The Alchemist

Title: The Alchemist

Author: Paulo Coelho
Published: 1988 (English version published in 1993)
Read: July 2010
Number of pages: 167
Fiction
Where I obtained the book: Barnes and Noble
How I discovered it: always knew about it and decided I should read it one of these days
My grade: C

I was intrigued to read this book because it was an "international bestselling phenomenon" as proclaimed on the front cover and on the back there were quotes from critics calling it "life-changing."  I must not have read the same book as those who called it that because I don't think it lived up to its hype or maybe it was so over-hyped that I didn't see what the big deal was. It wasn't a bad read, but maybe I'm not "spiritual" enough to get it. After I finished it, I was like, "that's it?" It's a short and sweet story for what it is, but I wouldn't call it "life-changing" or a "phenomenon". Also, why give the main character a name (Santiago) to only refer to him as "the boy" throughout the majority of the story