The Alchemist

      Alchemy is a word which makes you thinking about maybe Sir Issac Newton or maybe even Harry Potter (because of the Sorcerer's Stone). But anyways, something to do with a mad scientist trying to turn things into gold. Well, you're absolutely correct! Alchemy is exactly about those things! Ok, lets change the subject for a few seconds. In this book, a simple shepard travels around Andalusia shearing sheep and caring for his own. He meets a merchant's daughter, and instantly falls in love with her. It's been a year, and now he's getting ready to meet her and shear her father's sheep. But on his way, he meets a fortune teller, who tells him to go and find treasure in the Pyramids of Egypt. He doesn't pay any heed to her words, but when a king tells him the same, he decides that its high time to start saving. He sells his sheep and buys a fare to Africa, where he is robbed of his whole fortune. He then spends a year finding and collecting money. When he finds a caravan of camels heading to Egypt, he believes that luck is on his side. Now, coming back to alchemy. It is on this caravan ride, where he meets the Alchemist. Remember that in the beginning, I said that you were correct about what alchemy was? Well, you were, its just that there is more to it. The Alchemist teaches the boy to listen to his heart, and to nature, like the sand and the wind; even to heaven! But most importantly he learned many values though his humbleness and different hardships. Paulo Coelho has really done it this time! This book is one of the most popular international best sellers!