Book Review: Alchemist by Sehrish Asghar

I always consider books to be my friends. They are the ones that guide and show me the right path. Out of all these good friends, if I have to choose my best friend it would be “The Alchemist” by Paulo Coelho.

Paulo Coelho through this book has taught me that a fighting spirit is very important indeed. The famous quote from the Alchemist, “When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it,” has had a big impact on my life. People usually comment about me that I am hard-working and sensitive about my studies; I feel that this is somehow due to this book and this famous quote.

This book revolves around a boy named Santiago who travels to the pyramids of Egypt to chase his dreams. During the course of this journey he meets many people, overcomes many obstacles and learns many lessons. He learns the importance of following his dreams. A huge emphasis has been laid on the Soul of the World. This philosophical, but very influential, concept is definitely the beauty of the book. When we start a task, the first few stages go very smooth. This is because the soul of the world is letting us get comfortable with the task at hand. But later we find many difficulties, because the soul of the world is then testing us.

The Alchemist is a beautiful book indeed! The writing style is simply mesmerizing. You never get bored. It is all very philosophical, symbolic and a fun read. To me this book is an all-time classic – not a doubt in it. Another plus point of this book is that it is not a lengthy 500 page long book like many other best-sellers. Rather it is a very “petite”, very concise and to-the-point one. And it is amazing how beautifully Paulo Coelho has summarized these lessons of persistence and chasing your dreams with such precision. I would say to anyone who has not read this book: go grab a copy. You are missing out on a timeless classic.

This book has left a deep impact on me. The Alchemist has not taught me how to make the elixir of life, but the book has given me something much more precious, much handier for the rest of my life. It has given me the formula for the elixir of strife. Now I know struggling, fighting back and chasing my dreams is very important – and when I do that, the soul of the world will always be there with me. A person is never aware of the outcome, and the outcome might differ from what was originally anticipated. But what really matters is your strife, your search for the realization of your dreams, and this is what the book talks about.