Review: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Anything that's recorded by Jeremy Irons is good in my book! No pun intended. I enjoyed listening to this book because it told the story of how someone accomplished figuring out his own personal legend rather than the current trend of telling the reader how to do it for themselves. That said, I really didn't think it warrants being on many "top books of <fill in the blank>" lists. Santiago, the main character, is an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel the world in search of a treasure. His journey leads him to experience and learn things he never imagined to be possible. According to Goodreads, "Santiago's journey teaches us about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, of recognizing opportunity and learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, most importantly, to follow our dreams." I did not get that from listening to this book, at all.

Perhaps the message of "all you gotta do to accomplish your dreams is to go after it real hard with all you got and blinders on without caring about your other responsibilities" was inspiring and new in the late 1980s when this was first published. Or perhaps it was inspiring in Coelho's native country of Brazil. Who knows? I don't.

I can see why others would enjoy this if they haven't read other self-help, motivational, inspiring quest novels before this one. As for me , I wasn't sold on the message. I think a big reason why I kept listening to it was because I kept epxecting it to get better and I also enjoyed listening to the voice of Jeremy Irons.

**
Review: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Audiobook, narrated by Jeremy Irons
Published 2005 by HarperCollins Publishers, first published 1988
Dates Read: June 10 - July 4, 2017
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars