The book opens with Santiago, a shepherd in the southern country of Spain. He’s content with his life, but I think deep down, not really. He became a shepherd to travel the countryside, but now he harbors dark dreams about his flock and desires a beautiful merchant’s daughter in a nearby town.

This book is a dramatisation of the author’s personal philosophy - go out and pursue your “Personal Legend” which is kinda like your dream or destiny and don’t get stuck doing something else. Every scene and every character reinforces or examines an angle of this philosophy.

Santiago meets a gypsy woman who interprets his recurring dreams as an omen to find his “Personal Treasure” somewhere near the Egyptian pyramids. Later that day he meets a mysterious old man who claims to be a travelling king and gives Santiago a couple words of advice and pushes him to pursue his Personal Legend. I interpreted the old king as a stand in for God or perhaps as Destiny manifesting physically.

The boy sells his sheep and travels across the strait where he gets tricked by a thief and loses all his money. Even though he gives up pursuing his dream, he chooses to stay positive and starts working at a crystal shop to save money and buy a couple sheep for a return to his life in Spain.

The Crystal Merchant is a devout Muslim who used to dream of pilgrimaging to Mecca. He became a merchant to get rich and someday he would be rich enough to go. But other people go who are much poorer than him, so what is he waiting for? The crystal merchant serves as an example of someone who has given up pursuing his “Personal Legend.”

When the boy starts working, the shop is barely staying open. It’s at the top of a hill that few bother to climb. But Santiago takes advantage of opportunities prudently and over a year his suggestions are successful. So successful the crystal merchant and him become wealthy. At the end of the year our former shepherd boy has to make a decision, go back to his sheep in Spain, or take a risk and pursue his treasure past the vast Saharan desert.

He makes his way to the crystal merchant’s supplier warehouse which also happens to be where the caravan restocks. There he meets an Englishman who is also pursuing his own Personal Legend. The Englishman is an amateur alchemist searching for The Alchemist somewhere at the Al-Fayoum oasis. Supposedly he is 200 years old and can turn any metal into gold. All the talk of Personal Legend and omens convinces Santiago to go.

The journey through the desert is tense as there are rumors of war between the Bedouin Tribes. But everyone relaxes once they reach the oasis. There the caravan leader says their journey is over because the war makes an already dangerous journey too dangerous. And so they must wait out the war and stay at the Oasis for days, maybe months, or years.

During Santiago and the Englishman’s search for The Alchemist, Santiago falls in love at the first sight of Fatima, a girl filling her vessel at one of the wells. It’s a beautifully written scene. He realizes he must have known her all his life as her perfume was carried by the Lavant wind to his Spanish hills.

The Englishman finds the alchemist who tells him he must try to make the philosopher’s stone without fear of failure. Something the Englishman has tried many times. The Englishman represents pursuing your dream, but never making it.

After visiting the Englishman and his attempts to make the philosopher’s stone, Santiago wanders the pink sanded outskirts of the oasis and witnesses a hawk attacking another and gets a flash of premonition. The oasis will be attacked. He goes to the tribal chieftains and they believe him, but if he’s wrong, they’ll kill him. For all weapons were confiscated upon entering the oasis. They must re-arm the men, but a weapon must be used before it is put away. Just then a powerful voice astride a powerful horse appears and demands to know who read the will of God in the hawks. Santiago calls out it was him. The Alchemist tells him to meet him after the battle.

The next day the warriors attack the oasis but are ambushed and slaughtered. Santiago is rewarded handsomely and offered a position of counsel to the chieftains.

In the morning Santiago meets with The Alchemist. He tells Santiago not to be distracted from his Personal Legend by love, for if it is real love then it won’t lead him astray. Which is a pretty good lesson. Someone who truly loves you will support you in pursuit of your dreams. The Alchemist represents finalizing your Personal Legend. Santiago and The Alchemist set off for his treasure at the pyramids.

Their luck runs out just before the pyramids and they are captured by one of the warring tribes. The Alchemist offers all the gold Santiago has saved and knowing that men of the desert are fearful of sorcerers, promises Santiago can turn himself into the wind. They laugh, but want to see this. Santiago is given 3 days to learn how to turn himself into the wind.

On the third and final day, Santiago is brought to a cliff with The Alchemist and the whole military tribe. In the beautiful climax of the book, Santiago reaches with his heart out to the Desert for help. The Desert doesn’t know how to turn a man into the wind. So Santiago reaches deeper, he asks the Wind who also doesn’t know. Even further now, the Sun, wise and ever watchful, has to admit it also doesn’t know. Santiago reaches so far he reaches into the Soul Of The World where all things are connected even God himself. Santiago realizes God is a part of him and thus he can perform miracles. It’s an awesome scene only portrayable by a book.

I won’t spoil the ending.

I enjoyed this book. The glowing praise on the back of the cover made it seem like this was going to be a life changing book. For those who this philosophy resonates with I think it will. We all have dreams we’re too scared to pursue. I want to travel the world, live in several foreign countries for a year at a time, and develop a residential building in the heart of downtown. But I’ve got too many things preventing me from pursuing these dreams. I’ve got kids in school and a programming job with golden handcuffs. I wonder what my dreams will be in the future? Future Ryan, did you ever make them a reality? Did they change as I got older?