"THE ALCHEMIST" : Paulo Coelho

If there's only one book you will ever read in your life, make this it. Featured in The BBC Big Read Top 100 ,the book's back cover declares "Every few decades a book is published that changes the lives of its readers forever.The Alchemist is such a book.", and there can be no two opinions about it.

Incidentally, I had lent out my first copy of the book to the teenaged messenger-boy at my office, and two days later he simply vanished! Unfortunate though it was, for I had to get myself another copy, I like to believe that he went in pursuit of his dreams; for Brazilian author Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist traces the curious adventures of a shepherd boy as he travels from his homeland in Spain to distant Egypt in search of a treasure that appears in his dreams.On the way he comes across numerous difficulties and temptations but moves on undeterred to fulfill his dreams.This simple fable which reads like a bedtime story on the surface hides within itself a gem of a thought: "when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it".

The book makes for a pleasant read that transports you from the stifling maze of everyday life to a world of dreams where you are awakened to your heart's dormant desires and instills in you the courage to make those dreams come true. I still dig into this book now and then,each time discovering a new facet to the simple tale and find it to be a constant source of inspiration and strength.

- sumandatta