This was one of those books that when you pick up and read it, you feel like the voice of God is coming through Paulo Coelho’s writing. It is no doubt that his writing derives from mysticism, magic, and a great understanding of The Soul of the World. His mysterious past includes pilgrimages, songwriting, and insane asylums. He writes poetry in his prose. Every page reads like a sonnet. It is a perfect example of simple language having the ability to compel.
The story follows a young boy from Spain. He is a Shepard who has a dream that if he goes to the Pyramids he will find treasure. A gypsy woman says she will interpret the dream for 1/10th of the treasure. She confirms that he must pursue his dream to make it a reality. A wise old man who claims to be a king, explains that the boy has to fulfill his Personal Legend. Everybody has a Personal Legend. However, most people do not search it out. “To realize one’s Personal Legend is a person’s only obligation.” The boy sells his sheep and sets out to Africa. On his first day, he is tricked and loses all of his gold so he takes a job with a crystal shop owner. The crystal owner explains that the dream of going to Mecca was his Personal Legend and keeps him alive, even though he will never pursue the dream. After one year of working at the crystal shop, the boy has enough money to go back home. However, he meets an Englishman who intrigues him about alchemy. The Englishman shows the boy his books. The Englishman is an example that reading does not equate to understanding. Together they set out into the desert to find the two-hundred-year-old alchemist and arrive at an oasis. There, the boy falls in love with a girl named Fatima. She is a woman of the desert and understands that the boy has to leave and fulfill his journey so that he may come back. Some women of the desert spend their whole lives for their men to return. The boy meets the alchemist who helps him on his way to the Pyramids. They are stopped and threatened to be killed but the alchemist explains that the boy can turn himself into the wind. The boy asks for help from the wind who tells him to ask the sun who tells him to ask the Soul of God. He learns that the Soul of God is his own. The boy performs a miracle. He and the alchemist are allowed to move forward in their journey. The Alchemist shows him how to turn metal into Gold. When he arrives at the Pyramids he begins to dig a hole and is stopped by two men. One of the men tells him that he had a dream of finding treasure under a sycamore tree in Spain, but wasn’t foolish enough to believe it. The boy understands that this is where the treasure is. He goes back to Spain where discovers the treasure and returns to his love from the desert, Fatima.
This book is just a beautiful, simple story. It has heart. It is meaningful. It will ground you. Do not miss out on this book, it has the power to change your life. It is filled will many life lessons and things to take away. The journey is powerful. It might help you understand your own Personal Legend, and give you the courage to pursue it.
92/100
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Ben Bonkoske 