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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 869.342
EAN num: 9780060887964
ISBN number: 0060887966
Label: HarperOne
Manufacturer: HarperOne
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 192
Printing Date: May 01, 2006
Publishing house: HarperOne
Release Date: April 25, 2006
Sale Popularity Level: 39333
Studio: HarperOne
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Product Description:
My Heart Is Afraid that it will have to suffer,' the boy told the alchemist one night as they looked up at the moonless sky.'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.'Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the very first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come.
The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist.
The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.
Amazon.com Review:
Like the one-time bestseller Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Alchemist presents a simple fable, based on simple truths and places it in a highly unique situation. And though we may sniff a bestselling formula, it is certainly not a new one: even the ancient tribal storytellers knew that this is the most successful method of entertaining an audience while slipping in a lesson or two. Brazilian storyteller Paulo Coehlo introduces Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who one night dreams of a distant treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. And so he's off: leaving Spain to literally follow his dream.
Along the way he meets many spiritual messengers, who come in unassuming forms such as a camel driver and a well-read Englishman. In one of the Englishman's books, Santiago very first learns about the alchemists--men who believed that if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the 'Soul of the World.' Of course he does eventually meet an alchemist, and the ensuing student-teacher relationship clarifies much of the boy's misguided agenda, while also emboldening him to stay true to his dreams. 'My heart is afraid that it will have to suffer,' the boy confides to the alchemist one night as they look up at a moonless night.
'Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself,' the alchemist replies. '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.' --Gail Hudson
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Rated by buyers 
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A delightful story, and full of wisdom. Influenced me in pursuing what I dream about, and rediscovering my "personal legend" as he calls it.
Rated by buyers 
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the alchemist is not the main character in the book. The main character is the little boy who is a shepherd, so it should have been called "The Shepherd".
This book has some interesting nuggets on spirituality, one of which is God is within people who are happy. However, the book was also corny at times, such as when people talk to their hearts and their hearts talk back to them. The ending is really worse than most books, because it's almost like the "it was all a dream" ending that most books avoid. Surprisingly, it's the non-spiritual aspects of the book that are more interesting than the spiritual aspects of the book. It is more interesting to read about the boy making money at the crystal ware shop than about the Soul of the World. The crystal ware shop owner is the most interesting character in the book, because he does not plan on going to Mecca in his life even though he is a Muslim. So he is the most non-spiritual character in the book which makes him the most interesting. Admittedly, I am not a spiritual person, so I was prepared to not like this book, but this book was a disappointment for me because the bar had been set so high (by all the positive reviews for this book). Ultimately, the book is a debate between which theory is truer: free will or determinism. The book leans more toward determinism because it believes in destiny. I however believe in free will.
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This little book brought me joy it gave me an escape from the cluter of everyday life and allowed me to travel with the shephard boy. It is written beautifully and it flows so easily. It is a must read. It gives you a wonderful read but it allows you to step back and breathe and put some perspective on your life, with the simple act of taking you out of the bustle of life for a little while.
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An inspirational book about a boy's journey of transformation. Deceptively simple and easy to read, this book illustrates beautifully the concepts of spiritual growth, finding the true self, and following our own destiny.
Rated by buyers 
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This is a very simple story about Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who dreams of a treasure under the Egyptian pyramids. After meeting a strange old man and a gypsy fortuneteller, Santiago sets out for Egypt determined to find his treasure. Along the way, he learns spiritual lessons from an Algerian shopkeeper, an English scholar, and finally the eponymous alchemist.
I am a fan of deep, complicated characters, and this book has none (AT ALL). It's like a self-help book turned into a story, and I'm sure many people will find it deeply moving...... until the subsequent fad comes along. (Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Prayer of Jabez, Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Secret, etc.) I will be really surprised if this book has any staying power.
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