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The Alchemist
| Philosophy 101 |
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The Alchemist |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan 
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. By Paulo Coelho: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Alchemist_(book) A woman work friend gave me this book as a belated Christmas present with the comment: “It has changed many lives.” The site provides a pretty good summary of the plot. I’ve now read the book but I’d like to read to view of others as to the merits of its ideas. John . |
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TomMark Member Elite
since 2007-07-27
Posts 2133LA,CA |
She might hint that you needed to change your life in some way  "Many have compared The Alchemist to Saint-Exupéry's The Little Prince, a children's book about another boy, the Prince, who leaves his home in search of greater things, learning valuable lessons about life and love on the way" Someone needs to pack and go to Sahara.  [This message has been edited by TomMark (01-07-2008 01:41 AM).] |
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TomMark Member Elite
since 2007-07-27
Posts 2133LA,CA |
Sir John, has your life been changed by the reading? |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
. Only in that I've now discovered there are yet more people to keep away from. . |
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TomMark Member Elite
since 2007-07-27
Posts 2133LA,CA |
if all the final found of love and peace and hope are in deserts and mountains and caves, I would stay right in the city center alone. "there are yet more people to keep away from." I think that it is impossible. You may not accept certain characters but you can not keep away from people you dislike. You pass many daily. You might have just said "hello" to someone who had not paid any child support yet. or worse. so how do you do it? [This message has been edited by TomMark (01-08-2008 04:00 PM).] |
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rwood Member Elite
since 2000-02-29
Posts 3793Tennessee |
"You might have just said "hello" to someone who had not paid any child support yet. or worse." oh my, that one struck my funny bone. I'm glad I can laugh about it, but what Tom says is true. My ex is somewhere out there, guilty of such, and it's not something the person ever advertises and not that you would be judgmental if you knew. He can be the little sand crab in his hole, but not me. I've got waves to catch, and now another book to read while I'm on holiday. |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
I, too, was given the book as a Christmas gift by my eldest daughter, as she thought, and rightly so, that I would enjoy the philosophy of it. And I did. She also gave me Ken Follett's "The Pillars of the Earth" which seems to be on a similar level of tone. And from what I can see of your finding of the book, John, I would have to say we are pretty much at opposite ends of our reading. It has given me a good reason to get to know people better. |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
Sunshine, Does that make you a woman of the desert? |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
John, It certainly has its calling... and in another life, quite possibly so!  |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
“("She never asked you to stay because a woman of the desert knows that she must await her man" - p. 126). This is not taken out of context. Throughout the book, the whole "follow your dreams" motto is limited to male protagonists.” "But there is a role for women - waiting around the oasis for their men to either return or hearing they have been killed. Grand! Just what I've been wanting to know - it's transformed my life! The most profound insight yet known to Man. Come, on pull the other leg!" http://www.amazon.com/review/product/0062502182?filterBy=addOneStar&pageNumber=2 I noticed that as well. |
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TomMark Member Elite
since 2007-07-27
Posts 2133LA,CA |
Notice is not an opinion. Do you agree on that "quote"? |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
Tom, I address this to you, in answer to your question of Huan’s reply to me: No, I do not agree with this particular notice. For the first part, the page quotation that is set forth is not found on the book I am reading, but not to mean that it is within this particular book, so the notice must be a tad bit old. So, apparently, I am reading a newer version, which, apparently, means that this book is withstanding the test of time. Secondly, I would like to submit a quotation from the author of the Medicine Woman series, Lynn Andrews: “Paulo Coelho gives you the inspiration to follow your own dreams by seeing the world through your own eyes and not someone else’s.” [Emphasis added]. I would think that any open minded reader would be inspired by this book. That a woman would read this book and say “it’s not feminist enough” in my opinion would be wrong, because in my eyes, any book can apply to most any situation in faith of some accomplishment. Ergo, it would have to be a short-minded reader to think that this book is for man, only. However, that would be that woman's interpretation, not mine. The first English HarperCollins publication was in 1993. The latest copyright is 1998. My reading is almost ten years past the last English copyright; I think all of us have come some way since that time. When I first noticed that Fatima had come into Santiago’s life was even before I knew her name, because I knew from the author’s description that this was the woman to whom his life would be dedicated, not the original first named woman in the story. [Remember, this is a fable.] Before I knew her name, I sensed his understanding of her significance. Remarkably, at page 93 of this particular printing, it was her soul, and that of the ”Soul of the World” that he heard. Maktub. A critic’s advice is just that, critical. One can find a problem with anything presented to them. Does one not go ahead and see a movie just because the critics advised against it? We all have a sense to fulfill a legend for ourselves, so why do we let others do it for us? If John wants to see an all male protagonistic view in this book so be it. I saw more. ‘Nuff said. and Thanks! |
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TomMark Member Elite
since 2007-07-27
Posts 2133LA,CA |
My dear lady Sunshine, I love you very much for your kindness. and thank you for all of those words. John posted this thread to tell us that he read a book and quoted other's "changed many lives". I just try to squeeze him to tell his thought on this book. Not his noticing but his opinions. |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
“I have been waiting for you here in this oasis for a long time. I have forgotten about my past, about my traditions, and the way in which men of the desert expect women to behave. . . ." ““The desert takes our men from us, and they don’t always return, she said”. “We know that, and we are used to it. Those who don’t return become part of the clouds, a part of the animals that hide in the ravines and of the water that comes from the earth . . .”” “”Some do come back. And then the other women are happy because they believe their men may one day return, as well. I used to look at those women and envy them their happiness. Now, I too will be one of the women who wait. I am a desert woman, and I’m proud of that. I want my husband to wander free as the wind that shapes the dunes. And, if I have to, I will accept the fact that he has become a part of the clouds, and the animals, and the water of the desert.”” From Pages 97-98 Paperback Looks like 1993-98 translation copyright I got it last week . |
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Sunshine
Administrator
Member Empyrean
since 1999-06-25
Posts 63354Listening to every heart |
That is the transcript of the book, John, that I was referring to. Thank you for making it all the part of the art. That said, and given of its time sequence, this can be said of a woman's heart, mind, and soul, today. Even as it was, then; but at which time, woman could not reveal either her heart, mind, or soul. Unless she wished to be a martyr. |
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Huan Yi Member Ascendant
since 2004-10-12
Posts 6688Waukegan |
. Tasha, woman of the desert http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/bradford/7204543.stm . |
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TomMark Member Elite
since 2007-07-27
Posts 2133LA,CA |
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosuo something interesting. look, the real woman! Walking marriages |
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~frustrated writer~ Member
since 2008-02-25
Posts 84 |
i've read that book.. it's as good as the book entitled, the Little Prince.. my physics pedagogue introduced it to me.. she let me borrowed her books for me to read it.. *_* |
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