Alchemist, featuring a young Andalusian shepherd named Santiago, is a simple fable that seeks to inspire readers to listen to their hearts and follow their dreams.

Summary Of The Book

Alchemist is a simple, yet powerful story about an Andalusian boy named Santiago. Santiago is a shepherd whose days are more or less spent tending to his sheep. He has a recurring dream in which a treasure awaits him at the Pyramids of Egypt. Believing the dream to be some kind of prophecy, Santiago approaches a gypsy in a neighboring town to ask for advice. The gypsy confirms that indeed such a treasure awaits him at the Pyramids.

From then on, Santiago begins his journey in search of the treasure, unaware of the experiences that lie ahead of him. At the start of his journey he meets an old man who claims to be a king. He tells Santiago to constantly look out for omens and learn to read them as signs from the universe.
Santiago’s quest takes him from his homeland Spain to the markets of Tangiers to the unforgiving sands of the Egyptian desert. He encounters a variety of characters that teach him lessons of faith, danger, disaster, opportunity, and love. He also meets an alchemist just as he was destined to, and learns a lot from him. The alchemist’s teachings initially create self-doubt in Santiago, but later they succeed in filling him with faith in himself, strengthening his determination to reach the pyramids to seek the treasure.

Alchemist was published in 1988 in Portuguese. It went on to become an international bestseller, albeit at a slow pace. It has received highly positive reviews the world over. The book has sold over 65 million copies and as of 2011, it has been translated to 71 languages. This particular edition is a Hindi translation. It was published in 2003 by Manjul Publishing House Pvt. Ltd.