The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream

Rating:
Summary: Overly Redundant Motivational/Fairy Tale
Review: The Alchemist is entertaining and pleasant in a simple way. The tale is supposed to inspire us to realize our dreams, even in the face of adversity. We are to fight against uncertain odds, even risk our lives at times to discover out "personal legend". This is positive. These messages are repeated like a mantra throughout the text. If this book was geared for adults, a little subtlety would have gone a long way. Overly didactic, I think it would even put off most children. I was entertained, but it started feeling too much like a Tony Robbins seminar.

Rating:
Summary: A perfect Philosophical Story
Review: This is a perfect philospphical story. Though initial grip is excellent, it makes an end beyond imagination. Main character faces some hypothetical incidents in the later part of the story and the story suddenly turns out to be fantasy.

Rating:
Summary: Stale Fortune Cookie
Review: Reading this book was akin to being trapped in a stale fortune cookie for several days. The message in this book is worthy of a bad Hallmark card not a novella. There is no sense of place, no characterization, and no real spiritual depth. Readers shouldn't waste their time with this tripe. Read the real stuff instead: Hesse.

Rating:
Summary: A book with a message
Review: This book has a great message. It was truly a thought provoking read that made me look at myself and my choices more closely. This book is not only good for adults, but children as well.

Rating:
Summary: The Alchemist Review
Review: The book, the Alchemist told a very good message, and made me have some different views on life. The book told of a boy named Santiago, who made his living as a shepard. He was faced with a choice to follow his lifes journey, or to stay with his sheep. I brought in teachings from the bible and also from the koran. It showed many different views on life and how different people decide to choose their life. It gave me fulfillment in reading a book that could actually relate to my life outside of the story. I would recommend this book to anyone as a good choice.

Rating:
Summary: Mixed reaction
Review: A sweet and inspiring, but bordering saccharine and male-focused tale about a shephard following and achieving his dreams.

Rating:
Summary: A Book every human being must read!(...)
Review: One of the best books. Teaches values in life, and very eye opening. There comes a point in life when you fail and you want to find solutions, and this is the book, which leads you to the truth, leads you to the path. I would say, everyone must read this book.

Rating:
Summary: follow your heart
Review: This book shows a great way to achieve your life-long goals. It makes you see things in a totally new light. It talks of your Personal Legend, and the Soul of the World, but after finishing the book, it all makes sense. The Alchemist explains how a boy followed his heart and conquered many problems in order to realize his dream. This book explains that it is important to be true to yourself, and if you do so, good things will come your way. It does revolve a lot around omens and superstitions, but it is really a good novel. I definitely recommend The Alchemist to everyone. It will surely make you feel good about yourself once you read it.

Rating:
Summary: Feeble and irrelevant.
Review: This is the sort of rubbish one wonders how it ever got published let alone sold two million copies. It is, I almost said literature there, lets call it prose, for the intellectually incapable and uneducated. The pseudo religious overtones are an insult to any intelligent human being. The plot is weak, condescening, irrelevant and egotistical. Do not waste your money.

Rating:
Summary: Cheap Reading!
Review: Paulo Coelho books beside being cheap reading and not a great literary work they sound the same and feel the same. If you are beach reader, lazy reader and don't care about the quatlity this is a book for you. I disliked it!!!!!!