The Alchemist

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


I'm in the process of pulling "classic" books that somehow slipped past me in school off the shelf and reading them now that I'm 40-something.

I went looking here at the Goodreads to see what everyone else had to say about it - sort of to get myself in the mood to read something I've thought would be good for me to read but wasn't on a shelf that I normally gravitate to. Turns out that it's a polarizing book. People don't just take it or leave it. They either rave over it or they throw it across the room!

So, I'm curious to see what I will think of it. I'll be back to edit my review and rate it when I'm done.

****

Back.

Well, I think I stand in the middle. I liked the prose, it felt a little over the top in some spots, but part of that is to make up for it's simplicity. I didn't hate it, I wasn't as impressed with it as some were, but I didn't hate it.

I love the economy within the story concerning magic use, that it has a consequence. Mostly because stories that don't have a check and balance - a physics component with the magic doesn't give me enough to hang the suspension of my belief. I enjoyed the exploration between evil and altruism. The play between power and helplessness.

In spite of all that, there wasn't anything here that explained why this tiny book is getting so much excitement over it.






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