Review: The Alchemist

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
ISBN: 0061122416
The book is available on Amazon
The Alchemist is a quaint tale about a peaceful shepherd named Santiago. He travels from his quiet existence in the hills of Spain to begin what will ultimately become the spiritual journey of his life. Unfortunately for the reader, Coelho tries far too hard to impart these spiritual tidbits during this adventure. It’s not that the book is actually all that spiritual; it’s more that Coelho attempts force that on the story. If you haven’t gathered yet, I feel that he fails miserably at this unnecessary task. To be brief, if this book hadn’t been a very quick read (1 afternoon) I would have put it down and retired it to the bookshelf unfinished. It’s a moderately interesting story, but Coelho stumbles in his attempt to impress the reader with his spiritual ramblings.
[xrr rating=2.5/5]