The Alchemist

A fable about following a dream

The Alchemist is a short novel by the Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho, first published in Portuguese in 1988 and in English in 1993. It tells the story of Santiago, a young shepherd from Andalusia in southern Spain, who travels to Egypt in search of treasure he has seen in a dream. The book reads like a fable. It uses simple language, symbolic characters and direct lessons about life.

Its central idea is the Personal Legend: the thing you have always wanted to do, the purpose that is yours alone. Coelho argues that everyone knows their Personal Legend when they are young. Over time, fear, comfort and other people's expectations convince them that it is impossible. The novel follows one person who refuses to give his up.

The book opens with a prologue. The alchemist of the title reads a version of the myth of Narcissus, the young man who falls in love with his own reflection in a lake. In this version the lake weeps for Narcissus because it loved seeing its own beauty reflected in his eyes. The prologue hints at a theme of the novel: people often see the world only in terms of themselves.

The novel then runs in two parts and a short epilogue.

Part One: the dream and the king

Santiago's parents wanted him to become a priest. He studied at a seminary, but he wanted to see the world. He chose to become a shepherd because shepherds travel. He likes his sheep and his simple life. He hopes to see a merchant's daughter again in a town he visits once a year.

One night he sleeps in an abandoned church where a large sycamore tree grows from the ruins of the sacristy. He has the same dream for the second time: a child takes him to the Egyptian pyramids and tells him he will find a hidden treasure there. He wakes before he learns where it is.

In the town of Tarifa he visits an old fortune teller, a Gypsy woman. She tells him the dream means what it says: he must go to the pyramids. She asks for one tenth of the treasure as her fee.

Soon after, he meets an old man who calls himself Melchizedek, the king of Salem. The king knows things about Santiago that no stranger could know. He explains the idea of the Personal Legend. He tells Santiago that when a person truly wants something, the whole universe works to help them achieve it. He describes beginner's luck, the way the world seems to favor people at the start of a journey to encourage them. He also warns that the path will test them.

The king asks for one tenth of Santiago's sheep. In return he gives him two stones, Urim and Thummim, one black and one white. They mean "yes" and "no" and can help him read omens when he cannot decide.

The king also tells a story. A boy is sent to learn the secret of happiness from a wise man. The wise man asks him to walk around his palace while carrying a spoon with two drops of oil in it. The first time the boy watches only the spoon and sees nothing of the palace. The second time he admires the palace and spills the oil. The wise man tells him that the secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the world without forgetting the drops of oil. In other words, enjoy life while staying true to your responsibilities.

Santiago sells his sheep and sails to Tangier in North Africa.

Tangier and the crystal merchant

On his first day in Tangier, a young man offers to guide him to the pyramids and steals all his money. Santiago is alone in a strange country with nothing. He has a choice: see himself as the victim of a thief or as an adventurer in search of treasure. He chooses the second.

He finds work with a crystal merchant whose shop is failing. Santiago suggests new ideas. He builds a display stand to attract passers-by, and he suggests serving tea in crystal glasses. The business grows. He works for almost a year and earns enough money to go home and buy more sheep than he had before.

The merchant has a dream of his own. He wants to make the pilgrimage to Mecca, but he never goes. He says that the dream of Mecca keeps him alive, and he fears that fulfilling it would leave him with nothing to live for. He represents a type of person Coelho warns about: someone who keeps a dream safe by never acting on it. The merchant often says "Maktub," an Arabic word meaning "it is written."

Santiago almost goes back to Spain. Then he realizes he can always return to shepherding. What he may never get again is the chance to reach the pyramids. He joins a caravan crossing the Sahara.

The desert, the Englishman and Fatima

In the caravan he meets an Englishman who is searching for a famous alchemist. The Englishman has spent years studying books about alchemy. He wants to learn the Master Work, which includes the Philosopher's Stone (which turns metal into gold) and the Elixir of Life. He believes knowledge comes from books.

Santiago learns differently. He watches the desert, the camels and the people. He learns from a camel driver who lives in the present moment. He begins to understand the Language of the World, a universal language without words that connects all things. He also senses the Soul of the World, the force that connects all living things and that people can tap when they pursue their Personal Legend.

The caravan reaches the oasis of Al-Fayoum, where it waits because of fighting between desert tribes. There Santiago meets Fatima, a young woman of the desert, at a well. He falls in love at once. She tells him that she will wait for him, because desert women are used to men leaving and returning. She wants him to continue his journey.

While walking in the desert, Santiago sees two hawks fight in the sky. He has a vision of an army attacking the oasis. He warns the tribal chieftains, who arm their men. The attack comes, and the oasis is saved. Santiago gains respect and a reward.

The alchemist's lessons

That night a mysterious man on horseback confronts Santiago. He is the alchemist. He agrees to guide Santiago across the desert to the pyramids. The Englishman, who sought the alchemist for years, never earns the same guidance.

The alchemist teaches through action. He tells Santiago to listen to his heart, because the heart knows where treasure lies. He argues that fear of pain stops people more than pain does, and that the pursuit of a dream does not wound the heart.

On the way, warriors capture them. To save their lives, the alchemist claims Santiago can turn himself into the wind. Santiago has three days to do it. He speaks to the desert, the wind and the sun, and finally to the Hand That Wrote All, the force behind creation. A great sandstorm rises. When it clears, Santiago is standing on the other side of the camp. The warriors release them.

At a monastery, the alchemist turns lead into gold. He divides it into four parts. He gives one to a monk, one to Santiago, keeps one, and leaves one with the monk in case Santiago ever needs it. Then he sends Santiago on alone.

Spoilers: the ending

This section reveals the ending.

At the pyramids, Santiago digs where his heart tells him. A group of refugees from the tribal wars catches him, beats him and takes his gold. When he explains why he is digging, their leader mocks him. The leader says he once dreamed of treasure buried in Spain, under a sycamore tree in an abandoned church, but he was not foolish enough to cross a desert for a dream.

Santiago understands at once. The treasure was at the place he started. He returns to Spain, to the ruined church, and digs beneath the sycamore. He finds a chest of gold coins and jewels. He plans to give one tenth to the Gypsy woman. In the final lines, the wind brings him the scent of Fatima, and he tells her he is coming.

The ending carries the book's lesson. The journey was necessary even though the treasure was at home. Without the trip, Santiago would not have found Fatima, learned the Language of the World or become the person who could understand where the treasure lay.

What the critics say

Many critics call the book simplistic and its lessons too general. Some object that the idea of the universe helping you implies that people who fail did not want it enough. Others note that Fatima has little life of her own beyond waiting for Santiago. The core plot echoes an older tale about a man who travels far to learn that treasure lies at home, found in the One Thousand and One Nights and retold by Jorge Luis Borges.

Who should read it

Read it if you are facing a choice between a safe life and a long-held dream, or if you enjoy short spiritual fables. It suits readers of any age and reads in a few hours.