ANWAR'S STORY — Karen Williams

Anwar's story is a fictional fable which tells the imagined life and trials of the 'other hero' of Paulo Coelho's famous, iconic story The Alchemist. Paulo based his allegory on an ancient tale from The Arabian Nights, without ever realising that the original story contained a hidden archetype - the archetype of Mankind's search for redemption. And so, because of this, The Alchemist is not the story of one hero, but two. Santiago was only able to find his treasure in Paulo Coelho's fable by encountering that 'other hero'. Therefore, in many ways Anwar's Story can be considered the missing half of The Alchemist: a piece which will make Paulo's magical allegory complete. It will also provide answers to many questions which for some readers have, until now, seemed unanswerable.