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Reception and Cultural Influence

The Advertiser, an Australian newspaper, published one of the first reviews of The Alchemist in 1993 saying "of books that I can recommend with the unshakable confidence of having read them and been entranced, impressed, entertained or moved, the universal gift is perhaps a limpid little fable called The Alchemist... In hauntingly spare prose, translated from the Spanish, it follows a young Andalusian shepherd into the desert on his quest for a dream and the fulfilment of his destiny."^[19] Since then, the novel has received nearly universal praise, making it to the top spot on best seller lists in 74 countries and winning prestigious awards in Germany and Italy.^[4][20][21] It has been called a "charming story," "a brilliant, simple narrative," and "a wonderful tale, a metaphor of life," from people in places as diverse as South Africa, Finland, and Turkey.^[22] It has been praised by public figures like Will Smith^[23], Russell Crowe^[24], and Nobel Prize winner Kenzaburō Ōe^{[not in citation given]} Arash Hejazi the Iranian publisher of Paulo Coelho believes that The Alchemist is exceptional in many cases. He notes that the book has had a 'longer than expected life-cycle... It was not supported by high marketing budgets in the first few years after its publication. It was not written in French or Spanish. It did not enjoy a film tie-in and was not recommended by positive reviews and the media, but it is still selling, only relying on the word of mouth as its main marketing tool.'^[25]