THE ALCHEMIST - Paulo Coelho

-

The Alchemist is one of the more beautifully written books of our times. Though the book was originally written in Portugese, the translation in English still manages to bring out the essence of the original story and its message. It is a simple story of a young shepherd who follows his dreams of treasure and encounters many experiences and people, learning wisdom and life lessons along the way.
Santiago is a shepherd boy who lives in Spain leading an ordinary life. He is simple and innocent, but craves for excitment and adventure. Believing a recurring dream to be prophetic, he starts on his journey to discover the treasure he believes is hidden in the Pyramids of Egypt. The book follows this journey, the people he meets, the dreams he has, the omens he encounters, and the nature he speaks to.
Paulo Coelho’s work is a delight to read. All the things mentioned in the book are that we can relate to, things that we've either forgotten about or simply dismissed as childhood fantasies. It contains some wonderful teachings, like:
The journey is what counts, not the destination;
Treasure lies in our own hearts and not in the outside world;
Live every moment in the moment and follow your dreams.
Although it is an extraordinarily optimistic tale and might be a little too simple for some people, it is also thought provoking and inspires you in its own way. As it is written in very simple language, it is easy to read and makes for a decent way to spend time. The only concern about the book is that some of the speeches get too long and give the impression of patronising. I sort of skipped through a few such dialogues as it felt like the flow of the story was being disrupted.
On the whole, I found the book both entertaining and inspirational. Though I neither had a spiritual re-emergence after reading it, nor did the book completely change my life, I liked the story for simple reasons. I particularly liked the simple messages spread throughout. Moreover, it is not demanding and can be read and understood by all. It is recommended but you might not like it if you are not particularly interested in the genre.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE SONGSEEKERS -Saswati Sengupta

-
Image
With its  subversive feminist thrust and persistent questioning of what constitutes religion, tradition and  culture, Saswati Sengupta's debut novel  The Song Seekers is sure to strike a chord. It is a poignant exploration of the lives of women in Indian society transcending time and space. Weaved around mystery and laced with beautiful poems throughout, this makes for a perfect unputdownable read.  Set in the turbulent 1960s in Bengal, the novel revolves around the life of newly wed Uma, an  English Literature graduate from Miranda House, as she steps into the threshold of her marital home  Kailash, the ancestral mansion of the highly reputed Chattopadhyay family of Calcutta. Even as she  tries to find her footing in a new, unfamiliar world, Uma is intrigued by the shadows that seem to  linger in the sprawling mansion; her husband’s silence about his mother’s death, the presence of the  enigmatic green-eyed Pishi, a few old letters kept safely in her father-in-law’s bedsi
Read more

RIOT - Shashi Tharoor

-
Image
RIOT, by Shashi Tharoor, is not a conventional novel. It is not a story that starts with a ‘once upon a time’ and ends in a ‘happily ever after’. It has no linearity, no narrative, and neither a formal structure. It is an engrossing story in its own right; but which serves a much wider purpose in this ambitious and utterly fascinating novel. Yes, it is an experiment; but a pretty successful one at that! It speaks about a troubled time in India. It is about one of the most historic riots of the country, when extremism and provocation by Hindus and Muslims led to militancy. The author has admirable knowledge about the subcontinent’s history and current ills, including the increasing intolerance of religious diversity. The ensuing mayhem gave license to kill and avenge with little chance of accountability. Amidst all this, there is the ill-fated romance of Priscilla Hart, a young American working for an NGO in India, and Lakshman, an older, married Indian civil serva
Read more

JASMINE DAYS - Benyamin

-
Image
Jasmine Days is a translated work of fiction. It was originally written by Benyamin in Malayalam in 2014 as  Mullappoo Niramulla Pakalukal,  and translated into English by Shahnaz Habib. It came under my radar after it won the inaugural JCB Prize for Literature in 2018, but I only got around to reading it very recently when I heard of its sequel, The Al Arabian Novel Factory.  TL;DR- Jasmine Days was compelling enough to make me want to read the sequel, at the earliest. The Jasmine revolution started with the self-immolation of a street vendor in Tunisia. This soon turned into the Arab Spring and went on to spread to Egypt, Libya, and Morocco. Jasmine Days is set in the  City ( the author deliberately never clarifies the name of the city or the country where the story is based out of) in the Middle East roughly around that time, and covers the riots that take place under the garb of politics, nationalism, religious conflicts, and the physical and mental trauma that ensues
Read more