Why this book:  It was suggested by a member of my reading group.  I had read it before and had found it ceative, inspiring and meaningful, and looked forward to reading it again.

My Impressions:  It is a seemingly simple little fable, that becomes a spiritual, and multi-cultural  rags-to-riches ‘Horatio Alger story,’ but the riches represent both financial as well as spiritual wealth.  While the theme is a common one – follow your heart, don’t give up on your dreams, ‘The Alchemist’ is beautiful in its simplicity and multi-layered complexity, and can be appreciated on many different levels. Wikipedia notes that it is one of the most widely translated book by a living author and has been on best–seller lists in 74 countries.

In brief, it is about a young shepherd in Spain, one assumes in the 19^th or early 20^th century, who has had a recurring dream, and then meets an enigmatic man who claims (and somehow appears) to be a wandering and wise ‘king.’  This man inspires the young shepherd to sell his sheep and follow his dream to travel to Egypt to find his ‘treasure.’  There are many references in the book to fate, destiny, and reading of omens, all of which point to an ‘unseen order of things’ and the author’s belief in the basic goodness of the Universe.  He refers throughout the book to such things as ‘the Soul of the Universe’ and the ‘the Language of the World’   The shepherd learns that he can access the wisdom of this unseen order by listening carefully and quietly to ‘the Language of the World’ to access its wisdom.   One of the key messages of the book is this need to listen and pay attention to the greater world around us in order to tap into its wisdom.   Another message is a faith that ‘When you desire something with all your heart, the whole universe conspires to help you achieve it.’

The shepherd boy follows his dream, and though numerous setbacks test his determination, he persists and eventually realizes that these apparent setbacks indeed forced him to become stronger and more resilient, and put him on pathways that were key to helping him fulfill his dream.  He is constantly tempted to take an easier path, to give up and return to a simpler and more comfortable path, but he persists, and with a strong will and a good heart, and some luck and cleverness,  eventually he fulfills his dreams.

There is a lot in this simple story to discuss and to argue about, which we did in our reading group.  The young shepherd has a couple of love interests – the role they play is peripheral, but important.  Some in our reading group did not appreciate the spiritual under-currents; others found the spiritual aspects most appealing.  The story brings in metaphors from the Christian, Muslim, Mormon, and Jewish traditions. Given that I am approaching a transition in my life, I found inspiration in this little story which has helped me to continue to refine, believe in, and pursue my own dream.