Review of Paulo Coelho's 'El Alquimista'

Maktub and Personal Legends

Sep 2, 2008 Edurne Scott

The book 'El Alquimista' by Paulo Coelho tells a story about a man with a universal preoccupation - what's the meaning of life?

Coelho’s ‘El Alquimista’ has many similarities to that of Rhonda Byrne´s‘The Secret’ which suggests that when a human being wants something, the whole universe conspires to make it a reality.

Synopsis

The book follows a Spanish sheep herder as he is told by a gypsy that a treasure waits for him across the sea in Egypt. The story tells of his romantic tales and the life truths the boy discovers as he hunts for his treasure. The sheep herder also has to grapple with the fact that once he knows the meaning of his life he has to witness others ignoring theirs. The book predominantly asks its readership if people can make themselves happy doing something they don’t want to do.

Main Themes

‘El Alquimista’ however goes further in describing the idea that we all have a specific role to fulfil while we’re alive. The closer we are to fulfilling this role the more coincidences begin to happen around us and the happier our lives will be. Living our ‘Leyenda Personal’ (Personal Legend) is, according to Coelho, as simple as knowing what one wants out of life.

Other ideas presented in the book include:

• We see the world in the way we want, rather than how it really is
• It’s the possibility of realizing a dream that makes life interesting
• Everything is one entity
• When we try and better ourselves everything in our surroundings improves as well
• The word ‘maktub’- it’s already been written down (things happen because they happen)
• Before you realize a dream you will probably have to endure a testing period. This will let you use everything you have learned in your journey- the darkest hour is the one just before sunrise

Permanence in El Alquemista

Another interesting theme that runs through ‘El Alquimista’ is that of permanence. Coelho writes:

‘Si lo que tú has encontrado está formado por material pura jamás se pudrirá. Y tú podrás volver un día. Si fue solo un momento de luz, como la explosion de una estrella, entonces no encontrarás nada cuando regreses. Pero habrás visto una explosion de luz. Y esto solo ya habrá valido la pena’.

‘If you have found something pure it will never rot and you will always be able to return to it. If it was just a moment of light, like the explosion of a star, you will not find anything on your return. All you did see was an explosion of light. And only that was worth it.’ (translated)

This analogy is used to explain relationships amongst lovers and friends- why some remain while others do not.

‘El Alquimista’ is a pleasurable read for anybody entertaining the big questions in life.

Paulo Coelho, ‘El Alquimista’ , Publisher: Grijalbo, 1988. ISBN-10: 970-780-297-9

The copyright of the article Review of Paulo Coelho's 'El Alquimista' in Self-Help Books is owned by Edurne Scott. Permission to republish Review of Paulo Coelho's 'El Alquimista' in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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