but 10 is a chance.

Reading through this comment makes me a bit heart-trended, but I think i can survive. Though, i noticed how so little people realized the meaning.

Overhyped
Not worth the expectation
Really disappointed

Ok, first, this book is not meant purely for entertainment just like you probably wouldn't read a Tale of Two Cities just for the simple fun of it. Although, I thought it had an almost magical side to it, sometimes it seemed playful and at other times immensely serious. There are going to be times where you are bored, just like in any meaningful book, it cant all be about bunnies and sunshine. But if you go in looking for something life-altering, well there is a good chance that i too would be a little disappointed.

However, i read this when i was 10. So my memory is not the best but i went into this book without even knowing what it was about or any preconceived notions of what it should be, talk about confusing! But when i came into this book with a blank slaight, i was very impressed by the message of the story because, you have to admit, not many average writers believe in those out there kind of universal messages like the boy giving up his life to become a shepard and then believing in this impossible thing that he is not sure he has the courage or ability to achieve. But he learns to listen to the omens, just like we should do in our everyday life. He doesn't give up, all that he can do is believe that if someone wants something bad enough, with all their heart and soul, then the whole universe has no other choice but to aspire to push them forward.

I know, maybe it sounds a little too optimistic, but it is still a good message. And no one should deny an author simply for trying to convey a profound message to the best of their ability just because they dont agree with what the message is (and thats perfectly alright, to not agree i mean). Everyone is entitled to their oppinion. But im just saying that, when i read this book, despite being 10 or 13 (two different times i read this book), i never read any book that attempted to convey the kind of magical, hopeful message that i so despertely wanted to believe in that kind of simplistic, uncomplicated way.

Not impressed & lost as to why anyone is...