The Alchemist

(About the world's highest selling spiritual novel, written by Paulo Coelho)

Hi...

Birthday wishes to Aishvarya Vaid... (his B'day was on 3rd). I thought of righting something on his birthday about him, but just could not as I wanted to break the jinx of the birthday blogger. But it does not mean that I wont write about Him.

Dear Aishvarya, I owe you a write up... :-)

Last weekend I finally picked up "The Alchemist" , It seems like I am the last one to read this novel, as they claim almost everybody who loves to read must have read it. No doubt it is one of those books which defines what a best seller must be..

During first few pages I regretted the decision of picking it up, but then I surfed about Paulo Coelho and realised that he doesn't write in English and the book is a translation. (Just like dubbed movie some thing gets missing...) But the soul of the novel is the contemplation of the author... (Hey are you thinking the word 'soul' and 'contemplation' are due to the Alchemist-hangover... well you are right..)

Why I was avoiding this read for a long time:

Some times we develop a syndrome toward 'the most populars'. Which is based on our experiences with few of them. e.g. many popular & hyped things doesn't tastes as expected, like some most famous food joints whose food fails to explain the long queue at the counter, some of the super duper hit flicks fail to explain why all the notorious critics wrote just too good about it etc..

I was avoiding this book in an anticipation that it will not be too good ( My experience with "The monk who sold..." was the reason) and finally I will be disappointed. Thought I am not a fan of Paulo or of the book after finishing it. But one statement i would like to make, "This book is like movie 'Delhi 6' (or vise a versa) , Not too easy to understand and has many similes towards the real message, yet both are too good to teach others how to make a good movie or write a book".

Quite unlike Chetan Bhagat and his type of authors who not only write a scene but also give words to the expressions of the faces of the characters in novel, Paulo leaves all these things to imaginations. He no where talks about looks of his characters or their age or there expressions, still he is (rather the dubbing of his book is) capable of creating scenes in the reader's mind. (.. I am still a big fan of Chetan Bhagat..)

Yes, this book is only for those who can imagine while reading. finally the best thing in this novel, which even a normal (non imaginative) reader can enjoy are the 'dialogues'. I wonder they are so impactful, even in a translated version, then what would be the impact in the real one.

Listing down some of my favorites... You can add yours...

1. "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it." - Dear Farah Khan I knew who have stolen this one...

2. "Maktub"- which means it is written, I simply love the way this word is used in this novel at many junctures.

3. "When You possess great treasure within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom you are believed." - The scene in which this dialogue comes was simply superb.

4. "Well, what all good it (money) be to you if you had to die? the alchemist answered. Your money saved us for three days. Its not often that money saves a person's life." - Simply wonderful.

5. "Everything that happens once, can never happen again, but everything that happen twice will surely happen a third time." This a proverb he used in the novel.

And last but not the least..this is not a part of the main story but a quote of Paulo in an interview when he answered -'what he want to be his epitaph?' (epitaph means the quote written on someones' grave) .. He answered...

" Paulo coelho Died when he was alive"... He explains further not everyone dies when he or she is alive, people live their lives in repetitive patterns and the same pattern repeating and over again, you are not alive anymore....

Hello...lost in thoughts.. I know most of you will not read this post completely, but those who will read till this points must be lost in thoughts...

Enjoy talking with the soul of the world....

Bye for now..

Luv

VT