7grizzly

The Alchemist took me only two days and that spoke volumes for the mastery with

which the story is told. There were not many new terms although I noted down

quite a few passages. The author was able to string with simple words into powerful

tales that educate and inspire. If I found some parts repetitive and cliche, it

might be because it was written in 1988 and over almost four decades its ideas

have become famous in pop culture.

To be able to travel, the Spanish boy Santiago became a shepherd in the

Andalusia. A Gypsy woman explained his dream: he needed to go to the Egyptian

Pyrimids to find his treasure. At Tarifa, as the boy was having doubts,

Melchizedek, the king of Salem, appeared to him and urged him to keep pursuing

his Personal Legend. The boy traveled across the Strait of Gibraltar and ended

up in Tangier. There, he was robbed, worked in a crystal shop, and prospered.

Once he saved enough, however, he joined a caravan to cross the Sahara. He met

an Englishman studying alchemy, befriended his camel driver, learned the

language of the desert, and reached an oasis. There, he fell in love with

Fatima, and interpreted omens and saved the tribes from a warring party. He

moved on with the alchemist, learned the Language of the World, and reached the

Pyrimids and found his treasure.

The main theme is the Personal Legend, one's only obligation on earth. One knows

one's mission early on but over time falls in the "fell clutch of circumstance,"

and forgets it or goes through life unfulfilled. It is the world's greatest lie

that at a certain point, fate takes over and controls one's life.

A related theme is the idea that when you really want something, all the

universe conspires in helping you to achieve it. The beginner's luck is an

example. As Santiago saw working at the crystal shop as part of his adventure,

even the glasses were collaborating in his success.

Biblical stories and allusions blend in throughout the book, the shepherd boy,

the king of Salem, the ten percent tithing, Joseph the dream interpreter, Jesus

the Son of God, and the faith of the Roman centurion. I might have missed some.

It is in an Arab culture where the major part of the book is set. I learned

about the hookah, maktub, the five obligations of the Koran, married women dress

in black, and of course alchemy: the Master Work including the Elixir of Life

and the Philosopher's Stone.

It mentions two winds: leventar and scirocco (blood rain as Dibdin called it).

Overall, it was a fascinating read. I've been obdurate in trying to avoid things

popular but am happy I was wrong about The Alchemist because it seemed to come

to me at the right time.