review of book "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

1. BOOK REVIEW
OF
THE ALCHEMISTNOVEL BY PAULO COELHO
Presented by:
Sandeep Bhat
Department of Management studies

2. CONTENTS
• Introduction about the book.
• Introduction about the author.
• Background of the book.
• Main Characters.
• Symbols.
• Findings.

3. INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE BOOK
• Title: The Alchemist
• Type: Novel
• Year of initial publication: 1988
• Place: Brazil
• Language: Portuguese
• Publisher: Harper one

4. INTRODUCTION ABOUT THE AUTHOR
• Author: Paulo Coelho
• Born: 27 August 1947
• Occupation: Novelist
• Married in 1980

5. BACKGROUND OF THE BOOK
• Pre modern time
• Spanish pastures, town of tarifa, city of tangier and the
sahara desert.
Omens
• Sea shells are a symbol of happiness, so it is good to have
them with you.
• Scarab beetles

6. MAIN CHARACTERS
• Santiago
• The Alchemist
• Crystal merchant
• Englishman
• Melchizedek
• Fatima

7. SYNOPSIS
• A shepherd following his dreams left the town with his sheep.
• Sell them to get some money to reach Egypt to find treasure.
• Encountered with thieves and lost money.
• Worked on crystal store for a year.
• Saved money and left for Egypt.

8. CONT.
• Crossed the desert with Englishman and reached oasis.
• Found his love Fatima.
• Met with a 200yr old Alchemist.
• Alchemist leads him to the pyramids.
• Shepheard found his omen for the treasure returned back and
found the treasure.

9. SYMBOLS
• SHEEP
• DESERT
• FATIMA
• URIM & THUMMIM
• THIEVES
• CRYSTAL MERCHANT

10. FINDINGS
• Destiny and fate.
• Everything has its ROLE and VALUE.
• One’s fear is his greatest obstacle.
• Break the line.
• Embrace the present.
• Success is a social blessing.

11. CONT.
• Make your own decisions.
• Be the innovator.
• Keep your goals straight.
• Firm determination.
• Actions speak louder.
• Language of the world- Everything is connected.

12. THE ALCHEMIST QUOTES
• “And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in
helping you to achieve it.”
• “So, I love you because the entire universe conspired to help
me find you.”
• “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to
achieve: the fear of failure.”

13. CONT..
• “No matter what he does, every person on earth plays a
central role in the history of the world. And normally he
doesn't know it.”
• “When each day is the same as the next, it’s because people
fail to recognize the good things that happen in their lives
every day that the sun rises.”
• “Every blessing ignored becomes a curse.”

14. • The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world,
and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.