This inspiring
story revolves around a
boy named Santiago, and how he follows his dreams which ultimately lead to the
treasure of his life. Translated from Brazilian to English the story bears simple words and witty statements like the wise man describing the secret of Happiness as:
“The secret of happiness is to see all the marvels of the
world and never to forget the drops of oil on the spoon.”, handing a spoon with two drops of oil in it and asking the boy to move around his palace and enjoy the scenes.
Santiago travels quite a geographical distance from the Andalusian plains in Spain to the pyramids of Egypt meeting variety of people in the way including the Alchemist. And it all started with a dream he had, sleeping in an abandoned castle in Andalusia.
Unlike his father, he follows the yearning of his heart to travel and see the world around him and hence becomes a shepherd. The author talks about
omens which are the signs considered to be spread everywhere around people which keep
guiding them towards their goal. The boy had his share of difficulties and hardships as in being cheated by a stranger in Tangiers (the port city) , in the
desert with the tribesman and after being beaten up by the men at the Pyramids.
The author mentions a new but striking language called the Language of the World which did not depend on words and which helped Santiago in returning to wealth after he was penniless in Tangiers.
The turn of events take the reader from Spain to Tangiers to the eventful desert journey and finally to the place destined to be hiding Santiago’s treasure. The only guiding force behind his entire journey was reading the omens and following them. It is in the deserts that he meets the Alchemist who guides him through the desert and deserts him just before he hits upon his treasure.
The story has many interesting turns, like the one in which Santiago was required to transform himself into the wind in front of the tribesmen who had taken them captives and the author excels in describing the way he manages to do so.
In the end the reader feels rejuvenated and perhaps gives his innate feelings a little more room to grow and expand.