The Alchemist

The Alchemist - Paolo Cohleo

I found this book to be very weird. I liked the plot, and I thought it was written pretty well. But - I felt as though when I was reading it I was having life's 'ideal lessons' forced down my throat, such as how to be the happiest person and never to stop striving for what you want most in life. The whole book seemed more than centered around that - more like it was written for people who are looking back on their lives and can now read this book and either think they did everything they wanted or read the book and regret many many of their life decisions. However - the life lesson bit aside, I think it had an overall good message. I think it was quite well written. I really enjoyed the plot, which I think is the only reason I continued to read it. I think I would recommend it to high school junior/seniors and college students who are about to go on their way into the world. I think people in this age bracket can usually use a good forced dose of life's lessons, especially the idea of doing what you love instead of what will make you the most money.


Next up: Dreaming in Cuban by Christina Garcia