Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

43 reviews

aclis's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

THE book to read when you feel lost in your life
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clara_bll3's review against another edition

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fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

1.5

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simplyv375's review

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Not really my type of book especially after the g-slur was mentioned.
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mochiwaffles's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring mysterious reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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gatogato's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

(contains spoilers) right off the bat, the islamophobia, xenophobia, and the blatantly racist stereotypes of romani people were very unnecessary. for the rest of the book, i can understand why people like it so much but it feels like it’s trying too hard to be profound. it is interesting to see what lessons santiago learns abt the universe throughout the story, but when it’s in practically every line it loses its impact.
also the ending when he finally reaches the great pyramids felt so rushed!! he’s spent years trying to get to this point just for it to be described in less than 7 pages out of the whole book.
and his “relationship” with fatima could’ve either been expanded on a lot more or just left out entirely, there was just no depth. like y’all have known each other for two seconds what are we doing here. i really wanted to like this book more.
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phvntomstvrs's review

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reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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maceye23's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Loveable characters? No

3.0

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lycheeteareads's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Part of 'BTS' member rec list. 
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applesaucecreachur's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is a necessary reread throughout one’s life. For context, my first encounter with the tale of Santiago and the pursuit of his Personal Legend came as required reading between my freshman and sophomore years of high school; I’ve just finished reading it a second time on my phone, on a bus beside my childhood best friend who recommended it all those years ago, the day after completing our pilgrimage to the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. The Soul of the World sounds different to me now, and even more clear. 

Santiago’s is a simple story told with masterful skill. Coelho weaves his own life philosophies into these pages and while they may not land with every reader, they create a sturdy base on which plot points and characters and grow. I can’t overlook the potentially harmful depictions of the non-ethnically Spanish characters, nor of
the only prominent female character, Fatima, serving as Santiago’s love interest
. These elements date the book and serve to make it less universally relatable. Still The Alchemist remains as a testament to one man’s truth, and in this way, to the truth of many. The Universe hosts many personal legends.
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heisiiri's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring reflective fast-paced

2.75

I think there are plenty of people who *need* to hear the message of this book, and so it makes sense that people cite it as something that really affected them.

Me, however... the things that this book preaches are either already beliefs of mine (like how we are all connected and we can all influence how good of a place the world is and love, in its many forms, is the most important thing in the universe) or stuff that I find a bit silly (like all the stuff about fate and the very religious stuff). I found this to be a bit of a boring read, and walked away without any major life lessons acquired. 
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