The Archer by Paulo Coelho

Not really my thing; this was foisted on me by a friend. I was expecting to sneer at it, thinking it'd be one of those blame-the-victim tracts: “you can do anything! If you fail it's your own fault for not wishing hard enough”. It's not. I mean, it is self-helpy-affirmy, with Sentences Of Profound Truth tastefully centered in large print on a single page and occasional Elegant Sketches, but Coelho's message is one of working hard, not wishing hard, and always with a foundation of respect, dignity, and humility. I'm totally fine with that.

March 16, 2021

Phil Lemons

Who is this book for?
- I like a parable that provides concepts for living life.
- I am looking for an ideology that will help me find balance and peace in my life.
- I enjoy philosophies and hearing how others view the world. Especially people from other cultures than mine.

Who is this book not for?
- I hate allegories, parables, or any other method of making a certain point in story form rather than coming out and saying it clearly.
- I don't like self improvement books or people telling me how to live my life.
- I am looking for good fiction of a master archer in Asia from years past.

My thoughts.
- Coelho lays out what I believe are great principles for navigating life using this analogy of archery. I especially appreciate an emphasis on accepting that mistakes are part of learning.
- I rather liked the simplicity of the presentation. He could have created a whole plot line to draw out these concepts over two or three hundred pages. That might be a C fun book, too. In this case, I think Coelho communicates good ideas clearly without details of a novel getting in the way of the message.
- This is a book that I would absorb more from by reading it rather than listening to the audio. A number of the concepts deserve time thinking on them and the audio moves on, ready or not. I find myself backing up a few times

Overall, I think this book has good, practical advice. Definitely worth thinking though and understanding the basis these concepts developed from. A great library borrow.