The Alchemist is an important literary piece and international bestseller. It was originally published in Portuguese in 1988, and by 2012 had been translated to over 56 languages, selling over 65 million copies. [The Alchemist] is one of Paulo Coehlo's early works, which set the stage for the dozens of novels that followed. The book gained him international recognition as an author, while telling a timeless tale that carried across cultures and continents worldwide. It is one of the best selling books in history, translated into the most languages for any living author.
The book was written in two short weeks, the year before it was published. Coehlo attributes the speed of writing to a...
