The Alchemist

Paulo Coelho

This has been translated into loads of languages and is an international best seller and Jane is blowed if she knows why. It's simplistic. The hero is told he must follow his dreams and he finds riches. Jane expected him to discover that gold is not all, but he doesn't. The female characters are very sketchy.
Jane 4/5/03

Gill 'likes a bit of magic' so she was drawn to this book from the start. She said it was easy to see how it could have become a cult book (the book has sold over 20 million copies) as the underlying messages are 'If you're traveling towards your destiny the whole world conspires to help you' and 'Follow your dreams and you'll be happy'. Gill didn't think the book was about becoming rich (as Jane had said in her review) but more about fulfilling your potential.
Gill 1/6/03

Jean was not impressed by this international best-seller, thinking it simplistic and obvious. She was sad to think that so many people apparently think this book is important.
Jean 3/8/03

Andrew didn't like this quasi-mystical book. Might be appreciated by 17 year olds unsure of their direction in life. Otherwise not recommended. Andrew 19/10/03

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