I Finished The Alchemist

I've finally finished reading The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. It's a short book, but if you've been following along on my blog you'll know that I have had some personal difficulties. There was also the matter of time. My wife tells me she wonders how I find time to read at ll. I wonder about that myself. It's probably why I was drawn to the convenience of ebooks. Still, it is a very different experience altogether to read on a real book. At times, I go to stores like National Bookstore or specialty stores like Fully Booked just to feel like a prodigal son returned. I wander aimlessly across the shelfs, pick a book here or there and leaf through. I love the smell of ink on paper still.

Personal circumstances aside, I liked it. It's a lot of metaphors in one story, though that's my logical self speaking. It did feel right all along. It's one of those stories that make you feel good, even though if you think too hard about it you can't make sense of it or your cynicism gets the best of you.

For as long as I have been reading, I have always read with my heart. That's probably why I still find reading enjoyable. And there are books or stories out there that have managed to break my heart, fill me with joy or just plain have me agreeing with it. The Little Prince is one such book that just broke my heart. Most people don't get it. I don't know if I completely do either. But reading it to the end left me with a broken heart. It was odd to realize I felt that way about a story. Mitch Albom's Tuesdays with Morrie talked about death in a very different way and had a meaningful albeit sad realization for every reader. Hook by Geary Gravel, a story everyone must know by now, was real fun to read by comparison. Hook, the movie was just as good fun (the one with Robin Williams, that is). Then of course there are books like Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People or The One Minute Manager that have you realize some truth that lay hidden in the open until it made it's point. I mean with this kind of books you realize things were always in the clear and yet you never even though of looking there. A book like 7 Habits makes you realize that you had it in you all along, you just had to listen to your heart and conscience.


The Alchemist was to a point a little of everything. It's a story of a young man who chooses to follow his Personal Legend, the yearning deep down in his soul that he had never before understood yet wanted to follow. All along his travels, misfortune befalls him, yet he struggles on. With every moment he chooses to move on and and follow his dreams, the world seems to conspire to lead him ever more many steps closer to his dream. In the end, he finds his treasure back where he once was. Coming back a better person, one who understood and spoke with the 'Soul of the World', I reckon he knew that it wasn't about the treasure but the life-changing experiences he had on his way to get to it that mattered.

If you are any kind of lover of books or just looking for a book to inspire you to read more, this is the one to read. Do not miss it.