Skip to main content

Subtlety in "The Alchemist" by Walter Kraatz

 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho follows the journey of a young man, named Santiago, as he travels throughout Spain and North Africa in attempt to find treasure. Finding the treasure is Santiago's personal legend, or his destiny. The journey is sparked by a recurring dream and a encounter with magical king who convinces him to act upon the dream because it is his personal legend. 

    Santiago travels throughout North Africa in attempt to find the treasure that he believes to be in the desert near the pyramids of Giza. During his journey from Spain to Tangiers to Egypt he learns about the Language of the World, the Soul of the World, and how all things conspire together to help someone realize their personal legends. Santiago is accomponied throughout his journey by a variety of characters who are intstumental in helping him both understand the world and realize his personal legend, however I don't feel that it would be right to reveal all of them as it would spoil portions of the book. 

    The main purpose of this blog post is to discuss the subltety, or rather lack of it, in The Alchemist. Given that the book focuses on a journey that is not only physical but also mental and spiritual it is expected that some of the deeper meaning is more out in the open, but The Alchemist takes it to an entirely new level. In most books the subtext is a glimpse though a window with moisture between the panes that fogs up and obscures your view, but in The Alchemist the subtext is etched into a brick that flys through that window and smacks you in the face. The characters spend half the book explaining the meaning of what they are saying to one another. The book seems like half novel and half self help book with the way it is so open about its meaning. 

    Despite the directness of the novel I found it very enjoyable. I think that the purpose of the novel is to not make you think about what the author is trying to say, but rather making you focus on what the author explictily focuses on in the novel.

Comments

  1. Coleman C.November 13, 2020 at 3:30 PM

    I guess it is just a different style of writing to throw everything at your face instead of making it a complicated story with layers. I can see both sides of how it could be a good or bad read. If you really don't want to think too much, it would be sweet. However, it could be really annoying if it seems like the author doesn't trust the reader to realize the subtlety. It might also be annoying having the explanations take up a lot of space, when another book might spend much less time on it.

    ReplyDelete
  2. KnoxNovember 13, 2020 at 9:25 PM

    I remember starting to read this in around 4th grade and it was really confusing to me at the time, and now that you've talked about it I realize why, and everything makes so much more sense. This was more than a good review, it was also helpful. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sequels vs. Series Ft. Parasite Pig

            Sequels especially movie sequels often get a bad rep for being boring money makers and they never seem to live up to the original content. Some examples of these sequels are the ones that Disney makes for many of their franchises. But there are also sequels that aren't so bad, such as a book I recently read, Parasite Pig. So I wondered, what makes a sequel good, and what makes them bad?     I think first we need to take into consideration the difference between sequels and series. Sequels usually come after a story that was already wrapped up. The main plot was resolved and usually, nothing needs to be added. In the original content, there's not just story telling, but world building and character development. These things are usually lost in sequels because they are simply not needed, but without them, the story turns out to be rather lackluster. Also, in most cases, sequels just do not need to exist. The original story is f...
12 comments
Read more

Interstellar Pig

Interstellar Pig is a sci-fi book written by William Sleator. A teenager named Barney is on vacation on a beach with his parents and 3 peculiar neighbors moved into the cottage next to their rented house. The neighbors are oddly obsessed with a board game called interstellar pig and the history of Barney’s rented house. Barney was intrigued by the neighbors and the board game, but his curiosity caused him to be dragged into a complicated mess holding multiple alien species at large risk. I’d say it’s an average read, not spectacular, but not terrible. You can read it pretty fast and it’s not hard at all. It’s like one of those books that you forget about after reading them and there isn’t much that sticks with you after you finish. There is just a mystery, a climax, and a resolution.  Despite its slight blandness, the premise of the story is pretty interesting and there is a lot of foreshadowing and clues written into the story in a way readers can pick up on them and think about w...
2 comments
Read more

Damsel by Elana K. Book Review (trigger warning)

By: Grace I started reading this book without knowing what it was about; the book cover was really cool, with flowers and vines and a nice orange glow to the title. I assumed it was going to be another cool fantasy novel. However, I was very very wrong. As a warning, the book includes / mentions sexually explicit scenes, rape, self-harm, mental and physical abuse, suicide, and animal harm. Despite the triggers, I think the book was really captivating and well written, and sends a clear point throughout the book.  The novel starts out in Prince Emory's point of view, where he is going to rescue the "damsel" in order to wed her and become the king. The rest of the novel is in Ama, the damsel's, point of view, who wakes up and doesn't remember anything about herself. She knows nothing except for the things Emory tells her; he gives her a name and tells her she will be his future bride. As the novel progresses, Emory, who seems to be represented as the hero who saved ...
1 comment
Read more