The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho, is an inspirational story of Santiago, a youthful Spanish shepherd boy who dreams of traveling the world, discovering treasures, and is courageous enough to walk in the direction of his desires.
The Alchemist features one of the most inspiring quotes of all time:
“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
― Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
The Alchemist Summary
The Alchemist is a story of a young shepherd named Santiago. He was able to find a treasure beyond his wildest dreams.
Scene 1:
Santiago is headed to a town where he met a beautiful girl an year ago. He’s very excited to see her again. While camping out in an abandoned church with his sheep, Santiago has a recurring dream. He explains it to a Gypsy woman who tells him that he must go to the pyramids in Egypt to find a hidden treasure.
“It’s the possibility of having a dream come true that makes life interesting.”
Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Scene 2:
Santiago runs into a mysterious old man named Melchizedek, who tells him that everyone has a Personal Legend they must follow and that he must listen to omens in order to seek his treasure.
He gave him some stones to help him on his journey. So that he knows what to do when he can’t seem to find answers.
Santiago sells his sheep and heads to Tangier, where he’s promptly robbed of all his money. Undeterred, he gets a job selling glass, coming up with flashy marketing ideas that bring in all sorts of business.
Once he’s saved up enough money to cross the Sahara and get to the pyramids, he meets up with a caravan about to cross the desert on camels. He finds an Englishman in the group who is headed to the Al-Fayoum oasis to meet an alchemist who will teach him how to turn any metal into gold.
“The simple things are also the most extraordinary things, and only the wise can see them.”
Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Scene 3:
Along the way, the caravan heard nerve-wracking rumors of war between desert tribes, and the caravan decides to wait in an oasis until the wars are over.
Santiago decides to help the Englishman find the alchemist. The only person who will give him any info just so happens to be a girl named Fatima, with whom Santiago promptly falls in love. Eventually, they find the alchemist and he helps the Englishman learn the art of alchemy readily. Santiago moves ahead in his journey.
Santiago goes out into the desert where he has a vision of the oasis being attacked. He tells the tribal leaders, who decide to get ready to defend. They’ll kill Santiago if his vision turns out to be wrong.
“When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.”
Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Scene 4:
The oasis was attacked, and the prepared men were able to defeat the raiders. The alchemist decides to help him reach the pyramids, but they’re captured by yet another group of warriors as soon as they ride out on horseback across the desert. With the power of alchemy, the alchemist tells Santiago that will become the wind.
Santiago could not understand the alchemist but then figures he might as well try, so he sits down, concentrates on the desert, and finally he becomes the wind. This scared the warriors, so they let him and the alchemist go on their way.
They finally arrive at a monastery, where the alchemist digs up some gold and divides it up before sending Santiago on to the pyramids. He digs where he’s sure he’ll find the treasure.
After he finds the treasure some thugs beat him up and steal his gold. Weirdly, one of them mentions that he once had a dream on that spot of a treasure buried in an abandoned church in Spain. That’s when Santiago found his answer.
The book ends with Santiago digging up the treasure in the church where the whole story started and getting ready to head back to Egypt, where Fatima awaits.
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist
Love story in The Alchemist
The Alchemist is remarkable for being a love story that renounces the idea that romantic love must be central to people’s lives. Each person has a destiny that exists independently of others. It is the thing that you would do or be even if you had all the love and money you want.
I have left out the love story in the summary. It’s up to you to find it out by reading this wonderful book.
“When we love, we always strive to become better than we are. When we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too.”
Paulo Coelho, The Alchemist