Someone said this about Le Petit Prince and in principle I think it’s true. Really, you can read at all stages of life with renewed ways of approaching the work - it’s not the same work you read as a child, nor as a teenager, nor a young adult, and so on. It’s this universality that strikes me. The Alchemist attempts to do this too, but I think it misses the whole point of a book like Le Petit Prince, because Le Petit Prince isn’t the way it is because it’s written to be accessible for a younger audience but because of what it’s trying to say.
There’s nothing shining in The Alchemist’s prose, and I think that’s intentional, because it aims to be like Le Petit Prince in its broad universality and accessibility to younger readers. This isn’t a drawback, but I think it’s clear Coelho doesn’t really get how to strike a balance. This is simply his attempt at making another Little Prince.
This at its core is a self-help book. It says that if you want something, you’ll get it. This is a terrible message and I think is deeply problematic. I read somewhere that a few celebrities (derogatory) really like this book. I wonder why - and I think it’s because this message really only applies to the fortunate. The pseudo-religious nature of the book doesn’t help it either. Do not recommend. Do not read unless you have a copious amount of patience for nonsense.
1/5
Written 17 February 2023 Adapted from my review on Goodreads.