A Shepherd and a King

I have to admit when I first obtained this book I was rather in the mindset of a long epic tale somewhere along the lines of Lord of the Rings. Instead I found myself rapidly devouring something that appeared only slightly longer than The Old Man and the Sea. Despite the length, I found myself easily drawn into the world and life of Santiago and enjoying the boy's adventures from the very first page. I love sheep and have always found great peace in the 23 Psalm so I love that he begins as a shepherd. His love and care for his sheep is beautiful and genuine and establishes Coelho's hero's character right away. His love for the merchant's daughter also seemed pure and simple to me and I'm eager to see if anything will come of it despite his journey out of Andalusia.

All throughout the first part of the story I was struck by the numerous Biblical references. Coelho's religious background is made quite obvious from the shepherd images to Melchizedek, King of Salem, to the references to a greater force guiding us. I recognized Mechizadek immediately, am familiar with his brief and mysterious presence in Genesis and found Coelho's use of him absolutely fascinating. Using a real, but little known historical character was very clever. I also enjoyed reading about the boy's inner struggles and personal journey. I love that this is a story about an actual journey and a personal journey at the same time. It adds layers and depth to a relatively short and simple story. I am excited to see where this story goes.

I felt I could really relate to the talk about struggling to follow one's Personal Legend. Having struggled a lot over the past years with my own personal purpose, this story really speaks to me and those feelings. When Santiago's money was stolen I felt as discouraged as he did and then wanted to cheer him on when he kept going, seemingly so strong when others would easily give up. This was another example of his strength of character. Finally I cannot finish this post without writing the quote that grabbed me on the first page and made me smile, "He told himself that he would have to start reading thicker books: they lasted longer and made more comfortable pillows."