Opis

A global phenomenon, The Alchemist has been read and loved by over 62 million readers, topping bestseller lists in 74 countries worldwide. Now this magical fable is beautifully repackaged in an edition that lovers of Paulo Coelho will want to treasure forever. Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. This is such a book -- a beautiful parable about learning to listen to your heart, read the omens strewn along life's path and, above all, follow your dreams. Santiago, a young shepherd living in the hills of Andalucia, feels that there is more to life than his humble home and his flock. One day he finds the courage to follow his dreams into distant lands, each step galvanised by the knowledge that he is following the right path: his own. The people he meets along the way, the things he sees and the wisdom he learns are life-changing. With Paulo Coelho's visionary blend of spirituality, magical realism and folklore, The Alchemist is a story with the power to inspire nations and change people's lives.

From Publishers Weekly
Brazilian writer Coelho has published five titles in 45 languages in 120 countries, and has sold 23 million books. It's easy to see why. This charming, simple and well-written allegory tells of a boy, Santiago, who has the imagination and courage to follow his "Personal Legend." Santiago finds fairy godfathers at many turns who help him learn to keep up his courage, and to read omens and his own heart. The book's inspirational message follow your heart and do your own thing is oblique enough, to allow readers to interpret it in any way they choose, with whatever degree and form of spirituality one adheres to: "To realize one's destiny is a person's only obligation." But apparently only men need apply; a woman's destiny is to wait for her hero to find his treasure and return home to her. The real treasure here is Jeremy Irons. His intriguing, subtle and powerful performance carries us along on the boy's adventures, into his confusions and insights, through discussions with kings and animals, through the desert and the sun and even through the philosophical passages. Based on the Harper San Francisco hardcover.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal
YA-- This simple, yet eloquent parable celebrates the richness of the human spirit. A young Spanish shepherd seeking his destiny travels to Egypt where he learns many lessons, particularly from a wise old alchemist. The real alchemy here, however, is the transmuting of youthful idealism into mature wisdom. The blending of conventional ideas with an exotic setting makes old truths seem new again. This shepherd takes the advice Hamlet did not heed, learning to trust his heart and commune with it as a treasured friend. Enjoyable and easy to read, this timeless fantasy validates the aspirations and dreams of youth.
- Sabrina Fraunfelter, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Brazilian novelist Coelho?s 1988 myth-laden story of the shepherd who follows his ?Personal Legend? in spite of assorted travails is rendered into a richly colored and faithful sequential-art version. With Santiago, we see the glories, the mysteries, and the threats along his way from the Andalusian pasture to foreign cities to Egypt; experience his devotion to reading and his attraction to mysterious women; and watch as he reads omens with the help of magical stones and other artifacts given to him by the various wise men he meets. Although the landscapes, city crowds, and animals are gorgeously rendered, the faces can be jarring?even in his youth, Santiago (and everyone else) has dark lines awkwardly scattered on his cheeks and forehead in lieu of expressive changes. Because facial close-ups are essential to our seeing Santiago and to what Santiago sees, this is disconcerting, but otherwise, this adaptation provides a long-popular novel an interesting new life. --Francisca Goldsmith --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews
Coelho is a Brazilian writer with four books to his credit. Following Diary of a Magus (1992--not reviewed) came this book, published in Brazil in 1988: it's an interdenominational, transcendental, inspirational fable--in other words, a bag of wind. The story is about a youth empowered to follow his dream. Santiago is an Andalusian shepherd boy who learns through a dream of a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids. An old man, the king of Salem, the first of various spiritual guides, tells the boy that he has discovered his destiny: ``to realize one's destiny is a person's only real obligation.'' So Santiago sells his sheep, sails to Tangier, is tricked out of his money, regains it through hard work, crosses the desert with a caravan, stops at an oasis long enough to fall in love, escapes from warring tribesmen by performing a miracle, reaches the pyramids, and eventually gets both the gold and the girl. Along the way he meets an Englishman who describes the Soul of the World; the desert woman Fatima, who teaches him the Language of the World; and an alchemist who says, ``Listen to your heart.'' A message clings like ivy to every encounter; everyone, but everyone, has to put in their two cents' worth, from the crystal merchant to the camel driver (``concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man''). The absence of characterization and overall blandness suggest authorship by a committee of self-improvement pundits--a far cry from Saint- Exup‚ry's The Little Prince: that flagship of the genre was a genuine charmer because it clearly derived from a quirky, individual sensibility. Coelho's placebo has racked up impressive sales in Brazil and Europe. Americans should flock to it like gulls. (First printing of 50,000) -- Copyright ©1993, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review
'His books have had a life-enhancing impact on millions of people.' THE TIMES 'One of the few to deserve the term Publishing Phenomenon.' INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY 'Coelho's writing is beautifully poetic but his message is what counts! he gives me hope and puts a smile on my face.' DAILY EXPRESS 'I love The Alchemist.' OPRAH WINFREY 'The Alchemist is a beautiful book about magic, dreams and the treasures we seek elsewhere and then find on our doorstep.' MADONNA "I feel like the luckiest man on the planet. It's a dream come true for me," to be able to direct and star and bring Coelho's book to the screen." LAURENCE FISHBURNE on the upcoming film adaptation of The Alchemist "One of my favourite books is The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and I just believe that!I can create whatever I want to create. If I can put my head on it right, study it, learn the patterns!I feel very strongly that we are who we choose to be." WILL SMITH "When I'm on the set with young actors and sometimes you meet people in life who you feel they are a little confused and they want to be re-centered, there are two books that I always recommend. One of them is Siddhartha, and the other is

About the Author
Paulo Coelho was born in Brazil and has become one of the most widely read and loved authors in the world. Especially renowned for The Alchemist and Eleven Minutes, he has sold more than 115 million copies worldwide and been translated into over 71 languages. The recipient of numerous prestigious international awards, including the Crystal Award by the World Economic Forum and France's Legion d'Honneur, Paulo Coelho was inducted into the Brazilian Academy of Letters in 2002.