I had so much to give this audiobook. My hopes, my dreams, my time. I ventured out in search of treasure, but, alas, my personal legend was crushed under this lightweight novel like a wicker stool under a very large circus man. Quite possibly the most overrated novel in human history. Brutally redundant. Horrible writing. If you feel the stars may have aligned so that you might listen to or, dare I say, actually read this book, get a new alchemist. I'd rather be forced to read lyrics to the Black Eyed Peas' "Ring-A-Ling" song over and over and over again.

Well I thought I would really like this book but didn't like it much at all. The story on the surface is very plain. The plot takes the main character in a big circle and back to square one with no "happy" ending (really it feels like no ending at all). It does have a deeper meanings that you can read into some but still not an exciting read. If I hadn't been one of those people who has to finish a book once it is started I would have put it down early rather than finishing.

This book was a life changing read for me. I was moved and spiritually uplifted by this remarkable story. I usually only read biographies and non-fiction stories, but this has become my favorite book because of the meaningful lessons that are taught throughout. I can't say enough about this book other than the fact that my children will hear it over and over again and I believe every person should own this book.

If you are interested in classical literature that will keep its value, this book isn't it. If you want deeply drawn characters, this will disappoint. If you want an entertaining listen for a long drive, this may well be your choice! It is filled with thoughtful moments and insights into the human condition. It is filled with "religious" references, but that will not kill the story, but add to it. It is just a good listen.

This one had me all over the place. I liked the book - I loved the book - I hated the book - the book was ok - I liked the book - the book was ok. But by its last words, I had to say that I do love the book. I disliked the constant use of the words, "personal legend", and the awful affectation that Jeremy Irons employs when pronouncing these words in particular.

Though my opinion mixed and spun throughout my listen, that very challenge made the book ever more engaging, ever more interesting. This book is neat, heavily symbolic, heavily allegorical, concise, beautiful, and mystifying. And though the story and words are simple, the philosophy and meaning are challenging. Still, I think almost everything about this book is widely accessible. A friend described it as a "modern myth", and I have to agree with him. It reads like a myth: something ancient and wise, unbelievable and fantastic yet applicable and meaningful. It seems that the author has gathered the unspoken wisdom of a generation and wrapped it into this tight, literary package.

For fiction, this book ranks in the top 20. I only wish there were sequels!

The shepherd boy... because even though I don't herd sheep, I have dreams too.

Melchizedek

I wanted to curl up on the couch next to Uncle Jeremy and have him tell me more and more... What is it about the voice of Jeremy Irons? He did a fantastic job with the various characters.

The book is well narrated.

No.

No. I could listen to him all day.

I wouldn't bother with a follow up to this book. Other than the narration, I did not find the book engaging.

The story was too poorly veiled. Too chauvinistic. the concept was not new original. Therefore the information should be presented very well. It was not.

no

Absolutely

no

no

This is a pleasant little story. And, it's one of those books that bears re-reading (or re-listening, if you did the audiobook format, such as I did)! I has the same sort of feel as "The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran, or "Siddhartha" by Herman Hesse - and similarly carries a lot of subtle and overt life-messages in it's concise text. It is one of those stories that I'll ponder for quite a long time!
Jeremy Irons did a fantastic job with the narration - lots of variety in voices, and LOTS of emotion and feeling in the emphasis of dialogue!
This was a short, quick, and easy listen, and was very much worth my time!

I tried really hard to like this book but I just couldn't. This book was recommended by a well respected person and so I bought it immediately from my mobile phone. I was excited and expected to gain some wisdom, but then i started listening to it. 1 hour in, I still didn't get it.. what makes this book so great??

I thought I got the wrong book at first, but then i checked the name, and the author's name, and sure enough, it was the recommeded book so I continued listening.

Long winded story, really corny voice impersonations (sounded the same for the english man, the king, the desert, etc), and maybe 1 or 2 ordinary life lessons every 30mins.

This (audio)book would have been much better if it were a tenth of its length. This is one of the audiobook that really needs to be abridged (no longer than 20 mins in length).

It was a really painful audiobook to listen to, the corny voice impersonations were just painful to endure for 4 hrs. I got this book with an open mind, actually tried really hard to like it, but i was disappointed. Some good lessons yes, but waaaaaay too long, should have been abridged 20mins max, and the corny voice impersonations didn't really help either. I would have given this book 1.5 but 2 would be a bit too high.

There are so many great self help/improvement/development.. (audio)books to listen to/read; but this isn't one of them..