I just finished this book less than ten minutes ago, and I just want to make a short insight on this book before I move on to whatever I have on my plate next.

I'm sure many people have read or heard about this book. It has gained a lot of popularity since its first publication, and has been translated into several languages. People rave about it from all age ranges. I mentioned in my review of Eleven Minutes that I may or may not read this book. But, lo and behold, an opportunity presented itself and proved that this book and I were meant to cross paths.

This is a book about pursuing your dreams.

The story is about a boy, often referred to as "the boy", by the name of Santiago, who had a dream about finding a treasure around the pyramids in Egypt. We embark along with him on his journey to find that 'treasure'. He meets interesting people along the way, a gypsy, a king, a thief, a merchant, an Englishman, a camel driver, a beautiful woman, several tribes, an alchemist, and lots and lots of Arabs. As he searches for his treasure, he is met with challenges that continually test his resolve.

Did he find his treasure?

Read the book. It's less than 200 pages.

This story is not unlike something you would hear from your grandpa, or just a wise man in general. Paulo Coelho strikes me as such. This is something like a bedtime story with hidden lessons. It teaches you about obstacles people often encounter when working towards their goal. And they were all true. The obstacles were written in the introduction, but it makes more sense when you see it while reading the book.

I understand the hype of this book, and, surprisingly, I think it's justified. Lots of people will find this very helpful to them at some point. Maybe the universe conspired that to happen.

In the back of the book I saw that this book was actually about wisdom, and that Eleven Minutes was about love. After seeing that, Eleven Minutes made much more sense to me. It is about love, in all its purest forms. The Alchemist was indeed about wisdom.

Let's just say I feel a teeny bit wiser after reading this book.

It's like a fable--a parable. It teaches a lesson and makes us realize the reasons of what we do.

The gist: 8/10

Did I like this book? Yes. But it struck me as something from a self-help book in the form of a story. All in all I was curious (kininarimasu!) on what it was about. I'm glad I read it though. And like Eleven Minutes, it sits on my "nice" shelf.

I know this review was probably barely helpful, but I encourage you to read it just because. Because why not.

Will I read more Coelho books? Maybe. When the universe conspires to make that happen.