I read this book whilst on a journey of my own, during a trip home to South Africa. I found it especially poignant in that it describes how we all set out to find what is already within us. 
The author takes the shepherd boy from his home on wondrous journeys to lands unknown and along the way he grows from being a naïve young boy into a young man, matured by his experiences, able to finally realise the truth of The Alchemist; whatever we seek is within, if we only had the knowledge to see.
Along his journey he meets his soul mate, and many other characters, both good and bad that eventually shape who he becomes. He finds pleasure and hardship, and yet he endures in the hope of finding his treasure. When he finally reaches home, it is there he discovers the treasure, and yet the journey itself was part of this!