30 Aug 2007, ST
The Alchemist, a tale of a travelling boy, takes the reader on a journey of the mind and heart
By Loh Keng Fatt
THE Alchemist by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, 60, is among the recommended books in this year's Read! Singapore campaign, organised by the National Library Board.
First published in 1988, the book has since sold over 35 million copies.
While the story, on the surface, is about a boy who travels to seek the most prized treasures ever known, the perceptive reader will understand that the journey also detours inside one's heart and mind.
And the truth is that, often, the answers and dreams you seek reside close to you.
Here's an excerpt:
'You can't be the wind,' the wind said. 'We're two very different things.'
'That's not true,' the boy said. 'I learnt the alchemist's secrets in my travels. I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars and everything created in the universe.
'We were all made by the same hand, and we have the same soul. I want to be like you, able to reach every corner of the world, cross the seas, blow away the sands that cover my treasure and carry the voice of the woman I love.'
'I heard what you were talking about the other day with the alchemist,' the wind said. 'He said that everything has its own destiny. But people can't turn themselves into the wind.'
'Just teach me to be the wind for a few moments,' the boy said. 'So you and I can talk about the limitless possibilities of people and the winds.'
The wind's curiosity was aroused, something that had never happened before. It wanted to talk about those things, but it didn't know how to turn a man into the wind. And look how many things the wind already knew how to do.
It created deserts, sank ships, felled entire forests and blew through cities filled with music and strange noises.
It felt that it had no limits, yet here was a boy saying that there were other things the wind should be able to do.
'This is what we call love,' the boy said, seeing that the wind was close to granting what he requested.
'When you are loved, you can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there's no need at all to understand what's happening, because everything happens within you, and even men can turn themselves into the wind. As long as the wind helps, of course.'
The wind was a proud being, and it was becoming irritated with what the boy was saying. It commenced to blow harder, raising the desert sands. But finally it had to recognise that, even making its way around the world, it didn't know how to turn a man into the wind. And it knew nothing about love.
'In my travels around the world, I've often seen people speaking of love and looking towards the heavens,' the wind said, furious at having to acknowledge its own limitations. 'Maybe it's better to ask heaven.'
'Well then, help me do that,' the boy said. 'Fill this place with a sandstorm so strong that it blots out the sun. Then I can look to heaven without blinding myself.'
So the wind blew with all its strength and the sky was filled with sand. The sun was turned into a golden disk.
# The Alchemist is available for loan from The National Library Board under the call number English COE.
# Books For The Soul is a weekly column that highlights books which move, comfort or inspire.
The Alchemist, a tale of a travelling boy, takes the reader on a journey of the mind and heart
By Loh Keng Fatt
THE Alchemist by Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, 60, is among the recommended books in this year's Read! Singapore campaign, organised by the National Library Board.
First published in 1988, the book has since sold over 35 million copies.
While the story, on the surface, is about a boy who travels to seek the most prized treasures ever known, the perceptive reader will understand that the journey also detours inside one's heart and mind.
And the truth is that, often, the answers and dreams you seek reside close to you.
Here's an excerpt:
'You can't be the wind,' the wind said. 'We're two very different things.'
'That's not true,' the boy said. 'I learnt the alchemist's secrets in my travels. I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars and everything created in the universe.
'We were all made by the same hand, and we have the same soul. I want to be like you, able to reach every corner of the world, cross the seas, blow away the sands that cover my treasure and carry the voice of the woman I love.'
'I heard what you were talking about the other day with the alchemist,' the wind said. 'He said that everything has its own destiny. But people can't turn themselves into the wind.'
'Just teach me to be the wind for a few moments,' the boy said. 'So you and I can talk about the limitless possibilities of people and the winds.'
The wind's curiosity was aroused, something that had never happened before. It wanted to talk about those things, but it didn't know how to turn a man into the wind. And look how many things the wind already knew how to do.
It created deserts, sank ships, felled entire forests and blew through cities filled with music and strange noises.
It felt that it had no limits, yet here was a boy saying that there were other things the wind should be able to do.
'This is what we call love,' the boy said, seeing that the wind was close to granting what he requested.
'When you are loved, you can do anything in creation. When you are loved, there's no need at all to understand what's happening, because everything happens within you, and even men can turn themselves into the wind. As long as the wind helps, of course.'
The wind was a proud being, and it was becoming irritated with what the boy was saying. It commenced to blow harder, raising the desert sands. But finally it had to recognise that, even making its way around the world, it didn't know how to turn a man into the wind. And it knew nothing about love.
'In my travels around the world, I've often seen people speaking of love and looking towards the heavens,' the wind said, furious at having to acknowledge its own limitations. 'Maybe it's better to ask heaven.'
'Well then, help me do that,' the boy said. 'Fill this place with a sandstorm so strong that it blots out the sun. Then I can look to heaven without blinding myself.'
So the wind blew with all its strength and the sky was filled with sand. The sun was turned into a golden disk.
# The Alchemist is available for loan from The National Library Board under the call number English COE.
# Books For The Soul is a weekly column that highlights books which move, comfort or inspire.
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