The Alchemist (novel)
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| The Alchemist | |
 The cover of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. |
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| Author | Paulo Coelho |
|---|---|
| Original title | O Alquimista |
| Translator | Alan R. Clarke |
| Country | Brazil |
| Language | Portuguese |
| Genre(s) | Novel |
| Publisher | HarperTorch (Eng. trans) |
| Publication date | 1988 |
| Published in English |
1993 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback & iTunes) |
| Pages | 167 pp (first English edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0062502174 (first English edition, hardback) |
The Alchemist (Portuguese: O Alquimista) is a bestseller that was first published in Brazil in 1988 and is the most famous work of author Paulo Coelho. It is a symbolic story that urges its readers to follow their dreams.
Originally published in 1988,[1] The Alchemist has been translated into 56 languages, and has sold more than 65 million copies in more than 150 countries, and is one of the best selling books in history.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
Santiago, a boy living in Andalusia, leads a common life of travel through his trade of shepherding and entertains thoughts of marrying a merchant's daughter. One day he has a dream telling him to go to the Egyptian pyramids, a destination pointed out to him by a child in-dream and apparently leading to treasure. He consults a gypsy to interpret his dream, who simply tells him to go to the Pyramids to find the loot and asks for a tenth of his future treasure instead of a fee for her services. He becomes discouraged by this advice, yet she assures him that the wisest men would agree with the simplicity of this special case. Melchizedek, the King of Salem, spontaneously appears to help motivate Santiago to fulfill his Personal Legend, or his soul's desire, which seems bound to be the treasure of his dream. To aid him lest he have trouble interpreting omens, he presents him with Urim and Thummim stones, used for divination. Santiago sells all of his possessions to fund his journey to Africa and travels there. When he arrives, however, a thief steals all of his money. Santiago spends the next year or so working at a crystal merchant's shop learning both Arabic and life lessons, then moves on. He meets an Englishman who says he is searching for an alchemist waiting at the Al-Fayoum oasis. They join forces on their common journey East and exchange ideas along the way. Once at the oasis, Santiago meets the love of his life, Fatima, while asking about the alchemist near a well. After preventing an attack on the oasis by reading omens, he is sent to the alchemist and continues his journey. When they are captured by a desert tribe, the boy finds out how to transform himself into the wind; the tribe becomes so impressed that they let the two go. The alchemist uses the philosopher's stone to turn lead into gold: he leaves some for both a monk and Santiago and takes the rest for himself. When Santiago finally reaches the Pyramids, he is attacked by the desert's inhabitants and has to admit that he is searching for a treasure there. One of them laughs and reveals that he once had a dream about finding treasure in the very church where Santiago first had the dream. Santiago then realizes his dream.
[edit] Themes, motifs and symbols
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[edit] Love
' "True love allows you to fulfill your Personal Legend, and reach into the soul of the World!"
[edit] Motifs
[edit] Omens
Being able to observe and read omens is a key motif throughout the book. Santiago recognizes the hole in his pouch in which Urim and Thummin fell out of in Tangier as an omen, as he had promised the old king that he would make his own decisions, not let the stones do it for him. The crystal merchant of Tangier recognizes Santiago's presence in the shop as an omen, as two customers came into the shop as he was cleaning the crystals for the merchant. Santiago later finds that going to the desert was a good omen, as he was able to meet Fatima, his love. Santiago reads omens in the flight of two hawks and has a premonition of an attack on the oasis as he is in the Sahara Desert. Omens play a key role in the unraveling of Santiago's fate.
[edit] Personal Legends
The Personal Legend is one's reason for living; essentially, one's goal in life. Everyone in the world has a Personal Legend; by reaching his/hers, he/she adds to the Soul of the World, or its purity. The shepherd's Personal Legend is clear: to find his treasure at the Egyptian pyramids. The alchemist had already fulfilled his Personal Legend, which was to become a true alchemist and learn the Master Work. The crystal merchant's Personal Legend was to visit Mecca, and the Tarifa baker's Personal Legend was to travel the world, but these two characters chose not to follow their dreams. The Personal Legend of a person surfaces early in his/her life, and one can never find true happiness without fulfilling it. The Personal Legend drove Santiago to his treasure, and the alchemist to become the most famed alchemist in the world. The Tarifa baker and the crystal merchant shape their lives for the perpetual want of fulfillment.
[edit] Symbols
[edit] The Elixir of Life/Philosopher's Stone
The two alchemy objects are physical representations of the Soul of the World, the Master Work, which is the result of completely purifying metals. The Philosopher's Stone, being completely pure and powerful as the Soul of the World, has the property of turning metals into gold, the most advanced ("evolved") and purest of all metals. The Elixir of Life cures all illnesses and gives immortality. These objects represent the purity of the world, and in people trying to reach their Personal Legend.
[edit] Similarities with other works
The plot draws largely from an English legend, "The Pedlar of Swaffham",[2] which has been also used by Leo Perutz in "By Night under the Stone Bridge" and Borges' Tale of Two Dreamers, collected in Universal History of Infamy, according to Critic Neerav Bhatt.[3].
An even earlier possible source is in the work of the 13th century Persian poet Jalal al-Din Rumi, who in one of the stories of his Mathanawi (written between 1260 and 1273) tells an almost identical tale. In a modern translation the story (told in verse) is titled "In Baghdad, Dreaming of Cairo: In Cairo, Dreaming of Baghdad". (The Essential Rumi, transl. Coleman Barks, New York: HarperCollins, 1995). In it, a poor man in Baghdad who inherits a lot of money and land only to squander it quickly and become poor again has a dream, in which a voice tells him to go to Cairo and dig in a certain spot to find his wealth. When he gets there, while wandering the streets and begging for coins he is picked up by a night patrol. When he tells his story to the patrolman, the latter calls him a fool and tells him of a similar dream (which he had dismissed) about a place in Baghdad, describing the very street and house in which the poor man lives.
Many have compared The Alchemist to Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, a children's book about another boy, the Prince, who leaves his home in search of greater things, learning valuable lessons about life and love on the way. It is interesting to note that much of The Little Prince also takes place in the desert.
There are many parallels to Siddhartha's journey in Herman Hesse's Siddhartha. They both develop a spiritual aspect being alone early in life. Later, just like Siddhartha on his journey, Santiago has to become a business man; his ideas succeed in making him wealthy, but he is apart from the business of business. The Alchemist parallels the boatman in Siddhartha, who, after transporting Siddhartha across the river, sends him on his way to follow his destiny, knowing he will return. The love story develops and ends differently; Santiago has a different Personal Legend in that aspect. Both are "spiral" stories with the same places visited more than once.
Some have also compared and contrasted this story and the journey of Santiago to the Biblical account of the Prodigal Son.
[edit] Style
The style of writing is simplistic, with correlations to that of The Little Prince, fairy tales, or spiritual writings. The novel is narrated by an omniscient narrator and the diction is related to stories/tales from the Qu'ran, the Bible, and Egyptian mythology.
[edit] Literary Significance
The Alchemist was #94 on "The BBC Most Read Top 100" List in a survey conducted in April 2003.[4]
[edit] Translations
Originally written in Portuguese, it has, as of 2004, been translated into fifty-six languages, and has sold more than 65 million copies in over 150 countries, making it one of the best-selling books of all time.
In China & Australia it has gained particular success. The Herald Sun listed it as one of the five most commonly stolen books from Melbourne's book shops.
In the foreword, Coelho explains that this is a symbolic version of his experience described in The Pilgrimage.
[edit] Film, TV or theatrical adaptations
A motion picture version has been in development at Warner Bros. since 2003, with Robert Schwartz and Stephen Storer producing, as a vehicle for Laurence Fishburne, although Coelho has stated on his website that he has tried to buy back the rights to the film for the sum of $5 million. Many have speculated that this is due to the development hell the movie had been mired in.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Laurence Fishburne and indie production company A-Mark Entertainment have bought the rights to make a movie version of the novel, with Fishburne set to direct. Since 2003 the adaptation had been set up at Warner Bros., as a vehicle for Fishburne (who also wrote the script), but the project had stalled.
At The 2008 Cannes Festival, (also reported in Empire magazine on 18/05/2008)[1] Harvey Weinstein Announced that the Film version of The Alchemist is to go ahead. Harvey Weinstein will produce with Laurence Fishburn Co-producing, directing and staring. Reportedly An "Academy Award-winning screenwriter" is in negotiations to write the script. It will have a reported budget of $60 million.
In his "To Die Alive is to Take Risks" interview with Beliefnet,[5] Coelho states that people often go to the movies, and after watching it, say that the book is much better. He reasons that people make the clearest film in their minds.
The English audio book version is read by actor Jeremy Irons.
A theatrical adaptation has been produced and performed by the Cornish Theatre Collective
[edit] 20th Anniversary
In the Theatre Palacio Valdés of Avilés, Asturias (España), it was celebrated the 20th anniversary of this best-selling novel. Paulo Coelho was there. The event was transmitted through the Internet.
[edit] Footnotes
[edit] References
- Coelho, Paulo (1993). The Alchemist, Reissue edition, Australia: HarperCollins. ISBN 0-062-50218-2.
[edit] External links
