I think The Alchemist is a vapid, saccharine-sweet, steaming pile of crap. 
 I'm not sure why this book is so widely beloved. It beats you over the head with a simplistic and incredibly trite message of "follow your heart." No subtlety, no nuance. The book is sprinkled liberally with a bunch of mystical and quasi-religious elements that don't quite fit together - meant, I suppose, to appeal to readers across cultural bounds... I got really sick of hearing about one's "Personal Legend" (yes, capitalized, as though a copyright symbol should follow). And despite my personal love for (well-done) magical, mysterious worlds, I didn't find the world invented here to be especially beautiful or interesting. 
 Don't get me wrong: I'd be all for a touching, motivational fable that transcends cultural bounds to embrace and uplift the millions. The Alchemist, however, fell flat.