I first read it in highschool and even then I could already register how thin it was, but at that point I was already reading writers like Terry Patchett, Neil Gaiman, and Ursula K. Le Guin so I guess I had been introduced to more clever writing. That semester we also read ‘The Solitaire Mystery’ by Jostein Gaarder and IMO that was a much stronger introduction to some of the same philosophical themes as The Alchemist.

The Alchemist isn’t a bad novel, but any time somebody say’s it “changed their life” I just think to myself…you need to read better books. I have read plenty of pulpy sci-fi and fantasy novels that have more philosophical depth than The Alchemist, it’s not at all a unique standout in that regard.