The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Giving merely three stars to this book doesn't diminish my due respect to Paulo as an author. Actually A few people in my life had been recommending this to me but I have happened to take more time (almost two years) while picking it up for my read.

While I went along, it met my all expectations, perhaps even beyond. Some particular lines, I mean it, can fleece ground under your feet. Paulo's original intent behind this book was coming across me visibly.

But just as I neared the end of the story, I was disappointed. The whole story which was going until now well grounded in practicality, instantly turned too much imaginative. Properly to say, just beyond any possible chance of applicability. How can one make talks with wind, desert and sun and even seek solutions from them to the sword hanging on his head? At this point in the story, I felt disconnected. Probably 'the end' was supposed to be fair and tested in general applicability. I do not behold finding the gold treasure in the end as impractical, but the way it was found, doesn't get endorsed by me.

Till date, I haven't stopped recommending this book to my friends, but I think it could have been better if the end of the story could have been made realistic and more usable in curious readers' day to day life. Only few days before, in a book store, I read on the covers of a new copy of it - "65 million copies sold'. Good news is that, but I hope there are many other books deserving and waiting for justice. Nevertheless it's only marketing which seems crucial.



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