The Alchemist by Paulo Coehlo follows the spiritual journey of Santiago who leaves his native Andalusia to search for treasure near the Egyptian Pyramids. A seminarian, he dismisses the future as a priest in preference for the life of a shepherd, but the yearning for wandering overtakes him through a mysterious dream and an encounter with the ancient Melchizedek, the King of Salem.
Written with the flavor of a medieval romance in the style of a parable, The Alchemist mixes elements of myth and legend from historical and biblical sources to create its own reality. Melchizedek appears in Tarifa to assist Santiago in his quest of destiny, providing him with the magical stones of Urim and Thummim, found in Exodus in the description of the building of the Mishkan and the design of the priestly garments. Melchizedek reminds us of his moments with Abraham, a few centuries before his date with Santiago in Tarifa. Nor is he the only ancient in the book, for Santiago meets with the Alchemist of the Sahara desert who is at least two hundred years old and knows the secrets of the Philosopher's Stone and the Elixir of Life and comments that the problem with medieval alchemists were that they were only after gold and therefore failed in the transformation of lead. Each metal has its quality and place whether copper, silver, gold or lead and man has a tendency to forget about the lesson of the sixth day. Each thing has its own destiny and place and influence upon the universe. The secret of alchemy is not in learning bad chemistry, but listening to the Soul of the Universe.
Santiago departs his familiar world of sheep and pastures to travel across the strait into another alien sphere where he initially perceives the inhabitants of Tangiers to be infidels under the foot of Saint Santiago Maramoto, worthy of slaughter. His prejudices and preconceptions are challenged through experience. He recognizes that he was like everyone else in wanting to see the world in terms of what he wanted to believe, rather than actuality.
Through the use of parable, Coehlo examines the conflicts between the three great religions and the baggage of prejudice that we carry with us. Through parable, he takes us on a spiritual journey that borders on fairytale, introducing elements of past legends with the ubiquitous Englishman of the desert in search of the Philosopher's Stone and the ability to transform lead into gold. Santiago meets and confronts the dangerous winds of the desert, overcoming them through his courage and persuasion while engulfing his challengers with the mighty winds of the summim as recorded in the Histories of Herodotus when 50,000 men vanished into a sandstorm. Although a past seminarian, Santiago does not recognize the name Melchizedek, indicating the alienation of Catholic and Jewish faith through the Great Inquisition. In confronting his Arab brothers, he views them as victims worthy of slaughter under the foot of Christendom, but within a few hours, he comprehends that each person is made of skin and blood. He comes to this through misfortune which becomes the impetus for his search for his destiny.
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