Al-Fayoum defends itself from the assault and, as a result, the alchemist hears of the boy’s vision.

He warns the tribal chieftains, of whom choose to believe his words. While out walking, Santiago witnesses an omen in the sky that suggests an attack is imminent. The boy meets and falls in love with a girl he sees at the watering hole. It seems like fate is on his side, as the caravan is forced to make an extended stop at this oasis. The Englishman hopes to meet him in order to learn more about turning metals into gold. He also speaks of a powerful, 200-year-old alchemist residing in the oasis of Al-Fayoum. The Englishman teaches Santiago many things about alchemy and the philosophy between perfecting things and life. On this caravan, he meets an Englishman who is studying to become an alchemist. He joins a caravan headed through the Sahara Desert towards Eygpt. Santiago uses this money to help fuel is journey onwards toward the pyramids. …whoever you are, or whatever it is that you do, when you really want something, it’s because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. Santiago urges the merchant to take a risk with his business. The boy takes up work with a local crystal merchant who teaches him several important lessons. Here, unfortunately, he is robbed of the money he received and is left with nothing. The boy, trusting these signs to be true, goes off to Tangier. The old man repeats the advice given by the gypsy woman and tells Santiago that he should sell the sheep and go to Tangier. Shortly after this encounter, the boy stumbles into a magical old man. She reinforces what the dream stated, saying he should travel to Egypt. Upon arriving at the town, Santiago notices a gypsy woman, of whom he consults with her regarding his dream. In this dream, he is told of great treasures waiting for him at the pyramids. Santiago wonders whether the sheep understand him and whether he can understand their way of communicating. The boy is troubled by a reoccurring dream. He has stopped here for the night to rest, before continuing on to sell wool at a nearby town. Surrounded by his herd of sheep, Santiago, a young Andalusian boy, sleep under a sycamore tree in an abandoned church. Early in the 1990s, it became a bestseller, and today the book is well-recognized and read. After taking some time off, Coelho invested time and effort into marketing the book, holding to his belief that it can be a success. Initially, it had poor visibility and the publishing house told Coelho he had better chances of making it rich through the stock exchange. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho was first published back in 1988.

Alchemist coelho review