Rating: 
Summary: Material Wealth
Review: I just finished this book two nights ago, and I've had some time to think about it. Reading a lot of these reviews, I can understand where people are coming from with the emphasis on personal wealth. But Coelho also makes a point to say that that only applies to the boy. Another character wants to travel to Mecca. The dream of material wealth is the boy's own personal legend. Coelho also makes the point of saying many people don't follow their personal legends, to explain the "What about the others?" It takes effort. The boy had to learn a lot and go through hell to acheive his personal legend. I say he deserved it. It was the story of one person, but the lessons and generalities can be applied to most anyone. Forget that he was looking for treasure.
Rating:
Summary: Changed MY LIFE
Review: I found this book by an accident whilst looking for The Alienist. This book changed my outlook on life and how to be truely happy. I found I was thinking of this book and it's philosophies with every decision I had to make. Within one month of reading it I moved cities, met my future husband and created my dream job of a lifetime from a temp position. Coincidence you might say....I say read this short fable, THERE IS NO such thing as COINCIDENCE.
Rating:
Summary: Really thought provoking! EXCELLENT!
Review: This book really changed my view of the world. I compared myself to the main character and I was amazed how much I was like him. The book really gets you thinking and is very inspirational to the people who read it. In a way, it changed my life. The characters were amazing! This is literally the best book I have ever read. Really! I highly reccomend this book.
Rating: 
Summary: Superfical, yet with substance
Review: Santiago fumbles many times through his journey in part because of his innocence and blind trust in the wrong people. I liked this book very much, though, and would read it again (since it's an easy read). No one in their right mind would use this book as a guide in her/his personal life even though is seems deeply religious and may seem to hold some lessons in it. In it I saw how, like in real life, there are "divine coincidences" which give us hints that things are meant to be or that more learning is to come from a situation, trip, dream or aquaintanceship. Even though Santiago's goal seemed to be superficial one, he did learn a lot along the way. The journey to his dream/goal made him a stronger, wiser, more experienced person. I think this mirrors reality, in that although we may seem to want something superficial, there is a lesson for us to learn while trying to attain it. Hence it can even become a spiritual or life changing experience. And who knows, he might have helped that woman from the desert to live a new more fulfilling life elsewhere... even if she does leave him when she realizes that she can be a freer, less dependent woman outside of her culture/nation. She did make a good choice in mesmorizing him so he could get her out of the desert.
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Summary: This magical masterpiece literally changed my life!
Review: I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! In fact I would say it is my favorite book of all time. I've read it 3 times and will read it again still. It is full of lessons about how to live and enjoy life as well as how to deal with fear and change. I highly reccomend this book to everyone. I suggest reading it slowly, the way you savor a fine wine. Don't try to read between the lines looking for the lessons, just let them work their magic in your life. Everyone I know who has read it found the same magic in it that I did. This book allowed me the freedom to face overwhelming fear and take my life in an entirely new direction. I ended up writing and getting a book published. I am the author of "Master Dating: How to Meet and Attract Quality Men!" Thank you Paulo Colelho for writing this masterpiece and doing what it took to get it out there.
Rating:
Summary: See the World in this Grain of Sand
Review: The _Alchemist_ is, in my opinion, a deeply religious text. This is because the idea of a "universal language" that Coelho's presents, which is so central to the story, lies at the core of virtually all of the mystical-spiritual traditions of the world. In the _Alchemist_ this is illustrated through the evolution of the protagonist's inner dialogue with his Heart and his outer dialogue with the Cosmos. In the various spiritual traditions, this dual discourse reveals the Divine speech to humans from within (the Heart/Microcosm) and without (the Cosmos/Macrocosm). Both of these dialogues are made possible simply by listening which is itself precipitated by silence. In Santiago's case, his life as a shepard accords him this oppurtunity; his general seclusion from people and their every-day idle chatter allows him to refine his internally-intuitive and externally-perceptive sensitivities. One of the fruits of this refinement is that he learns the language of the World. That is to say that he begins to recognise the meaning of World's disclosure around him. Apparently random events begin to acquire a profound significance, while Nature itself begins to speak to him. The truth however is that the Cosmos and his Heart were always speaking to him, its just that now he's learned the language by which they communicate. The sufis (Muslim-mystics) used to say: "It was only after man became ignorant of the greater Koran that God revealed the lesser Koran". What they meant was that the Cosmos is a Sacred Book, but only after the language of this Text was forgotten were the "lesser Korans" (actual literal books) made necessary in order to understand the Divine Speech. This idea of the World as a Book is also found in the Liber Mundi of the Rose-Croix, the Apocalyptic symbol of the Liber Vitae, as well as in Hinduism and Taoism where the Cosmos is viewed as the prototype/archetype of the actual sacred books of the tradition. The point here being that in these varous traditions there is testimony to a universal and non-phonetic language which binds us all together into a Unity or Oneness. This is clearly revealed in the story by the Catholic Santiago's deeply felt sense of affinity with the desert Muslims. What brings them together into this hermeneutical-union -- this interpretive-bond -- where they both understand the Sacred Language of the World and the Heart, is the Universal Religion which lies above and beyond their "formal" religious allegiances. The point of my review is simply to reveal that inside the deceptively simple story-line of the _Alchemist_ lies the quintessential truth of the all the Sacred Religions, ie that of an Ultimate and All-Embracing Unity. To see this in Coeliho's work is to see the world in the grain of sand. For further reading I suggest Attar's fascinating book, _The Conference of the Birds_. There is an actual allusion to it in the _Alchemist_ when one of the characters refers to the "language of the birds".
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Summary: The only way
Review: When I was 18, I read The Little Prince by Saint-Exupery. It had a profound effect on my views. I am 30 now and I experienced a lot through living in various countries and circumstances. It effected me and my views. Sometimes, I thought that this life philosophy is only for kids. But after all my ups and downs as I was seeking a fuller life, reading The Alchemist persuade me that is the only path to take to lifelong happiness.
Rating:
Summary: The language of the universe
Review: I have to read the Alchemist at least once or twice a year. It seems like an easy book, but when you read between the lines it goes beyond philosophy! Coelho is one of the great story tellers of our times. I always recommend this book to my closest friends who seem lost or without a purpose. The Alchemist is somewhat a cousin of Saint Exupery's "The Little Prince". I think it will remain as one of the great classics of our times. The universal language is the main subject, and it teaches us how to listen to our heart as well as to the signs. It is a great inspiration for those who want to follow a dream or who are afraid to do so. If you really fully appreciate this book, you will understand the meaning of life.
Rating: 
Summary: Cliff's notes to life
Review: Just about the only cliche for how to live your life not included in this story is "wear clean underwear in case you get in an accident..." Dull writing style, I really don't think this is a case of poor translation, with a disappointing ending. I give it three stars for the thought provoking addition to the legend of Echo and Narcissus in the prologue. If you must, then read the prologue, open up your mind, and work your way through it.
Rating:
Summary: A simple but universal message
Review: This book is fabulous! It delivers a deep and meaningful message in a clear and heart-warming fable which almost anyone can read without difficulty. I recommend anything by this author.
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