Title: The Alchemist
Author: Paulo Coelho
I'll admit that I suppressed a groan when my book group selected The Alchemist to put on our reading list this year. I generally hate "spiritual" books. I particularly can't stand anything written by Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie wasn't terrible, but everything else I've read has been positively gag-worthy). I also knew that a lot of readers compared The Alchemist with St. Exupery's The Little Prince, which I also hated. And believe me, it wasn't just because I was struggling with my French because I hated it just as much when I read it in English.
With those incredibly low expectations in mind, I have to say that the book wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be. I'll liken it to eating dinner at Applebees. In my mind, I hate Applebees. Applebees represents all that is bad about cheapy chain restaurants with bad microwaved food. But a year or so ago I had dinner at Applebees and it wasn't awful. It wasn't great, but it wasn't awful.
And so it was with The Alchemist. It's a fable about a boy who dreams about finding a treasure, follows his heart, and takes a circuitous journey to reach his treasure. The main point of the book is that we can all accomplish great things if we follow the inner promptings of our heart and stay true to the desires within us. I think that for someone who is as unattached as a sixteen-year-old shepherd, that's probably true. But as a 32-year-old mom with a house and four kids and a husband, I sometimes need to temper my dreams. So I'll give Coelho points for inspiration, but not for practicality.
1 comment:
I found myself stranded at Logan Airport with nothing to read and a lot of time to kill (not to mention the 3+ hour plane ride once I left the airport). Of the books for sale that I hadn't read, my choices were Tom Clancyish or The Alchemist. It was only under these circumstances that I chose The Alchemist and after reading the rave reviews and the names backing this book, I had to wonder if I was the only one who felt it was "meh". There's something good about knowing you're not all alone in your opinion.
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