The Alchemist
I finished listening to The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho last week. I’ve had this audio book in my ‘to be listened’ pile for a while. I’ve heard great things about it. It’s a perennial right? One of those books that every generation reads and falls in love with.
But, truth be told, I don’t really enjoy reading older work, or classical work. I just connect better with modern writing. I think being forced to read Shakespeare in high school traumatized me. LOL! Anyways, this book isn’t Shakespeare (thank God), but I did worry that it may be written in a way I didn’t resonate with. I think that’s why I bought the audio version rather than the book itself. I wanted to give myself the chance to figure out why this book is so well thought of and spoken of. I figure if I could listen to it, it may be easier to digest. But still, there was that skeptical part of me that was hesitant to dive in.
But, I’m so glad I finally did though!
This little book was wonderful. And the narrator on the audio is Jeremy Irons!! OMG! Hello? Isn’t he an award winning actor or something? Anyways, he did a fabulous job and I think the biggest reason why I was so engrossed. with the story I felt like someone was telling me the story and even doing the voices to match the characters. I felt like the kid in Princess Bride as he listened to his grandpa read from the book. (BTW, if you’ve never seen Princess Bride — you need to. I don’t review movies, but this is a must watch! I linked it for your convenience. Thank me later.)
Back to the book review. The book is written in the form of a tale. It’s the story of a Shepherd and the journey he goes on after being told by a gypsy that he was meant to find treasure. This is the outer layer. But the deeper layers are the lessons our Shepherd learns along the way. Best part? It’s a happy ending.
There are many moments of wonder, magic, and spirituality throughout this book and I now understand all the accolades. I’m happy I listened to it. I actually feel better after doing so. Not because I finished the book, but because there’s a positivity to the work that stayed with me and my energy.
The book makes me want to find out what my own personal legend is…
Click on the image to get The Alchemist. This is a good book to read or listen to at least once a year as a reminder that anything is possible, even turning lead to gold.
