Nicholas ([info]nhw) wrote,
@ 2006-07-15 14:45:00
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Entry tags:bbc big read, bookblog 2006

July Books 11) The Alchemist
11) The Alchemist, by Paulo Coelho

To be honest, not wildly impressed by this story of the boy who goes to find his Personal Legend in the desert. I think I might have found it deep and meaningful when I was 14. But the images seemed pretty heavy-handed to me now. If I want to read spiritual literature I'll go straight to the real thing.


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[info]ianmcdonald
2006-07-15 02:03 pm UTC (link)
I find this about all Paulo Coelho --Jonthon Livingstone Seagull for the Oprah generation.

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[info]nhw
2006-07-15 02:20 pm UTC (link)
Yes, I think that's about right.

While it's a bit mystifying that LibraryThing has Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable at the top of the "similarly tagged" list, it's much less surprising that the next four books are The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari: A Fable About Fulfilling Your Dreams & Reaching Your Destiny, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, The Little Prince and Unmasking the New Age.

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[info]frumiousb
2006-07-15 03:01 pm UTC (link)
Since I walked Santiago de Compostela, well-wishing folks keep urging me to read the Coelho. I keep refusing because I pretty much assume it will be a lot like you describe. Don't like that sort of stuff much.

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[info]cassave
2006-07-15 03:27 pm UTC (link)
IMO, "The Alchemist" is the kind of novel people who usually don't read recommend to each other: it's short and doesn't demand much (if any) intellectual effort.

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[info]wwhyte
2006-07-15 03:59 pm UTC (link)
Well, it's a quick read at least (though when you're [info]nhw everything's a quick read). I found it simultaneously too vague in its message and too specific in its setting to really inspire me.

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[info]sameen
2006-07-15 08:18 pm UTC (link)
11 minutes is a slightly better effort
S

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[info]rcfinch
2006-07-16 12:38 pm UTC (link)
Though I liked The Alchemist, I prefer Coelho's </i>The Devil and Miss Prym</i>. Have you read that one, too.

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Crap
(Anonymous)
2006-07-16 07:37 pm UTC (link)
A friend of mine leant the book to me several years ago saying how marvellous it was. Shamefully, I couldn't even get to the end of the book, I found it that bad.

Zoe
www.myboyfriendisatwat.com

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Re: Crap
[info]nhw
2006-07-16 08:01 pm UTC (link)
Yeah, I think it would appeal only to the 14-year-olds amongst us!

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