Paulo Coelho is the most popular writer in the world these days. The Alchemist is not at all like Jonathan the Seagull or Illusions by Richard Bach, and even less like Exupery’s The Little Prince, but for some reason it’s hard not to remember these fairy tales and parables when you want to say something about “The Alchemist”. This is a parable specifically for our time, and it is not for nothing that “The Alchemist” is the favorite book of the powerful and ordinary people in 117 countries of the world. “To achieve the embodiment of one’s destiny is the only true duty of a person...” Literary and artistic publication. Translation from Portuguese by A. Bogdanovsky.Art design by V. Erko.