Book Review: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Reading The Alchemist, it struck me that the novel is what Deepak Chopra would write if he could write fiction. I hold deep respect for Deepak Chopra, whose books have introduced me to new ways of thinking about spirituality, my favorites being The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, and his most recent, The Third Jesus, but his spiritual parables, such as Why Is God Laughing? or Golf for Enlightenment, lack imagination compared to Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist. Coehlo is a vibrant and eloquent storyteller. Fans of fantasy or fairy tales will enjoy The Alchemist at its top layer of meaning-the story of shepherd boy Santiago as he travels from Spain across Africa to search for hidden treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. Those looking for deeper meanings will find them also.

Significantly, just as Santiago traveled in pursuit of a dream (quite literally, he dreamed of treasure in the pyramids while sleeping), Coelho traveled a long and arduous journey in life before achieving his dream of becoming a writer. Though he had literary aspirations at a young age, his middle-class parents discouraged them, and-when that didn't work-placed him in a mental institution on two separate occasions. The Harper Collins paperback Plus edition, a New York Times Bestseller, includes a short biography of the author summarizing his varied occupations in life from political activist to music executive. Finally, after walking the Road of Santiago de Compostela, a medieval pilgrim's route, Coehlo wrote The Pilgrimage and then, a year later, The Alchemist, both of which sold few copies but over many years grew in popularity until they became international bestsellers. In the same way, Santiago, Coehlo's main character in The Alchemist, suffered setback, detours, delays, and countless mistakes while on the journey to find his treasure.

I find fault only with the story's treatment of women. The three female characters in the novel, all of whom are minor characters, are the Gypsy woman who interprets Santiago's dream and demands one-tenth of the treasure if he returns, the young illiterate merchant girl Santiago fancies before casting her aside to pursue the treasure, and his true love Fatima, a woman of the desert whose defining characteristics are her willingness to set her man free to follow his dream, and her ability to wait endlessly for his return. The women of The Alchemist wait-while Santiago pursues his owns dreams led by teachers and accompanied by friends, all men.

For those willing to overlook sexism, as we must do in most religious parables, The Alchemist is an enlightening story, an easily deciphered fable about embracing the present and following one's heart to fulfill one's purpose in life.

Spiritualists will find nothing new in The Alchemist except, perhaps, a fresh perspective and an entertaining story.