Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. The Alchemist is such a book. With over a million and a half copies sold around the world, The Alchemist has already established itself as a modern classic, universally admired. Paulo Coelho's charming fable, now available in English for the first time, will enchant and inspire an even wider audience of readers for generations to come.

The Alchemist is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers and across the Egyptian desert to a fateful encounter with the alchemist.

The story of the treasures Santiago finds along the way teaches us, as only a few stories have done, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path, and, above all, following our dreams.

Average Customer Rating:

Paul Coelho	Customer Rating:
This book (The Alchemist) was a gift to honor a friend. I had originally found out about it from one of my daughters who asked me to read it and pass it on to another daughter. I highly recommend it, and look forward to reading other books by this author.

An Enjoying and Inspiring Read (IMHO)

Customer Rating:

The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, is the story of a shepard boy named Santiago who travels from his homeland in Spain to the Egyptian desert in search of a treasure buried in the Pyramids. Santiago is quite content traveling in the countryside with his sheep, and dreaming of the merchant's daughter in the village where he sells his wool. That is until he has a dream in which a child appears one day and is playing with his sheep. Suddenly the child takes him by the hands and transports him to the Pyramids, telling him "If you come here you will find a hidden treasure." He meets a gypsy woman, a man who calls himself king and a alchemist on his journey, all of whom point him in the direction of his quest. Coelho writes with simplicity and directness. The whole novel is only 167 pages long and is very compelling and almost reads like a fairy tale. The reader is transported to a world of magic and adventure, but the book also is full of specific wisdom for the reader on his or her own quest for their dreams (sounds extremely cheesy, i know, but true ihmo). Santiago starts out to find worldly treasure but ends up finding the treasure within. This is the theme of the book, and it is conveyed in a way that is not preachy whatsoever. An exciting and inspiring book for anyone in search of their own Personal Legend.

Large Print

Customer Rating:

I would very much like to offer a complete review of this title. However, despite it being listed as in Large Print....I can not read it which upsets me to no end. Large Print books need to be in Large Bold Print so vision impaired folks can at least have a decent crack at reading like a normal person. I really wanted to read this book as it is quite inviting....but it will be a very slow process. Good luck if you have any kind of serious vision problem

Excelent Novel	Customer Rating:
The depth and connectedness of this story is astounding. Coelho writes this in such a manner that you feel connected to main character to the point of feeling the emotions that he is feeling. This is the only book so far that i plan to read twice in a row.

Wise	Customer Rating:
A delightful story, and full of wisdom. Influenced me in pursuing what I dream about, and rediscovering my "personal legend" as he calls it.