$12.00

NOTE- prices START from $12. It depends on the cover for this title. Our prices are in Australian Dollars- AU$ is significantly less in American Dollars. AVAILABLE from Brisbane but our items can be posted WORLDWIDE. This listing has also been uploaded to iNVISeDGE for research purposes and for people wanting to buy OR SELL a similar item. Use our CONTACT Page for further information.

 

 

Out of stock

PRICES- Start from AU$12

Some covers / editions for this title are more collectable than others. Enquire if you have interest in the copy with the pink-light blue cover or the cover with the green hill / castle on the hill with black border. (They’d be about AU $22 instead.) These collectable editions that are harder to find so would make a special gift!

WE HAVE MOST OF PAULO COELHO’S BOOKS IN STOCK (VINTAGE COPIES). LET US KNOW IF YOU HAVE INTEREST IN BUYING TWO COELHO BOOKS AT ONCE TO SAVE ON POSTAGE!

Background Info and Provenance

(Written in 2022 by Michael Grealy- Owner iNVISeDGE)

I really like Paulo Coelho books. Largely “canned” by critics in the early part of his career as a writer, soon no-one could deny power of Coelho to transform thought and also appeal to the broadest possible reading market. Today, his personal appearances and book-signings have reached celebrity status requiring security guards to control the stampede of people wanting to get close to him. And this all came from beginnings where critics were scathing and many were downright heartless and cruel. But Coelho soldiered on … although when the money’s there (and there’s a true-love in what you’re doing) I suspect it wouldn’t have been hard for him to keep persisting. His books consistently hit the Number One spot in bestsellers lists the DAY they are released (much to the disgust of most critics). The Alchemist, his first book, is still in print today. It was first published in 1988! The Alchemist is still largely canned by critics even though it is in the opinion of many people (including myself), it is the work of a genius.

I am just a “lay-person” with a “regular suburban upbringing”. My main exposure to “culture” came in the form of the next “Lethal Weapon” movie (which I loved at the time) or a visit to the Sunday Outdoor Markets. I HATED reading until about the age of 26 which is when I stumbled across this book. I read the back-cover of The Alchemist in a second-hand bookshop and knew I had to have it. (I still own that copy to this day.) Coelho’s body of work has changed me as a person all because this book, The Alchemist, made me realise I had a strong innate-interest in Philosophy, “Metaphysics” (ie. God / whether there is more to life than what we experience with our 5 senses). Coelho’s books also gave me a strong interest in the skills possessed by a good storyteller to keep you engaged.

This book did NOT start my love of reading (a teenagers adventure novel by John Marsden did that only months before) BUT it did deepen and diversify my love of reading… although, that’s not entirely accurate … this book diversified my interest in “life” and “the art of living”. I still hate reading on some level because I find it hard to sit still long enough to get “sucked into” a book but I have discovered when I first started reading books that I have an innate thirst for learning about what truly matters in life. This book helped suck me into the idea of Philosophy and gave me an unquenchable thirst for reading about the idea of the “Universe” (or “God”) transpiring to help you when you are aligned with your life’s purpose and you’re not just “existing”.

I personally LOVE this book and so do millions of others. The Alchemist has now sold in excess of 65 MILLION COPIES. I Googled to get that figure and when 65 million came up it took my breath away, (the word, “Fuck!” escaped my lips- quite loudly! lol). There is certainly no denying that this book has “magic” AND is a modern-day Masterpiece (that the critics still largely hate).

Give me, 3 more minutes of your time. I want to address the reason why I think the critics hate Coelho. I believe in essence it’s because critics are all deep-down wannabe writers who lack the creativity, skill and intestinal fortitude to create their own work- they are good with words, so they are drawn into reading and obviously writing (ie. often just criticizing other people’s work). Criticism can be constructive or destructive though. When jealousy of someone’s else genius comes in, there is a natural tendency in human beings to be destructive- the “Tall-Poppy thing”- cutting down someone who is achieving success. Their criticism usually centres around this book being “too simple”. In a nutshell these critics are just jealous of Coelho’s ability to convey complicated concepts in a way that EVERYONE can enjoy and understand.

This book is a joy to read even though the concepts and truths Coelho has set out to convey are not that easy to grasp. How do you communicate about the ways of the world that can’t be experienced with the 5 senses? In 3 words, it’s not easy, yet Coelho does it effortlessly and in a way that’s a joy to read.

This story is easy to follow, the language is easy to understand, therefore the book can be enjoyed by ANYONE regardless of your age, social position, caste, socio-economic position or educational background. This book has the power to change one’s thinking and life and there are some people who don’t like the idea of some people moving beyond their “lot in life”. In a nutshell, that is also why I think many critics hate Coelho’s work.

If you want to make up your own mind about it, buy a second-hand / pre-loved copy! Second-hand copies contain a bit of the energy of all the people who have been with it beforehand, have enjoyed the story and gleaned the wisdom from the words contained within. Yes, e-books are practical- I have one myself but I’ve found myself going back to buying second-hand books (virtually every single thing I own is second-hand- not undies though !! lol. There is something very “romantic” (for want of a better word) about turning the pages, the smell of “old paper” and the feeling from curling up with a book you know others before you have loved. The concept of physical books is the very corner-stone of our society- the exchanging of ideas, concepts and stories through paper and ink is almost as old as human civilisation itself. There’s something very primal and powerful about the concept of exchanging books and “book-exchange shops” (which is also a concept as old human civilisation as well). Book-exchanges are becoming a thing of the past but everything comes full circle. I hate the idea of possessing things but even I have come back to physical books. Some books stay in my “possession” for quite some time but most are handed onto the next person so someone else can enjoy the power and enjoyment of immersing themselves in someone else’s world for a little while.

The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho is certainly in my personal Top 100 most loved books. I believe it is a MUST-READ. Yes, it’s not one of those mind-blowing, oh my God, holy shit, this is one of the most amazing bloody things I’ve ever experienced in my life but in a strange way it kinda is. There is no denying there’s a genius at work here.

DELIVERY COSTS FOR iNVISeDGE BOOKS TO AUSTRALIAN LOCATIONS

Pick-Up from BRISBANE- FREE

One Book Sent in the Post- $5.50

Two Books Sent in the Post- $8.00

Three Books Sent in the Post- $10

Four Books Sent in the Post- $11.50

Five or more Books Sent in the Post- $12.50

We have several copies of this book in stock at present. Ask us via SMS if a particular book is still available if you have a preference for a particular copy (eg. is the book with the pink and light-blue cover still available?) or simply SMS that you’d like to buy any copy, with your name, email address and delivery address and we’ll email you an invoice.

Condition varies as shown in our photos. We won’t stock books that we don’t consider to be in very good condition for the age of the book. All of these books are in a similar condition. (They are all about 20 years old and have been read many times but have all been well looked-after.)

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