I know people, who have known all their lives what their purpose was and what they were to do. In Paulo Coelho’s book, The Alchemist, He shares the story of a young man pursuing and finding his “personal legend.”In the book, Santiago is a shepherd in Spain. He has a recurring dream and wonders about its meaning. Upon taking his sheep to town for shearing, Santiago encounters a gypsy woman, who insists hearing about his dream. The gypsy gives Santiago her interpretation of his dream. The gypsy tells Santiago he must travel to the place in his dreams and he will find great treasure. The rest of the novel describes Santiago’s journey and the significant people he encounters and the lessons learned from them.
Throughout the course of the novel, Paul Coelho uses many allegorical references to the Bible. Some of the deeper nuances of the novel could be lost to a reader unfamiliar with the Bible. Even without this knowledge, I recommend it. This is a beautiful story about discovering and living your own personal legend.
