The Alchemist, Paul Coelho - Bookclub #53
About the Author
Paulo Coelho was born on August 24, 1947, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He was a rebellious teenager and his parents committed him to an asylum three times. When Coelho was 38 years old, he had a spiritual awakening in Spain and wrote about it in his first book, The Pilgrimage. It was his second book, The Alchemist, which made him famous. He’s sold 35 million copies and now writes about one book every two years.
Coelho's fans call his books inspiring and life-changing. His critics dismiss his writing as New Age drivel, promoting a vague spirituality devoid of rigor. A confident writer who rejects the self-help label—"I am not a self-help writer; I am a self-problem writer"—Coelho dismisses his naysayers' critiques. "When I write a book I write a book for myself; the reaction is up to the reader," he says. "It's not my business whether people like or dislike it."
Coelho has been married to his wife, the artist Christina Oiticica, since 1980. Together the couple spends half the year in Rio de Janeiro and the other half in a country house in the Pyrenees Mountains of France. In 1996, Coelho founded the Paulo Coelho Institute, which provides support to children and the elderly. He continues to write, following his own version of The Alchemist's "Language of the World."
https://www.biography.com/people/paulo-coelho-5524
A little bit about the book
The Alchemist is a book about the realizing of one's personal legend. In society today, our personal legend might be directly correlated to the idea of a purpose, or a meaning to your life. This is something that we all must have contemplated at one point, and the message that the book conveys is an interesting one in that our individual purpose is not just our own, but is an essential part of the Universe.
The realising of one's purpose is symbolized throughout the book in different ways through encounters the main protagonist Santiago the shepherd shares with others. The humble protagonist realises his personal legend through a dream about treasure in Africa and decides to leave his comfortable life behind; to the uncomfortable adventure of trying to find the treasure. He meets many people such as the Englishman who seeks meaning through reading complex books on alchemy and the universe. The story is conveyed beautifully conveying emotions he feels living in a completely new place, trusting and not trusting others - conflicting emotions within his own mind.
The journey he realises is the substance to the personal legend, it is the true meaning of his life. Thus, embrace the journey of your life, and all the trials and tribulations that get thrown your way.
This is a very comforting idea, even when we feel at our lowest; when life is devoid of meaning, we can always return to this concept of being an essential part of the universe, no matter how small and insignificant we may feel like we are.
Really recommend the read!
It is entertaining and thoughtful.
Take care,
The Bookclub
Ego is the Enemy, Ryan Holiday
The Wisdom Of Insecurity, Alan Watts
Tools of Titans, Tim Ferris
Homo-Deus, Yuval Noah Harari
Radical Acceptance, Tara Brach
Born a crime, Trevor Noah
How brands grow, Byron Sharp
Tales of modern Russia, Peter Pomerantsev
Stone Soup, Marcia Brown
How to get filthy rich in rising Asia, Mohsin Hamid
The Art of War, Sun Tzu
Why Bob Dylan Matters, Richard F. Thomas
On the Shortness of Life, Seneca
Not Fade Away - A short life well lived, Peter Barton
Blockchain Revolution, Alex and Don Tapscott
What I know for sure, Oprah Winfrey
Man's Search for Meaning, Viktor E. Frankl
Creativity Inc., Ed Catmull
Meditations, Marcus Aurelius
The Rational Optimist, Matt Ridley
What Makes Sammy Run? , Budd Schulberg
How to Develop Self-Confidence in Public Speaking, Dale Carnegie
How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie
As a Man Thinketh, James Allen
The Four Agreements, Don Miguel Ruiz
The Magic of Thinking Big, David J. Schwartz
The Great Philosophers, Edited by Ray Monk & Frederic Raphael
The Outsiders, William N. Thorndike
Invested, Danielle & Phil Town
The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight, Thom Hartmann
The Obstacle is the Way, Ryan Holiday
Zen Flesh, Zen Bones, Paul Reps
The Prince, Niccolo Maciavelli
Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill
Unshakeable, Tony Robbins
The War of Art, Steven Pressfield
Leonardo Da Vinci, Walter Issacson
Onwards, Howard Schultz
The Long and Short of It, John Kay
Prisoners of Geography, Tim Marshall
Total Recall, Arnold Schwarzenegger
Steve Jobs, Walter Issacson
Thus spoke Zarathustra, Freidrich Nietzche
The Everything Store, Brad Stone
Zero to One, Peter Thiel
Zen and the Art of Happiness. Chris Prentiss
The Lessons of History, Will and Ariel Durant
Living with a Seal, Jesse Itzler
The Innovators Dilemma, Clayton M. Christensen
Steppenwolf, Hermann Hesse
Red Notice, How I became Putin's No.1 Enemy, Bill Browder
Ishmael, Daniel Quinn