The Alchemist

February 15, 2011
Brazilian novelist Coelhos 1988 myth-laden story of the shepherd who follows his Personal Legend in spite of assorted travails is rendered into a richly colored and faithful sequential-art version. With Santiago, we see the glories, the mysteries, and the threats along his way from the Andalusian pasture to foreign cities to Egypt; experience his devotion to reading and his attraction to mysterious women; and watch as he reads omens with the help of magical stones and other artifacts given to him by the various wise men he meets. Although the landscapes, city crowds, and animals are gorgeously rendered, the faces can be jarringeven in his youth, Santiago (and everyone else) has dark lines awkwardly scattered on his cheeks and forehead in lieu of expressive changes. Because facial close-ups are essential to our seeing Santiago and to what Santiago sees, this is disconcerting, but otherwise, this adaptation provides a long-popular novel an interesting new life.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)