Monday, March 06, 2006

"The Alchemist" a review



Hi all !!

Every book contains a lot of characters, but as all of us know the theme that the author wishes to convey through the book is mostly put to us through one central character. The success of a book almost depends on how good that central character is and also on how good the theme is. Well then there is no doubt that this book " The Alchemist " is a huge hit, a very ambitious central character in the form of "The boy" and a very good theme "Realising ur dreams" have made this small book very intersting to read.

Coming to the story, As i said before the underlying theme is about making your dreams come true or atleast trying to fulfill them. Looks simple, but very difficult @ d sametime. The story is of that of Santiago, a spanish sheperd boy who gets a recurring dream in which he sees an extravagent treasure in the Egyptian Pyramids. In pursuit of his destiny he gets to meet "The Old king" who provides him the necessary motivation to start in search of his destiny. From the spanish lands known so well to him to the Egyptian desert the boy's jouney is a mixture of elation, enthusiasm, suffering, despair, hope, determination, learning and success (mostly in the same order) . The most interesting part of the story comes in the second part of the book where the much awaited character of "The Alchemist" enters. The fatefull encounter of Santiago with The Alchemist and the conversations that follow can be said to be the best part of the book. The rest of the story is about Santiago fulfilling his dream with the help from the alchemist.

The above story might look something straight out of the fairytales, the narration is a bit poetic but the theme that is conveyed through is fascinating. Simple style of narration is an asset of Mr.Coelho and it makes the book an interesting one to read. This is a small book ( i love to read those books which hit the point straight) and it can be finished in a couple of hours but upon finishing it you get transfered to a realm of mild delirium, u learn alot but might not figure out how to exactly understand it or to put it in another way how to apply it. Here is where a second reading of the book helps u(i read it thrice) to get a better understanidng.

Engrossing and captivating story line along with a simple narration style, this book has the right ingredients to keep u going untill u finish it. A must for all those who wonder how to spend the coming sunday. Choose to read it and u can be assured that ur in for some very gud time.