Here are some questions I found on-line that might help to guide the discussion of this month's book. Feel free to comment on some or all of them, or to comment on other aspects of the book not mentioned here. Also, check back after commenting to see if someone else has something to say about your opinion. Just like a regular book club, it's okay to make more than one comment.
1. At the start of his journey, when Santiago asks a Gypsy woman to interpret his dream about a treasure in the Egyptian pyramids, she asks for one-tenth of the treasure in return. When Santiago asks the old man to show him the path to the treasure, the old man requests one-tenth of his flock as "payment." Both payments represent a different price we have to pay to fulfill a dream; however, only one will yield a true result. Which payment represents false hope? Can you think of examples from your own life when you had to give up something to meet a goal and found the price too high?
2. Paulo
Coelho once said that alchemy is all about pursuing our spiritual quest in the physical world as it was given to us. It is the art of
transmuting the reality into something sacred, of mixing the sacred and the profane. With this in mind, can you define your Personal Legend? At what time in your life were first able to act on it? What was your "beginner's luck"? Did anything prevent you from following it to conclusion? Having read "The Alchemist," do you know what inner resources you need to continue the journey?
3. One of the first major diversions from Santiago's journey was the theft of his money in Tangier, which forced him into taking a menial job with the crystal merchant. There, Santiago learned many lessons on everything from the art of business to the art of patience. Of all these, which lessons were the most crucial to the pursuit of his Personal Legend?
When he talked about the pilgrimage to Mecca, the crystal merchant argues that having a dream is more important than fulfilling it, which is what Santiago was trying to do. Do you agree with Santiago's rationale or the crystal merchant's?
4. The alchemist tells Santiago "you don't even have to understand the desert: all you have to do is to
contemplate a simple grain of sand, and you will see in it all the marvels of creation." With this in mind, why do you think the alchemist chose to befriend Santiago, though he knew that the Englishman was the one looking at him? What is the meaning of two dead hawks and the falcon in the oasis? At one point the alchemist explains to Santiago the secret of successfully turning metal to gold. How does this process compare to finding a Personal Legend?
5. Why did Santiago have to go through the dangers of tribal wars on the outskirts of the oasis in order to reach the Pyramids? At the very end of the journey, why did the alchemist leave Santiago alone to complete it?
6. Earlier in the story, the alchemist told Santiago "when you possess great treasures within you, and try to tell others of them, seldom are you believed." At the end of the story, how did this simple lesson save Santiago's life? How did it lead him back to the treasure he was looking for?
7. Are omens really out there and are they important? What are omens? Are they just illusions that we see to justify something we feel or want to do, or are they something more?
8. What was the point of finding the treasure close to where it was first dreamed about?
Was the journey or finding the treasure more important? What does this mean about life? What happens in life when one actually achieves their personal legend?
9. Does the simplistic and primitive style of this book add or detract from the main goal, what ever you think the main goal is?
10. What does it mean to say "the universe conspires to help you achieve what you want"?
