Manuscript Found in Accra

It was with trepidation that I agreed to review Manuscript Found in Accra. I will say upfront that I am not a big fan of The Alchemist and, if you are going to like this new Coelho book, I feel pretty confident saying that you probably should be a fan of The Alchemist. If you loved The Alchemist, then you may as well stop reading this review right now.

It's been a long time since I read The Alchemist but if you'd ripped the cover off this book and replaced the cover of Manuscript with the cover of Alchemist, I imagine that I would not know the difference; there are lots of similarities between these two books. Both take place in exotic settings Both have central characters who are Wise Men. Both Wise Men spend most of the book dispensing Important (if somewhat banal) Wisdom to those around them.

Please forgive me, but I was not swept away by this book. I have my own list of Highly Treasured Books that Have Been Widely Skewered and Are of Dubious Long-Lasting Value (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Little Prince, etc.) Sadly, I will not be adding Manuscript to this list.