Paulo Coelho was born in 1947 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Paulo wanted to be a writer from a very young age, an unusual choice for someone of his age in Brazil. He later enrolled in law school, but promptly dropped out in favour of a more relaxed lifestyle, travelling the world. On his return to Brazil, he worked as a successful lyricist for numerous artists, but it was after completing a pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella that his writing career took off, as he wrote “The Alchemist”, which would eventually become an international bestseller. Coelho is without doubt one of the most interesting authors of modern times- his books are well worth a try, though if you are buying one check that you have an English language version, rather than a Portuguese one. Here are some descriptions of some of Paulo’s books that you might like to try.

The Alchemist

“The Alchemist” was published in 1988 and has become an incredible best seller, translated into more than sixty languages across the globe. The story focuses on a shepherd boy named Santiago. He has a recurring dream that he believes is something of a prophecy and decides to travel to the pyramids of Egypt to find treasure there. However the story is much more than that- it is very much an allegory as it contains a lot of spiritual teachings along the way that make Santiago consider his purposes. Eventually he meets an alchemist, where he finds a treasure of a very different sort.