The Alchemist

its a quick read, but when you reach the end you sense that you have been there and experienced the same things. if you give books as gifts, this should be in the top five.

Every time I see somebody reading one of Coelho's books, usually some dimwitted dreadlocked blonde chick w/ hemp bracelets halfway up to her elbow (degree in `Women's Studies' from some liberal arts college nobody's heard-of, never worked a day in her life, drives daddy's BMW around but feels real guilty about it), it makes me cringe!
In your early 20's, the `everything happens for a reason, your cosmic soulmate is out there somewhere waiting for you' nonsense is seems possible. By your mid-30's: highly dubious. By the time you're over 40 & still believe in this kind of crap, you should be shipped to the same Siberian Death Camp Dostoevsky was & this `life has a purpose' nonsense will fade real quick - believe me!
If everything happens for a reason, tell me: What's the reason for the Holocaust? Rwanda? Somalia? AIDS? Cancer? TB? What reason is large enough to excuse the torture & deaths of million of people?
These feel-good books serve their purpose, keeping halfwits occupied & away from the internet & TV so they can think themselves literate. I find Coehlo not only goofy & pedestrian but downright ignorant! Has this guy ever read Kant? Schopenhauer? Russell? Enough with the knuckleheaded optimism, man, you're setting people up for real disappointment, not to mention early divorce! Only a truly spoiled product of the suburban middle-class could read this novel without laughing (sardonically) out-loud. I find it insulting that homeboy passes this garbage off as `reality.'
The metaphorical value is slight, dull, & vague. Ever hear of Carlos Castaneda, fool? Toss your Coehlo books in the fireplace, along w/ your books on Tarot & Astrology, go get a job (I don't mean canvassing for Earth-First, jackass, I mean a real job!) & start reading real books. There are too many good books out there for you to be wasting your time with this stuff! You're wasting your time daydreaming about finding your soulmate/destiny while Coehlo laughs his way all the way to the (Italian) bank.

rizzob.com

It is great to read an affirmation like this that reassures you that you are on the right path in your life. It helps to hear this when you have doubt at times.

It is really an inspiring book. This happens to all people, what is the real desire in our heart, how we can follow the inner voice in the heart. The author has used a shepherd boy to show us how we could live our life, it is always a matter of thought, of how we relate to the people we met. The author also shows how God works in our lives. I think it is really true in the way he told us!

I was expecting more from this book. Unfortunately, it did not deliver. The author borrows heavily from earlier writings, showing little in the way of true originality or creativity. His ideas seem simplistic and shallow (e.g., Personal Legend), while the repetetiveness of certain words like "omen" and phrases (e.g., Language of the World)are laughable. Worse, he seems to believe that "when a person really desires something, all the universe conspires to help him get it." What nonsense! On the plus side the story was somewhat interesting. However, the central ideas are simply not seminal and to be perfectly blunt, the book seemed amateurish.
If you are looking for a great spiritual book written by a true master, read Journey to Ixtland by Carlos Castenda. His other books are almost as good. Hermann Hesse is another terrific writer with something important and original to say.

Enjoy!!