Be honest, who does not love the stories of Atlantis or Brigadoon or any other disappearing and disappeared world? World mysteries have always fascinated me, wondering what people imagined from these lost communities and - even more so - what they wanted them to be and represent. The Destruction of Ravenser Odd I stumbled across the history of Ravenser Odd entirely by chance. But what a chance! Here was a setting for a story, one which was almost Biblical in its existence and destruction. Unlike Dunwich, which gradually succumbed to the sea, Ravenser Odd was swallowed in a very short space of time, the final straw coming in The Great Drowning of Men on Saint Marcellus' Day 1362. As well as this, the town was in the Humber, an area with which I was very familiar, having lived in Barrow-upon-Humber for ten years and being an alumnus of Hull University. Could there be a better setting for a historical fiction tale which was to be laced with horror? Well, I didn't think so. The
Review
When you love a book, there are two differents approaches to reading it and, after reading The Alchemist, I realised that I do both - depending on the way the story moves and inspires me.
The first is to gobble up the book: tearing through the story and utterly immersing yourself in the world it creates. I often do this when I'm reading my sisters' writings for the first time, but I also do it with Neil Gaiman's work and (randomly enough) Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens.
The second is to eat it a little piece at a time, to make it last as long as possible. Roald Dahl described this perfectly when Charlie (of eponymous Chocolate Factory fame) nibbles his one bar of chocolate to make it last as long as possible.
Before reading The Alchemist, I had only ever thought of myself as a gobbler. Books I absolutely love always got read very quickly. But you don't want to do this with this gem by Paulo Coelho: you want to eat it slowly and feel yourself gradually filling up.
My mum absolutely loves Coelho's writings, which is why we have almost all of them on the bookshelf, but I had always assumed they were a bit too Literary Fiction for my taste. I like something plot-driven which I can really get my teeth into.
But what I realised reading The Alchemist was that Santiago's journey so much represented my own (and, I suppose, most people's). We're all constantly searching for treasure (not always physical treasure), but we can be happiest when we just lay aside our drive and enjoy the journey which this treasure hunt is taking us on.
I'm a deeply religious person - a Christian - and I found that the sense I got from reading The Alchemist was very similar to the one I experience after taking Communion. It doesn't always take a great big meal to make us feel wholesomely full.
In short, this is a book I would highly recommend for anyone ready to look at their own journey but still wanting a story which is in equal parts gripping, touching, and amusing.
Blurb
A global phenomenon, The Alchemist has been read and loved by over 62 million readers, topping bestseller lists in 74 countries worldwide. Now this magical fable is beautifully repackaged in an edition that lovers of Paulo Coelho will want to treasure forever.
Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever. This is such a book - a beautiful parable about learning to listen to your heart, read the omens strewn along life's path and, above all, follow your dreams.
Santiago, a young shepherd living in the hills of Andalucia, feels that there is more to life than his humble home and his flock. One day he finds the courage to follow his dreams into distant lands, each step galvanised by the knowledge that he is following the right path: his own. The people he meets along the way, the things he sees and the wisdom he learns are life-changing.
With Paulo Coelho's visionary blend of spirituality, magical realism and folklore, The Alchemist is a story with the power to inspire nations and change people's lives.
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