The Alchemist is a Brazilian novel about a shepherd named Santiago, an 18-year-old youth who abandons his life in Spain to embark upon an epic treasure hunt across Africa. Making several unexpected stops along the way, he uncovers profound truths about himself, the world, and the kingdom of God, which are fundamentally connected. Ultimately, he finds the treasure, but along the way he also finds love and personal fulfillment. At 16, Santiago, who had been studying to become a priest, had defied his parents’ wishes and set off to travel across Andalusia with a herd of sheep. The story picks up two years later. The boy has been leading his sheep all this time. Lovesick, he’s thinking about settling down with the daughter of a merchant he met the year before. As he contemplates the future, he feels anxious, hopeful, and full of questions… Summary of the book Important People Character Analysis Analysis of the Themes and Author’s Style With Instaread, you can get the key takeaways, summary and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.
Paulo Coehlo’s The Alchemist is the story of Santiago, a young shepherd, who leaves Spain in search of treasure in Africa. Told in the tradition of the ‘heroes journey,’ The Alchemist explores the human condition through the adventures of one young man who learns that courage is inside himself, and the treasure he seeks can ultimately be found at home. Summary of The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo by Instaread thoroughly analyzes the book, with an overview of the main characters, major themes, and the author’s style. This is an economic and effective way to get a look at the meat of a book before buying the whole hog, and for 99 cents, you can’t go wrong. Busy readers benefit from analysis such as this. I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my unbiased review.