Here is a summary of the highly reputed fiction novel "The
Alchemist".
When Santiago, a young shepherd boy from the
Spanish countryside of
Andalusia , has a dream that reveals the location of a hidden treasure
buried at the Egyptian Pyramids his simple life is suddenly torn in
two. Part of him wants to take the chance to go searching for it and
the other part of him wants to
continue his easy life as a shepherd. A mysterious king named the king of Salem in Tarifa convinces Santiago
that he has succeeded in discovering his Personal Legend. The old king
tells Santiago that following his Personal Legend to its conclusion is
a person''s only real obligation in life.Santiago listens to his heart and decides to go on a dangerous search
for the treasure. He sells his flock of sheep and heads to Africa,
where he is quickly robbed of all his gold and left despondent on the
streets. He decides that he was foolish to believe in his dreams and
quickly gets a job with a crystal merchant in order to save up enough
money to go back home.After almost a year working for the merchant, Santiago has made a
success of the shop and has plenty of money to do whatever he wants. As
he started to walk through the streets he suddenly decides to take a chance and continue his search for the buried treasure.He joins a caravan to make the dangerous crossing across the desert
and as he rides the long, slow days away he begins to listen to his
heart and to the desert. He begins to understand what the Soul of the
World is, and how he fits in.
When the caravan makes it to the oasis, Santiago meets a girl
he falls in love with the moment he sees her. The local
alchemist, a
mysterious man who reminds Santiago of the old king, helps Santiago
continue his journey across the desert and teaches him more important
life lessons along the way. Although Santiago does not know it, he is
becoming wise, and a master in the art of living to the fullest no
matter what. Although he has left his true love back at the oasis, he
is resolved to follow his dream to its end. After many adventures, dangers, and important life lessons Santiago
finally reaches the Pyramids. His joy at finally being at
journey''s end overwhelms him, and he is grateful that he got the
chance to follow his dream.He begins to dig deep into the sand looking for treasure, but before he
can get far a pack of thieves shows up, beating and robbing him. They
force him to continue digging, and then leave when no treasure is
found. One of the thieves, as destiny would have it, tells Santiago an
important clue and when they are gone Santiago cannot help but
laugh, because now he knows where his treasure truly lies.It ends up being right back where his journey began, under the very
tree where he had the prophetic dream years before. He digs and finds a
beautiful chest full of gold and gems. His next and last journey will
be back to the desert to be reunited with the woman he loves.