The novel also strongly advocates for the power of the individual to take charge of his future. Coelho’s novel directly cautions against letting fear overpower one’s individual life decisions. The Cold War between the US and the USSR prominently and publically featured massive military technological advancements, and nuclear warfare was a real possibility. Published during continued international Cold War tensions in the late 1980s, the novel deals directly with themes of fear and control. He continues to write, and he and his wife divide their time between Rio de Janeiro and the Pyrenees Mountains of France.Īs a contemporary novel, Paulo Coelho’s The Alchemist responds to the concerns of a generation growing up in an age of rapidly advancing technology and globalization. Since then, Coelho has published regularly, bringing his total published works up to thirty. After that, it became a worldwide phenomenon, establishing Paulo Coelho as a household name. In 1994, HarperCollins picked up The Alchemist after its small initial printing. It was his third book, following an unsuccessful first book Hell Archives (1982), and a non-fiction account of his spiritual awakening on the Camino de Santiago, The Pilgrimage (1986). Coelho’s most famous novel, The Alchemist, was published in 1988. Coelho appears to pay homage to this transformative experience with the name of The Alchemist’s protagonist: Santiago. While on pilgrimage, Coelho experienced a spiritual awakening which encouraged him to follow his dream of becoming a writer. Coelho’s life was dramatically changed in 1986 when he completed a 500-mile pilgrimage walk in northwestern Spain: the Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. He worked as an actor, a theater director, a journalist, and a songwriter for other artists, before being arrested in 1974 for his “subversive” liberal song lyrics. He dropped out after a year and led a life of wandering and poverty, traveling throughout South America, Mexico, Europe, and Africa. In an effort to conform to his parents’ and community’s standards, Coelho enrolled in law school. He escaped three times over the course of his three-year stay. He was an introverted and unusual teenager and, at age 17, his family admitted him to a mental hospital. From a young age, he was interested in literature and hoped to become a writer. Paulo Coelho was born in 1947 and grew up in Brazil.
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