The Alchemist - Paulo Coelho

[IronParrot]

I recently read this delightful Spanish tale (in English, of course) upon the recommendation of a friend. It's short, sweet and an easy read, but has a mythic quality about it. I've heard it classified as literature of the "inspirational" sort (the subtitle, after all, is "A fable about following your dream"), but it's nothing of the hokey or heavy-handed sort.

Anyone else familiar with it? Apparently it was a huge hit back in the early nineties, when it was brought over in translation.

[Beren3000]

I've read this book a while back. I don't remember a lot of the details, but I remember that it was good (not as grand as others make it, though) or maybe I'm (or hopefully was) too shallow to appreciate its subtleties.
:rolleyes:

[Lenya]

I wanted to read it, because of all the fuss made over it. I started and and after a few chapters I just decided that it wasn't me. I never finished it and I probably never will.

[hectorberlioz]

My dad read this book. He said it was quite intriguing. But he read it in Spanish, so my curiousity couldn't be satisfied.

[Midge]

I read it in high school. My teacher had this thing where we could pick out of a few different books to read. I chose the Alchemist, because I'd already read The Fifth Mountain by Coelho and really liked it.

My boyfriend said it was a girly book. Like I said... I liked it.

[Gwaimir Windgem]

Just as a correction, this is not Spanish, but Portuguese; Coelho is Brazilian. The original title is "O Alquimista".

I haven't read it, but I read a little bit of Coelho's "O Diario de um Mago" (English title "the Pilgrimage", apparently :confused: ). I peck at bits of it now and then, just to work on my Portuguese.

[hectorberlioz]

Oops. You are so right, Gwai. :o I should know better.