Resensi: The Alchemist

Judul Novel: THE ALCHEMIST
Pengarang: Paulo Coelho

Novel yang sangat bagus karangan Paulo Coelho berjudul The Alchemist dan sangat direkomendasikan untuk dibaca. Secara garis besar, novel ini menceritakan tentang KEINGINAN (hope) seorang bocah Spanyol bernama Santiago. Keinginan itu bisa terkabul jika kita benar-benar MEYAKINI bahwa keinginan itu memang bisa terkabul dan mau ber-IKHTIAR.

Santiago as a shepherd
Santiago is an Andalusian boy (Andalusia = nearby Spain). His parents had wanted him to become a priest, but he had wanted to know the world more than learning about man's sins. Santiago purpose in life was to travel and then become a shepherd. He once said, "I couldn't have found God in the seminary". He thinks that, "When someone sees the same people every day especially at the seminary, they wind up becoming a part of that person's life. And then they want the person to change. If someone isn't what others want them to be, the others become angry. Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own." But different as a shepherd, he always made new friends, and he didn't need to spend all of his time with them. For Santiago, being a shepherd means always takes chances with wolves and drought, and that's what makes a shepherd's life exciting.

Santiago met The Gypsy
One day Santiago asked the gypsy about the interpretation of his peculiar dream. The interpretation of his dream is that Santiago will find a treasure in Pyramid Egypt (The gypsy believes that dreams are the language of God).

Santiago met An Old Man
An old man, claiming himself as King of Salem, told him a book containing great lie. The world's greatest lie is that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what's happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. Talking with an old man made Santiago think that sometimes it's better to be with the sheep or books. Sheep and books tell their incredible stories at the time when you want to hear them. But when you're talking to people, they say some things that are so strange that you don't know how to continue the conversation.
The old man also said, "Whoever you are, when you really want something, it's because that desire originated in the soul of the universe. It's your mission on earth." In order to find the treasure, you will have to follow the omens. God has prepared a path for everyone to follow. You just have to read the omens. The old man then telling him the very wisdom: WHEN YOU WANT SOMETHING, ALL THE UNIVERSE CONSPIRES IN HELPING YOU TO ACHIEVE IT.
The old man remind him that at some point in people lives (especially when they were young), everything is clear and possible. They are not afraid to dream. But, as time passes, a mysterious force begins to convince them that it will be impossible for them to realize their destiny. So be careful with this mysterious force.

Santiago first arrival in Egypt
Santiago decide to go to Pyramid Egypt considering An Old Man & The Gypsy suggestion. Santiago thought was, if God leads the sheep so well, God will also lead a man, even in a new place. Unfortunately he then had been cheated (his money had been stolen) by native and learn one thing, "I am like everyone else–I see the world in terms of what I would like to see happen, not what actually does."

Santiago with Crystal Merchant and the Camel Driver
Being cheated had made Santiago work for a Crystal Merchant in Egypt to collect money. After a year working for the crystal merchant, Santiago went to Pyramid along with a camel driver and an englishman. The camel driver told the passenger (including Santiago) need not to worry and said, "I'm the leader of the caravan, I hold the power of life and death for every person I take with me." The Englishman answered, we are afraid of losing what we have, whether it's our life or our property, but this fear evaporates when we understand that our life stories and the history of the world were written by the same hand.
The camel driver once said, "I'm alive because I don't live in either my past or my future. I'm interested only in the present. If you can concentrate always on the present, you'll be a happy man."
In this journey Santiago begin to realize that Everything in life (especially in present) is an omen.

Santiago Dialogue With The Englishman Talking About Alchemist
An englishman told Santiago that the only person knowing the universal language is the alchemist. Alchemists were men who had dedicated their lives to the purification of metals; they believed that, if a metal were heated for many years, it would free itself of all its individual properties, and what was left would be the Soul of the World. This Soul of the World allowed them to understand anything on the face of the earth, because it was the language with which all things communicated. When you want something with all your heart, that's when you are closest to the Soul of the World. Everything on earth is being continuously transformed, because the earth is alive and it has a soul. We are part of that soul, so we rarely recognize that it is working for us.

Santiago dialogue with Fatima and Chieftain in oasis
Fatima (an oasis girl) said that Alchemist is the man who knows all the secrets of the world. He communicates with the genies of the desert. The genies were the spirits of good and evil. Fatima urge Santiago to find the pyramid (to meet The Alchemist) even he love Fatima much & want to stay with her. "One is loved because one is loved. No reason is needed for loving. Love need sacrificing."
The Chieftain also urge Santiago to find the pyramid & once said, "All of us know that whoever believes in dreams also knows how to interpret them. When the pharaoh dreamed of cows that were thin and cows that were fat, this man rescued Egypt from famine. His name was Joseph (In Islam, well known as Nabi Yusuf). He (Joseph), too, was a stranger in a strange land, like you."

Santiago and The Alchemist talking about the heart
Santiago asked The Alchemist, why do we have to listen to our hearts? Wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You've got to find the treasure. Everyone has a treasure that awaits him. Why don't people's hearts tell them to continue to follow their dreams? Because that's what makes a heart suffer most, and hearts don't like to suffer. How to deal with the fact that the heart is afraid of suffering? Then tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity. There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure. But remember that die in the midst of trying to realize your destiny was lot better than dying like millions of other people, who never even knew what their destinies were. Before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. So that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we've learned as we've moved toward that dream. That's the point at which most people give up. An old proverb said that the darkest hour of the night came just before the dawn.

Santiago and The Alchemist talking about the definition of alchemist
Santiago asked The Alchemist, why are you being called the alchemist? Because that's what I am. I'm (as alchemist) not reading the future; I am guessing at the future. The future belongs to God, and it is only he who reveals it. I guess at the future based on the omens of the present. If you pay attention to the present, you can improve upon it . And, if you improve on the present, what comes later will also be better. Forget about the future, and live each day according to the teachings, confident that God loves his children. Each day, in itself, brings with it an eternity.
Alchemy is about penetrating to the Soul of the World, and discovering the treasure that has been reserved for you. This is why alchemy exists, so that everyone will search for his treasure, find it, and then want to be better than he was in his former life. They show that, when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better, too.
God created the world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of his wisdom. That's what Alchemist mean by action.
The Alchemist said, "You must understand that love never keeps a man from pursuing his destiny. If she abandons that pursuit, it's because it wasn't true love. GO TO THE PYRAMID,,

Santiago found the treasure
When he finally got into the Pyramid, Santiago found that the treasure wasn't in Pyramid Egypt, but lies below a church in Andalusia where he used to sleep with his sheep. He asked the sky why not telling him directly (from the very start) that the treasure lies in Andalusia, not in Egypt? A voice from the sky said, "IF I HAD TOLD YOU, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE SEEN THE PYRAMIDS. THEY'RE BEAUTIFUL, AREN'T THEY?”.