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Greg Baldino Reviews Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist

Published Sun, 05 Dec 2010 12:00:45 -0600

Greg Baldino writes for Bleeding Cool.

It was an old dream of mine to have The Alchemist as a graphic novel. I had received several proposals but none of them came anywhere near the classical vision I have in my mind for a graphic format. When I saw Sea Lion Books' proposal however it took me less than half an hour to make my decision. – Paulo Coelho

When a dream of pyramids is visited upon a young Spanish shepherd, it sets him off on a quest across sea and desert. In his quest he meets kings, merchants, and magicians, and comes ultimately to a great realization that changes his life forever. Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist was originally published in the late 1980s and was later translated from Portuguese into English in 1993. It became a word-of-mouth bestseller in America, leading to several more of Coelho's books being translated. Having sold over 65 million copies, it was not a surprise that the novel was optioned to be made into a film.

Daniel Sampere 's visuals bring the story's setting into full reality, with bold color and diverse detail. The earth-tones of Santiago's home village are in sharp contrast with the lush rainbow of the oasis. One of the strengths of graphic narrative is being able to describe without voice, and that is put to full effect here, giving a rich evocation of the people and places without disrupting Coelho's storyteller voice.

There are moments where the adaptation could be tighter. In one unfortunate panel, a speech balloon is plopped right over the main character's face. Elsewhere, the story's fable-like quality is disrupted by various characters drawn as wielding modern-day firearms. The book covers so much ground that it might have benefited from a larger page count to better pace the narrative.

The best audience for The Alchemist graphic novel may be those looking to it as a gateway book. Placed in the hands of comic book readers, it may interest them to seek out the original text and explore Coelho's other works. For those already familiar with the author's writings, it may inspire them to look for other visual narratives.

The Alchemist:A Graphic Novel is published by HarperOne and retails for $22.99

Greg Baldino lives and writes in Chicago, reporting on arts and culture. His writing has appeared in print internationally. He can be contacted at greg.baldino@gmail.com

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