personal legends or myths? The Alchemist: a review

I should have reviewed this book whilst it was the new thing. Paul Coelho has been popular, if not influential, to say the least.

Coelho uses the simple journey for the treasure of a Spanish shepherd boy to bring to consciousness many general comments on the purpose of life. It is a sweet tale of a very innocent boy, just seeking his personal treasure. He starts with little but his flock, within his familiar country side of Spain. Through angelic and mystical encounters, twists of fate, so called "omens", and of course a personal desire and sheer belief to seek "treasure", the boy is led across the seas and deserts towards Egypt, the place of where his treasure was to be revealed. The final revelation leads him back home ironically, where his treasure had been all long, buried within his own memory and previous journeys as a shepherd. In sum, the Boy simply fulfills his Personal Legend as he responds with belief in the guidance of the Soul of the World.

Along the journey, there are significant characters that help the Boy. Firstly, the angelic character in Melchizedek, who first opens the Boy to the possibility of finding his treasure and prepares him with guiding words and tools to recognise favourable omens and answer questions by lots - the stones "Urim and Thummim". There are many helpers along the way: the gypsy who entices him toward seeking the treasure, the crystal dealer near the port who sustains the Boy physically and allows him to eventually sail toward Egypt, the Englishman who seeks the secrets to Alchemy and so leads the Boy to recognition of the Alchemist. The Boy also forms an emotional and spiritual bond with a girl in the desert plains, who is at once a distraction from his self-fulfilment as well as the source of his desire for that elusive treasure. Finally, it is the Alchemist who finishes off the education of the Boy in understanding the universal code of the world, called the language of the Soul of the World. It is with this understanding, Enlightenment for want of a better word, that the Boy is able to overcome his near-death obstacle at the hands of desert marauders, and successfully arrive at Egypt.

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I will choose only two major ideas to question. The first being the quest to fulfill one's personal legend. The second will be the idea of love alongside this calling. Though Coelho never admits to providing any ultimate answers to the purpose of life, the book does draw some conclusions to just what shape the fulfilled life looks.

Everyone seems to have a personal legend and the whole force of the universe, which is unnamed, impersonal but definitely powerful, is there to help everyone fulfill it. All we need is that extra self-belief and belief in this Soul of the World to the extent that it wills what we will. There is a fantastic scene where the Boy communicates with the Soul of the World after understanding the secrets of Alchemy, and it yields to the sheer desire and passion of the Boy for his goal. There may be an autobiographical element, or just very hopeful observations of our world.

Yet I do not think this translates very usefully into everyday living and certainly not for those in relation with the God of the Bible. The narrative of the Bible presents our lives as certainly integral parts of God's purposes in general. Yet the particular fulfillment of God's purpose lies in Jesus, coming to the world, revealing to the world the nature of God, rescuing the world in reconciliation to God Himself by His death for the fallen world and rising to life as the Ruler and Holder of all authority. Personal fulfillment come by being a part of God's grand plan, and not so much through our individual aspirations. Being a Christian means both losing the self and gaining more than what we can imagine. We lose the self-will to ruthlessly and selfishly achieve our own goals (see the call to discipleship in Mark 10:23-31), but in fact gain so much more from being in fellowship or one with Jesus, in His plans, goals and His community, which is God Himself. The Boy's treasure is really peas and pods compared to God Himself, who is the treasure promised to every disciple of Jesus, in submission to His plans and purposes. Further more Jesus Himself displayed this losing of Himself by deferring His own comforts and protection for the sake of others - the world - in need and He was duly rewarded by God the Father by His vindication at the Resurrection. God of History, not an impersonal Soul of the World, has shown His willingness to call people into such a relation with Him.

Where does love fit into peoples' plans and purposes? The Boy finds it, but must defer this to the pursuit of his personal legend; he is bound to reunite with his love, waiting for his return in the desert until the end. It ends happily and romantically. Perhaps for the sake of the story, the author had to prioritise the events. Yet if taken seriously, the personal legend seems to trump any other thing in the world, include marital happiness, relationship and people. We can leave even God out of the picture in thinking about this and just see how this happy ending is mere fiction. We know that people, relationships and most of all care for loved loves is costly. In daily terms it may be the constant effort, discomfort, hard work for the sake of loved ones. Those who have really loved will know what cost it is. Bringing God back into the picture, He does not seek love in this fashion, firstly He is satisfied, secondly He pours out His love, by the giving of Himself, even to the loss of His own Son. There is no greater price God could have paid in order to win the attention as well as salvation of his enemies. Christians are likewise called to suffer for the sake of love in this sense, not strictly love romantically. Love for the world, as God has loved, is worthy of our lives, time and even the loss of self once again. And this love is realised when we speak of God's love in action through the Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus.

A lot of people have been influenced by the novel. I do not mind it as fiction. But the best fiction can recreate and teach reality, not just providing false hopes for a generation that is in need of something real and substantial. For The Alchemist to be really inspirational, the Christian has to translate an impersonal and selfish force of the world into a personal, loving and selfless God.

film: The Darjeeling Limited (2007)

3 brothers on a spiritual journey to bond, gather and resolve their sorrows from their father's death. It's not a typical comedy by J. Schwartzman (also lead actor) and W. Anderson. But there is a funny randomness in the re-union of a domineering older brother (O. Wilson), a repressed husband taking a break from his pregnant wife (A. Brody) and a hopeless romantic writer (J. Schwartzman) trying to find some spiritual meaning across the desert plains of India.

The story begins on the Darjeeling Limited, the train that would take these brothers to temples, towns and all the "spiritual" hop-scotch tourists are supposed to be excited about. The oldest brother is set on a quest to bring closeness between estranged brothers, culminating on a visit to their mother, now a nun in rural India. This mother had run out on them since their father's tragic death from a pedestrian v. car accident a year back. Their quest is ludicrous, deliberately tacky and also fails in the end. The mother, out of supposed fear, leaves them once again, after showing them how to express their sorrow and anger "without words", in a scene where all 4 of them look at each other with meaningful expressions, but none of them uttering a sound, with heart-warming music filling in the silence. The next morning the 3 sons are disappointed with another runaway by their mother.

There are amusing minor characters throughout their trip. The captain of the train, a Sikh speaking perfect English, who fights off a poisonous snake with his kitchen spatula. There is an attractive Indian hostess, with whom Schwartzman has a fling on the train, with cigarette smoking (band on the train) as their binding hobby. B. Murray makes a cameo, as a businessman who misses out on the train ride because he carries too much baggage, despite his assertive rudeness and jumping of the queues.

The key event, which turns the 3 brothers' journey around, lies in the death of an Indian boy. This boy is also 1 of 3 brothers, who has a mishap over a crossing of a river. The central characters each tries to rescue a boy from drowning, but alas Brody fails to save his. They spend a good time mourning with the rural family, even though they don't speak their dialect. As they are about to leave, Brody appeals to one of the other Indian brothers rescued, that he did his best to save his brother. They are asked to stay and partake in the cremation funeral rites as honoured guests. After this event, along with a symbolic ritual devised by the brothers themselves with the burial of a peacock feather, finally binds the 3 somehow. They realise what it is like to be alive together and to have spent this precious time with the village in mourning. In particular, it leads the middle brother (Brody), to the realisation of the importance of his own, unborn child. The 3 begin to trust each other, no longer recounting confidential secrets made to each other, but openly sharing each others' problems.

The second last scene at the airport departures show the 3 brothers, each ringing a dear confidante, spouse, girlfriend in ordinal sequence and how they were able to encourage each other in dealing with those relations when they get home. It is quite a sweet moment. Of course, they end up ripping their return flight tickets and set off for another journey in India.

The film is slow, the humour is not the main focus, though it is there, the colours of scenery make an interest watch for someone used to our boring Sydney street styles. It does make a comment on how the customs of India seem to hold more spiritual meaning than that of their home land (America?). The brothers did have to go out to find, but only by pure coincidence, a meaning in their relationship and a resolution of their past sorrows from the loss of their father. There is no resolution with the runaway mother, she remains unredeemed by the writers. And interestingly, she became a nun in India, whose orphanage is threatened by a vicious man-eating tiger. Is this making a slighting comment on the Christian religion as a means of finding self-absolution? I'm probably reading too far.

As a Christian, the problem of resolution from old hurts and reconciliation from broken or just estranged relationships is important. The brothers find it in treasuring what they have now in life. We Christians can treasure what we do have, through the forgiveness that comes freely from God by the death of His only Son. And the relations that we have now are not temporary, so we are not driven by fear of loss, but by the wonderment of reconciliation now, continuing onto eternal relationships that will be made perfect. We can even forgive those who are not repentant or seeking to reconcile (like the runaway mother in the movie), because we have experienced a deep forgiveness with a personal God, whom we have rejected. We don't have to find it and hope it will happen by chance. God has reconciled this world to Himself through His Son (2Corinthians 5:18-19), according to His plan.

Not a bad film in the end, when read the right way. 3.5/5