Tis finished

"He still had some doubts about the decision he had made. But he was able to understand one thing: making a decision was only the beginning of things. When someone makes a decision, he is really diving into a strong current that will carry him to places he had never dreamed of when he first made the decision."

This quote almost made me love the book. It was just very true. I hate making decisions and dealing with the unknown. But it always turns out interesting.

However, I'd like to point out and this might have to do with the translation, that this quote is very wordy. Like so much so that it seems like bad writing. My workshop would have slashed this book to bits and it would have been probably half as long. :) There were also a few places where the next thought didn't make since. Once, when the boy is thinking about the pyramids and that he'll find out more the closer he gets, his next thought is about the king and the breastplate. It doesn't really follow.

I have marked at least ten places in part two that bugged me for some reason or other. But, to be honest, I don't feel like typing out each bit and then why it bothered me.

I get why people dig this book. It encompasses all religions and spiritualities so that it won't offend anyone. God here is a general god, not necessarily the one we all pray to. At least that's how I read it.

The prose is stilted in several places and goes on and on about things that really are just not that interesting. The boy's heart and the boy talking was like reading a sermon. In fact the whole book felt like a really long sermon. And for something I didn't really agree with.

The capitalizing of Personal Legend, Tradition, Soul of the World, etc., really bugged me. And I can't really explain why except that it seemed weak. To me the point of fiction (which this is) is to tell a story and let the reader take from it what he/she will. This book beats you over the head with philosophy and doctrines. I rolled my eyes more than a few times when reading it.

I like the idea of a journey tale. I'm all for those. New places, new experiences are so much fun to read. The desert and crystal store, were interesting.

"It's in the Bible. The same book that taught me about Urim and Thummim. These stones were the only form of divination permitted by God. The priests carried them in a golden breastplate."

I googled the stones and they do appear in the Bible (with the priests in the old testament mostly) and also in the history of Joseph Smith (founder of Mormanism). I can't tell how or if they were used for divination in the Bible. Maybe Chris can enlighten us with that Bible major of his?

In general, the love at first sight with Fatima? That whole section infuriates me. That romantic love (because that's the love it's talking about) is the most important thing in the world. Yes, love, in all its forms is huge. But to look at someone and love them instantly is either extremely rare or false. "No need for words." It made me like the boy and his story even less.

Santiago never really endeared himself to me. I felt bad for him when he was beaten, but it wasn't like I expected him to end up too badly. Nothing long lastingly bad can happen to this kid. And he is still sorta full of himself. Maybe that's just me.

Good quote: "It's not what enters men's mouths that's evil," said the alchemist. "It's what comes out of their mouths that is." So true.

"And he saw that the Soul of God was his own soul. And that he, a boy, could perform miracles."

Okay, I know God, using people, can perform miracles. But does God have a soul and is it ours as well? This didn't sit right with me. Thoughts??

So your treasure is in your own back yard. Well, maybe a little more complicated that that. I'm fine that he got his treasure in the end and the girl, presumably.

I'm glad I read it. Since it is such a big deal. Now if I'm at some party and people are talking about it, I can be an informed participant.

And I realize that I approach these books differently from the rest of you. With the writing workshops and such, I see it like a writer. I hope that doesn't annoy any of you. My brain is now programmed like that.

Till Devil in the White City!!