jessica's Reviews > The Alchemist

tl;dr - important message, disappointing execution.

for this to have been described as a story that changes lives, im a little let down. whilst this certainly had the potential to be ‘life changing,’ i felt there were many aspects which kept the story from delivering what could have been a meaningful experience.

firstly, this is told like a parable. i would consider this story to fall more along the lines of religious allegory than philosophical text. that, in itself, is neither here nor there. however, i read somewhere that effective parables should comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. unfortunately, this book does neither of those things - it pampers to the egos of the self-righteous and chastises those who dont adhere to certain values. which is a shame, because this was supposed to be a story about following ones heart by chasing dreams and passions. too bad that message got lost somewhere along the way.

secondly, i didnt connect with the any of characters, as i found them to be very two-dimensional. for a story that was meant to be about personal growth, i did not get any sense of emotion in the writing. a boy sells his entire livelihood, sets sail for distant continent, and crosses an entire desert in search of something he desperately desires - and yet, i couldnt care less about his journey. also, the portrayal of women in this is frustratingly poor.

anyways, i liked the idea. i personally try to live my life by many of the lessons and teachings in this book - i believe it is important for one to follow their dreams, to always listen to their heart, and to never give up on something they are passionate about (as much as realistically possible). but i think the effectiveness of those messages was lost in this story.

↠ 2.5 stars