num_pages: 177
description: Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. Paulo Coelho's  The Alchemist  is such a book With over a million and a half copies sold in Latin America and Europe,  The Alchemist  has already achieved the status of a modern classic. Now this charming fable has been translated into English to enchant and inspire an even wider audience for years to come.Here is the magical story of Santiago, an Andalusian shepherd boy who yearns to travel in search of a worldly treasure as extravagant as any ever found. From his home in Spain he journeys to the markets of Tangiers into the Egyptian desert where a fateful encounter with the alchemist awaits him. This is a story that teaches us, as only few stories can, about the essential wisdom of listening to our hearts, learning to read the omens strewn along life's path and, above, all follow our dreams."Paulo Coelho... has attained the technical levels of a Saint-Exupery or a Richard Bach." - Folha da Sao Paulo
language: English
title: The Alchemist
titlecomplete: The Alchemist
characters: Melchizedek, Santiago, Alchemist
genres: Literature, Audiobook, Classics, Novels, Self Help, Adventure, Philosophy, Spirituality, Fiction, Fantasy
ratings_count: 2895717
places: Morocco, Tangier, North Africa, Spain, Andalusia, Egypt, Sahara Desert
awards: awardedAt: 1420099200000
name: NBDB National Book Awards
category: Translation, awardedAt: 788947200000
name: Grand Prix des lectrices de Elle
category: roman, awardedAt: 820483200000
name: Premio Grinzane Cavour
category: Narrativa Straniera, awardedAt: 1009872000000
name: Corine Internationaler Buchpreis
category: Belletristik
publisher: Harper Collins Publishers