"The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

Tired, worn out, and brain fried, I crashed on the couch Friday afternoon. I had much to do, but little will power to do it. I meandered into the library to find an escape, and I came out with Brittany's copy of "The Alchemist." It proved to be a fortuitous, and timely choice. I sat down tired, and two hours later I rose refreshed and inspired.

The opening line of "The Alchemist" names the protagonist Santiago, but he immediately becomes nameless, known only as "the boy" for the duration of the short tale. As the boy moves from shepherd to adventurer to salesman and onward, he remains anonymous, and as the pages flipped by I began to wonder if the purpose was to leave an opening in the story for each of us to fill the pages with our own personality, dreams, and destiny. Because that is really what the book is about--the reader, not some boy born in the Andalusian hills of southern Spain. Even as he seeks his treasure, following omens that lead him, teach him, and raise him, the boy remains faceless, and never once are we given more description than his age. We are left to infer meaning from the metaphor.

And that may be exactly the purpose. As an extended metaphor, "The Alchemist" reads like a story, moving quickly, lingering on essential details only, and brushing over unimportant description without mention. We see a boy lingering on the cusp of manhood, and the guides and singular events that prompt him forward. Each event is a stage of progress, and the reader can begin to feel himself at the feet of the alchemist or king himself learning the lessons that will propel him forward to action, the action where learning occurs. Only in action can one gain the skills necessary to become the wind, learn to trust and head the voice in ones heart, and to be honest when all hope is lost. And while "The Alchemist" reads like a story, it is in fact an extended parable meant to offer a chance to each person to make a choice that will begin life anew in pursuit of life's purpose.

When the story ends, Santiago is still young, and his life is barely beginning, but he has learned lessons for happiness that many of us waste our whole lives before learning, too late, to apply and follow.

Daniel Burton