The Alchemist
⭐⭐
"And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."
What do the 1 and 5 star reviews of The Alchemist have in common? They all start with the quote above. If you aren’t familiar, The Alchemist is an inspirational self-help book written like a parable. Its been a perennial favorite since its initial publication in 1988 and has been recommended as life-changing by people ranging from Lebron James to Madonna.
Unfortunately, the lessons it aims to teach are simplistic at best. I suspect there’s a reason so many celebrities have listed this as a must-read; it feels designed for the people who genuinely believe CEOs deserve to be paid over 300 times what the average worker makes. You do have to work hard to succeed, I’m not arguing that. But hard work is only one factor in success. I hated the implication
that if you don’t succeed at something it was because you didn’t want it enough. Sometimes you will fail in life through no fault of your own. That’s ok! (Sometimes you’ll fail because you messed up. That’s also ok, nobody’s perfect.)
The heavy Christian imagery could easily be a selling point for anyone with the right religious background, but since I lacked the context I felt like I missed a lot of meaning. I also struggled with the antiquated gender roles. Women are basically nonexistent, with the largest role going to the main character’s love interest. She doesn’t seem to have any interests or goals of her own, and is content to wait at home indefinitely until he has finished his adventure and can come back victorious.
Ultimately I don’t think this book is bad so much as it was wildly overhyped and not for me. The writing style fell flat and the lessons are either common sense or too idealistic to be helpful. I didn’t hate it, but I’m glad it was short. I don’t know I could have finished if it had been much longer. Honestly reading the reviews on Goodreads was more fun than actually reading the book. I’d love to hear what you thought if you’ve read it - do you agree with me or did you like it? I paired it with a vodka soda as the blandest, most overrated drink I could think of. I’m not giving you a recipe - its vodka and soda water and tastes like the garnish you add to it.
