“Rarely do I come across a story with the directness and simplicity of Coelho’s The Alchemist. It lifts the reader out of time and focuses through a believably unlikely story on a young dreamer looking for himself. A beautiful story with a pointed message for every reader.”
—Joseph Girzone, author of Joshua
“This is the type of book that makes you understand more about yourself and about life. It has philosophy, and is spiced with colors, flavors and subjects, like a fairy tale. A lovely book.”
— Yedi’ot Aharonot (Israel)
“A boy named Santiago joins the ranks of Candide and Pinocchio by taking us on a very excellent adventure.”
—Paul Zindel, author of the Pulitzer Prize–winning play, The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds
“The mystic quality in the odd adventures of the boy, Santiago, may bring not only him but others who read this fine book closer to recognizing and reaching their own inner destinies.”
—Charlotte Zolotow, author of If You Listen
“Paulo Coelho gives you the inspiration to follow your own dreams by seeing the world through your own eyes and not someone else’s.”
—Lynn Andrews, author of the Medicine Woman series
“Nothing is impossible, such is Coelho’s message, as long as you wish it with all your heart. No other book bears so much hope, small wonder its author became a guru among all those in search of the meaning of life.”
— Focus (Germany)
“The Alchemist is a truly poetic book.”
— Welt am Sonntag (Germany)
“Dotted throughout the story and illuminated in a poetic style are metaphors and deep insights that stir our imagination and transport the reader on a fantastic journey of the soul.”
— Yomiuri-Shinbun (Japan)
“The Alchemist brings to mind The Little Prince by Saint-Exupéry and The Prophet by Khalil Gibran, as well as biblical parables.”
— Gazeta Wymborcza (Poland)
“The Alchemist is a beautiful and heartwarming story with an exotic flavor…. You may or may not agree with PauloCoelho’s philosophy, but it’s nonetheless a tale that comforts our hearts as much as our souls.”
— Bergensavisen (Norway)
“The Alchemist is like a modern-day The Little Prince. A supreme and simple book.”
— Milorad Pavic (Serbia)
“Among Latin American writers, only Columbia’s Gabriel Garcia Marquez is more widely read than Brazil’s Paulo Coelho.”
— The Economist
ALSO BY PAULO COELHO
The Pilgrimage: A Contemporary Quest for Ancient WisdomThe Valkyries: An Encounter with Angels
By the River Piedra I Sat Down and Wept
The Fifth Mountain
The Illustrated Alchemist
Veronika Decides to Die
CREDITS
Cover design: Doreen Louie Cover photograph © by J. Sims/FPG
International
Copyright
This book is an English version of O Alquimista, the Portuguese original edition, published in Brazil by Editora Rocco Ltd. (Rio de Janeiro). Copyright © 1988 by Paulo Coelho. This edition was prepared by Alan R. Clarke in consultation with Paulo Coelho.
THE ALCHEMIST. Copyright © 1993 by Paulo Coelho. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of PerfectBound™.
PerfectBound™ and the PerfectBound™ logo are trademarks of HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.
Mobipocket Reader July 2005 ISBN 0-06-088268-9
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been ordered.
ISBN 0–06–250217–4 (cloth)
