The Alchemist

The Alchemist is about a shepherd boy who goes on a journey to strive towards his dreams.

The big idea of this book is the pursuit of one's dreams. Of course, there will be obstacles along the way, and the belief of what the dream is will shift, but the pursuit of a goal is what makes life worth living. If the future has no treasure, what is the point of persevering?

My biggest takeaway from this book is that everything in life is connected in one way or another. From the smallest grain of sand to the universe itself, it all exists on the same plane and is therefore interwoven into each other's stories. This is something I've thought about in the past, but haven't found it in a book until now. 

This book imparts a lot of aphorisms, in an attempt to convey direct ideas to the reader. Although I found useful information in these observations, it felt a little forced in a fictional format. 

Overall, the story is a little difficult to follow, but it does a good job of conveying one boy's pursuit of treasure and the obstacles along the way that help him develop as a human being.