The Alchemist - 10th Anniversary Edition
CDN$ 5.86
Hype: very misleading - I admit its unfair to write this review when I haven t even finished the book yet (I have about 20 pages left to go, and I m not even sure if I will finish those), but every time I try and pick up this book to finish it, I get rather annoyed with it. I needed something to read while traveling, had heard all the hype so I picked it up, and needless to say I was very disappointed and rather confused as to why it became an international bestselling phenomenon. Simplistic, weak storyline with equally weak characters (which are often never named) are used as wrappers for the author s spiritual ideas and beliefs. I realize that Paul Coelho is a spiritual writer, but I felt as if I was having a moral crammed down my throat with every sentence, and suppose to have small epiphanies about my goals and dreams every paragraph. I don t think the author even knows the meaning of the word subtle . I kept on trying to see if there was going to be some great lesson to be learned at the end, but sadly no, its just the same ideas repeated every page but related to different situations. To be honest, cut out the weak storyline and you ve got a spiritual self-help book.I suppose you have to be into this kind of genre to enjoy it. And I guess 2 million people are.
Excellent Book - I loved this book. So simple, a really quick read, and yet great philosophy to live your life by.
It sounds better than it reads. - I just finished reading this book and to my surprise, the book isn t as good as I thought. A very simple, but beautiful story. Although one may say the story is rather thought provoking or would change one s life, I think the book is more suitable for children s bed-time story. I can see how the author tried to make a point of following the dreams and other themes, but I believed these would be most interesting for children. As an adult, I find this book is more of the usual types and not so much of chanaging my life. Perhaps it s because I already realized the point of view that the author is trying to give away before I even heard of this book. It is still worth reading and the book is very short, but it is not something as good as many others would say. If you don t expect too much, you ll get something out of this book. And you can always tell your kids about this story, it is definitely worth telling rather than reading.
Fascinating! - One of very few books that kept my interest till the end. Be ready, as you ll be compelled to ask yourself questions you should ve asked long ago. But ofcourse, It s better late than never .
IT was in the stars - I was destined to read this book, the words bounced off the page, and my lifes journey has never looked back. Read it... read it.. read it.