View Poll Results: "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho: Final Verdict

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  • * A bookworm's nightmare!

    20 36.36%
  • ** Take a nap instead!

    10 18.18%
  • *** Finished but no reason to skip meals.

    16 29.09%
  • **** Don't forget to unplug the phone for this one!

    6 10.91%
  • ***** A bookworm's bibliophilic dream!

    3 5.45%
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Thread: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

  1. #61
    Something's Gone hoope's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by manarius View Post
    This book was just mind-numbingly bad. Even the main character is poorly developed and has no personality. The rest of the characters are worse. His descriptions are bland. I realize that the book is intended to be simplistic in nature, which is fine, but it was so poorly executed that the book just turned out boring and cliche.

    Apparently all it takes to sell millions of copies of a book these days is to say, "Follow your heart, and all your dreams will come true", over and over with no substance in between. Maybe I should become an author...
    Whatevaaa ! I respect your point of view .. but aint there anything good about the book .. ..
    What's wrong with "Follow your heart, and all your dreams will come true"???
    "He is asleep. Though his mettle was sorely tried,
    He lived, and when he lost his angel, died.
    It happened calmly, on its own,
    The way the night comes when day is done."



  2. #62
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    Quote Originally Posted by hoope View Post


    Whatevaaa ! I respect your point of view .. but aint there anything good about the book .. ..
    What's wrong with "Follow your heart, and all your dreams will come true"???
    There's nothing wrong with that. It is pretty cliche but that's not necessarily a problem. The problem is that that's all the book was. One big (crappy) motivational speech. Like I mentioned before, the characters are thinner than paper, and the prose is unimaginative and bland. The overarching message was fine, but even a delicious, succulent piece of filet mignon is unappetizing if it's covered in horse manure (the story itself).

    That last analogy may be a little harsh, but I liked the sound of it . At any rate, I am not particularly fond of the book, and suffice it to say that I don't think I'll be reading any of the author's other works anytime soon.

  3. #63
    Registered User Olga4real's Avatar
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    For me reading this book was like licking a nice ice-cream, sweet and lovely but you still feel hungry after.
    "Where love is there God is also".
    Leo Tolstoy

  4. #64
    Something's Gone hoope's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by manarius View Post
    There's nothing wrong with that. It is pretty cliche but that's not necessarily a problem. The problem is that that's all the book was. One big (crappy) motivational speech. Like I mentioned before, the characters are thinner than paper, and the prose is unimaginative and bland. The overarching message was fine, but even a delicious, succulent piece of filet mignon is unappetizing if it's covered in horse manure (the story itself).

    That last analogy may be a little harsh, but I liked the sound of it . At any rate, I am not particularly fond of the book, and suffice it to say that I don't think I'll be reading any of the author's other works anytime soon.
    I can't say that you are wrong.. coz i have noticed that also when i read it ... but still it was acceptible .. i like the idea of hope and dreaming maybe that is why i enjoyed it .. Though i also read Brida for Coelho and i find it almost the same... i will try reading The devil and Miss Prym.. i heard it better ..

    Regards
    "He is asleep. Though his mettle was sorely tried,
    He lived, and when he lost his angel, died.
    It happened calmly, on its own,
    The way the night comes when day is done."



  5. #65
    Why pester someone for... formality hater's Avatar
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    Deserts fascinate me and that's why I sort of enjoyed the book! Although, I couldn't get the story.
    Leaping and hopping like a frog now, but still have a long way to go before I get crowned as "King Frog"!

  6. #66
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    I never got around to reading it. Something about the whole 'bestseller' status deterred me
    Fortunately or unfortunately, the vast general public DOES enjoy being lectured to and told what and how to do it, and since many people don't read that much anyway, something like this is probably akin to a priceless literary treasure in their estimation

    Not discounting, of course, the whole 'Emperor's New Clothes' fate that bestsellers often face. For example, I never understood that hullaballoo about the Book Thief either!

  7. #67
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    It was a nice, light read - suitable for teens, but way overhyped, IMO.

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