alchemist
“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”
Paulo Coelho, the Alchemist
With quotes such as the above no wonder, the book left the readers awestruck. It considers the entire world as traveller’s on a cosmic journey, swirling in whirlpools of infinity denoting eternal life.
It is indeed an allegorical novel by Paulo Coelho. Going to the literal meaning, alchemist – one who is well-versed in practice of alchemy. The book is an international best seller, sold out more than thirty million copies in fifty six different languages.
The story revolves around the boy who starts his journey in search of treasure and finally finds it where his heart lies. The main theme of the novel is to find one’s own destiny. It’s more kind of a self-help novel than literature. As a king says to the protagonist of the story, Santiago, “When you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true”. Indeed, this is the real core of philosophy
The story helps the individual to introspect and predict something about unpredictable life. As written in the novel, when something happens just once, it won’t be repeated, but if something happens twice, it will definitely be repeated again. This line helps to understand the worldly vicious circle which usually traps the greedy soul. Moreover, it also helps to untangle the tangled controversies of life.
All in all, it is a novel which has action, drama and inspiration, a perfectly worth-reading package!