However, all these directly stated life lessons pale by the ending of the book, which I did appreciate because it was more subtle and what I learned from it was not something a character made a monologue or pithy anecdote about. Or, finding fulfillment or happiness can help you bring good into the world you don’t necessarily have to be some kind of suffering martyr. I particularly like the idea that one’s Personal Legend, or what one is “supposed” to do, can be the same as one’s dream if your dream is to be an author, that can actually be your life’s purpose (as ordained by God) rather than something that you just want. I don’t think I’m actually cynical now, but all the things about following your dreams and finding omens that will show you what you ought to do and persevering even when times are tough would have been newer to me as ideas and would definitely speak to a young person’s dreams and hopes for the future. In fact, I think I would have found all of this far more inspirational if I’d first read the book when I was younger. I even did enjoy some of the life lessons that characters came into the story in order to impart. Surely travelling is a good reward, even if there’s no actual gold, even if things don’t always go quite in his favor.
I love a good quest story, and the obstacles that the boy encounters and the interesting people he meets will have readers thinking that his journey is a treasure in itself. I was definitely invested in the early parts of the story, as the shepherd decides to follow a dream that told him he would find a treasure at the Pyramids in Egypt. This is okay, but not quite what I was expecting, even when the cover calls the book a “fable” rather than a “novel.” The ending, however, is what really makes the book work and what really made me think, which is why I don’t believe there’s any way I can write a meaningful spoiler-free review. (Michael from My Comic Relief knows he convinced me to read it, but he’s only one of many readers who have found the book life-changing!) I was a bit worried that the book makes some good points but that the story lacks subtlety–that is, the characters literally going around spouting words of wisdom and spouting what the life lessons are supposed to be. As I first began reading The Alchemist, I found it interesting, but I was skeptical it was going to be quite as profound as I’d heard.
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