The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Description

The Alchemist is a story of transformation. But rather than transforming lead into gold, Paulo Coelho teaches us, through the story of a shepherd boy who has the courage to follow his dreams, the power of transformation for our lives.

Coelho is a Brazilian novelist who has published over 30 literary works, from the 1980s to the present. In 1986 he walked the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage road and had a spiritual awakening that inspired the direction of his work going forward. To date, The Alchemist, published in 1988, is Coelho’s best-known work, and it was an international bestseller.

In this guide, we’ll summarize the story of the shepherd boy and the alchemical lessons he learns, and we’ll compare some of the ideas to other philosophical and spiritual traditions and beliefs, such as Vedantic philosophy, Sufism, and the law of attraction.