For a few years, I have been looking at this book in someone else's hands or bookshelves from a distance, until The Big Bad Wolf held their annual sale in KL earlier this month so I knew I had to get a copy for myself. It was available elsewhere but it would be quite expensive for me. That day, my sister found a boxset of 10 titles from Paulo Coelho, and one of it is The Alchemist. I couldn't find any copies that weren't in a boxset so I had them all for 10 bucks each. A steal, right? I'm not the type of person who read book reviews so I had no idea what the book was about but I knew it was good. Did you know that Malaysia's current Minister of Education listed this as one of his favourite books? Now you do.
As someone who has dreamed of traveling the world, the storyline is amazing. The characters' personality are well defined and written in the story. The ending is perfect. Although Catholic influence is very strong in Paulo's writings, I find that most of its principles align with Islam very well and there are a lot of lessons that you can learn from this book, especially if you are someone who likes sitting in their comfort zones, like me. One of the scenarios in the book was set in the middle east and there was definitely mentions about Islam, Allah and the Quran. I like it when non-Muslims know or write about us, especially of the good things. It makes me feel less strange to the world.
As I've mentioned, I'm someone who likes my comfort zones. I'm not a risk-taker. Whenever I have to make a decision, I will think of the worst possible scenarios for every options and take the one that would give me the least hassle. I have a lot of fears. For someone who would love to explore the world, these fears and comfort zones hold me back. This book is about the very thing opposite of me– bravery. I really wish I don't overthink of my actions instead of just doing them, but it's easier said than done. I obviously have a lot of personal issues to work out on. But after reading this book, I've finally started to (seriously) save money for future travels as a new year's resolution. Small, consistent steps go a long way ;)
This book to me is also a depiction of the saying, faith can move mountains. When you have deep faith in something, you can listen better to your guts and follow them. It makes you be accepting of what happens to you, which is what Islam teaches us about– qada' and qadr. I definitely don't know how to elaborate further on this because I never read reviews so I don't know how to do them but please pick this book up and experience it yourself.
Here's a picture of my favourite lines in the book. Hope it makes you wanna be brave to chase your dreams like it did to me.
