“… “That at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what´s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate. That´s the world´s greatest lie.”
– The Alchemist, Paulo Cohelo
Indeed, Willy S. would agree with Mr. Coelho: “It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.”
And like Bill the Bard, I have a mixed relationship with Paulo Coelho; with the former he confuses the freckles out of me (my shortfall as a reader, my dearth of freckles a slight problem), but with the latter he’s too preachy most of the time.
That being said, what Coelho does excel at – and by virtue his translator as well – is writing witty, memorable lines/passages. The above quote is but one shining example. And, to be fair, The Alchemist was for me an enjoyable read in much the same way The Little Prince was a good read and, to a lesser extent, The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared.
Finally, I have to admit that one of my favourite Coelho quotes is also the perfect ending to the Quote of the Day and comes from the same book:
“And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.”
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Richard H. Harris 
It is one of my favourite book. 🌸 completely in love with that book. 🌸
It really is a nice read. I actually read it three times, one of those times with a book club, and everyone agreed.