Rating: 
Summary: from a student
Review: The best of all Coelho's serie (including Veronika)
I'm a 20 years old psychology student.
I loved the way it's written, and the way the message is said
Rating:
Summary: Evocative
Review: With simple prose, Paulo Coelho, provides us with a morality tale as timeless as "Everyman," and as contemporary as "Forrest Gump." However, like all morality tales, what you get out of the story will depend greatly upon who you are when you enter into the story.
Rating: 
Summary: Coelho goes green
Review: This book is a collection of recyled 'wisdom' told through
a boring and hackneyed plot with a patronizing tone. We should all go green and put this one into the recycling bin.
Rating:
Summary: Novocaine for the soul
Review: Reading this book is like eating circus peanuts, it's chewy, sweet, and contains no calories. The Alchemist is completely devoid of substance and it's "deep message" is laughable. If you really want to develop a personal philosophy, don't read this nonsense, find some real philosophical and religious texts. On the other hand, if you want a rosy, fluffy affirmation of the belief that "everyone's dreams come true!," this is the book for you.
Rating: 
Summary: Simple, but Profound...
Review: I really enjoyed this book. The narrative is very simple, told like a children's story, but it has some very deep meaning. I've heard and read complaints saying that this book focuses too much on material wealth because the boy is seeking (and finds) his treasure. Real treasure, diamonds, gold, and stuff. However I found this appealing. I was hoping the whole time I was reading it that there would be some tangible treasure at the end. I hate those stories where at the end of the journey there's no gold but "the treasure is inside of you" or they obtain it and then it's taken away from them but it doesn't matter because they've found "the real treasure in eachother." That is so annoying. The messages in those stories are made so blatantly obvious that I feel let down. However here is a story that has numerous messages and insights which can apply to our lives, but it's still an entertaining and fantastic story.
The main character is the only constant character in the book. He's very solitary and introspective. Dreams and Destiny drive his life and because of that he fills his potential. The other characters are very different and each teaches him a different lesson or helps him make a decision which aids him in his quest.
The writing is very poetic. It is a very unique and artistic book which is very refreshing today when society and culture have generaly settled into stagnant creativity. I'm ecstatic whenever something breaks the limited formula of modern storytelling. This is such an occasion.
Rating:
Summary: Never judge a book by its cover
Review: I should have listened to my kindergarten teacher--never judge a book by its cover. This book has one of the most beautiful covers I've seen. It has a recommendation by Kenzaburo Oe, a Nobel Laureate, as well as a banner on top identifying itself as an international bestseller. Moreover, the thinness of the book with its smooth, unobstentatious font suggest that it is a work of serious literature. It isn't. The story is about a young boy who finds his "treasure" by "realizing [his] destiny." Coelho tries (unsuccessfully) to intersperse the text with humor and new age spirituality, but the end result is a corny, poorly written text that insults the reader. The author quite obviously intended this book as a feel-good type of book to serve as a work of motivation rather than a book of literature. The publisher should have marketed it as such. I understand that many people like reading motivational books, and I don't fault them. I myself like reading motivational books every so often. However, there are much better books (I would recommend Tony Robbins and Ken Blanchard), and the covers of these books are much more honest in advertising their contents. Take it from a victim...pass on this book.
Rating:
Summary: Simple, short, and full of wisdom.
Review: This book brings the story of Santiago, who starts the book as a shephard going on a journey seeking a treasure and ends the book as a shephard who has found four treasures - wealth, wisdom, love, and inner peace. It teaches an important lesson, namely that it is not important where the journey ends but what one gains along the way. The first three treasures where available right where he was - the wealth was right where he started the journey, he had love in Spain, and he had wisdom already. It's the inner peace derived from actually going on his journey and gaining the other three treasures the hard way that is so fulfilling. I enjoyed reading this book a lot - it is well written, just the right length, and I finished it in one gulp.
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Summary: Are our lives really this empty?
Review: The near-consensus on this book seems to be that it's a life-changer. How pathetic. If you actually need Paul Coelho to tell you how to lead your life, then pal, I'm guessing your life ain't much to begin with. And newsflash for those of you comparing this to The Little Prince: St-Exupery (who must do summersaults in his grave each time the comparison is made) wrote a children's story! That the parellel is drawn at all *is* significant, however, because it shows at what level of intellect The Alchemist works. After all, it is perfectly all right for a child to be swept along by uplifting tales like the ones St-Exupery and (less elegantly) Coelho have written. But if you're an adult and you actually think the simplistic platitudes of The Alchemist can serve as some sort of map to life, then I'm guessing you don't really understand what life is--either you haven't accepted that you live in a complex world or you haven't even realized it. And one last thing: I hear the word "inspiritional" over and over used to describe this book. What exactly is this book inspiring you guys to do?!
Rating:
Summary: Simplicity at its finest!
Review: The author has shown us in this book that you don't have to know a lot of things to live your dream ... all you have to do is look inside yourself and everything will be shown through your surrondings. Everything in this book revolves around that priniciple and by the end of the book, you would want to try it out too!
Rating:
Summary: If you need meaning in life you won't find it in a book!!
Review: This book reminds me of "The Celestine Prophecy" because it is very poorly written and extremely cheesy. However, it will be a big hit I'm sure with emotionally unstable spiritualists who took a wrong turn at the crossroads of religion. Paulo Coelho must have smoked more hookas than his characters. This book spans the spectrum of "GAG ME WITH A SPOON writing" as the main character "listens to his heart", "talks to the desert", "becomes the wind", "understands the soul of the world".....and achieves countless other feats that even Jesus Christ would envy. If you like Ouija boards, believe in fate, or think that spiritual healers can slap you on the head and make cancer go away, then you might like this book. You might also need a therapist.
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