Review of The Alchemist

Samrat Mukhopadhyay
The Alchemist gives us an adventure of a young shepherd boy in the search of
a hidden treasure that leads him from the unperturbed smooth life of a shepherd
to the eventful, dynamic life of a treasure hunter through a series of exciting
experiences. The main theme of the book is to follow your instinct, listen to
your heart, even if you are at the edge of your life, and youll find something
extraordinary and unexpected. There may be thousands hurdle to overcome,
in an unknown, alien land, but following your instincts is to follow the hidden
language that the nature speaks of.
The central theme is very touching and encouraging, but I really do not
like the way the author has presented the theme. He has given the flavor of
a fable, wrapping the events with deep, intense philosophy of life, which in
many cases just dont make any sense. The events are also not very logical to
follow, especially in the second part of the book. Many of the characters have
just appeared and disappeared, without giving hints to their real purpose to
show up. Of course, everyone seems to be helping the young boy to fulfill his
goal, hence giving the worlds conspiracy to help him reach his destination a
completeness. But all these seem a little too forcibly introduced, as if they are
there just because they are needed at those points. The end of the story also is
not something very appreciable, although it does has some significant meaning
towards the view of life the author means to express in this story.
Nevertheless, an artistic touch is abundant in every corner of this book,
mixed up with dreams and curiosity, wonder and courage, magic and destiny.
The content is something very symbolic, happening in every persons life, and
thus is capable of providing a wonderful outlook towards life and its meaning,
engaging it to the larger cosmos we are dealing with and giving us a broader
panoramic view of the horizon in our life.

Rating: 3.5