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The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - A unique novel for Young Adults

 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho - A unique novel for Young Adults

- Ajay Sahu

This book was my first love when it comes to reading novels, and it still is. My favourite quote is:  "when you really want something to happen, the whole universe will conspire so that your wish comes true". This is also the main philosophy of the novel and the advice followed by the protagonist throughout his whole journey. 

The story may be encapsulated like this: Santiago, a shepherd, seeks to know the significance of a recurring dream from a Gypsy fortune-teller. The woman sees it as a prophecy, predicting that the boy will find a huge fortune among the Egyptian pyramids. After leaving, Santiago meets an elderly monarch, Melchizedek, or King of Salem, who advises him to sell his sheep and travel to Egypt to fulfil his "Personal Legend." A man who promises to be able to take Santiago to the pyramids actually robs him of the money he earned from his flock soon after his arrival in Africa. Santiago then works for a crystal dealer in order to save enough money to travel to the pyramids. Along the way, the young seeker meets an Englishman in quest of an alchemist, and the two continue their journey together. Santiago meets and falls in love with an Arabian girl named Fatima when they arrive at an oasis, and he proposes marriage to her. She vows to marry him only when he has completed his voyage. He is initially dissatisfied but subsequently learns that true love will not stop and that one must not sacrifice one's destiny to it, since doing so would strip it of its truth. Soon, the young man meets a wise alchemist who teaches him how to discover his true nature. They risk a voyage through a warring tribes' area, where Santiago must prove his oneness with "the soul of the world" by turning himself into a dust storm before being allowed to continue, with his life on the line. When he starts digging near the pyramids, he is robbed again, but he learns from the thief's leader that the treasure he was looking for was all along in the wrecked church where he had his dream in the first place.

Now as you go through the story you will find it is a big metaphor for all of us. Everything is so relatable especially to us, 'Young Adults'. He has a dream and he wants to pursue it but obstacles face him, which he overcomes. He falls in love on the way. Typical teenager. And in the end, after some gruesome times, is successful at achieving it. Don't tell me you cannot relate to it. This is the most influential, powerful, and impactful book I've ever come across. Each time I read it, I've something new to implement in my life. The book's central theme is about realizing one's destiny. In other words, having a dream and making it true. And how beautifully Paulo Coelho portrays that through the story. What a hero you were, Santiago! 

The book teaches us to get out of our comfort zone to explore the world, and not be afraid of the unknown. If you do that, everyone around you will come to your aid like the King, the Alchemist himself, or the Englishman, exemplifying my favourite quote in practice. The absolute beauty of it is that it opens our minds to multiple horizons and adds to our creativity and perception.

Santiago who was merely a teenager himself, inspires the Gen Z that you can, no matter what, obtain even the forbidden fruit if you truly wish to. For me personally, it has been a legend that acts as a self-help book more than just a fiction novel. I look up at the characters in it for inspiration and idolize them. If you haven't read it or did but couldn't relate, just read it with an open mind and find out for yourself!

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