The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho

The book shares the same theme as ‘The Alchemist’, the theme of the quest, seen as a journey that takes the main character far from his own country. ‘The Fifth Mountain’ begins with a reference to ‘The Alchemist’ and the author repeats the central idea of his first book: `when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it’. The book can be considered a sequel, although the content is different.

I loved the following quotes:
- All life’s battles teach us something, even those we lose…. you’ll discover that you have defended lies, deceived yourself, or suffered for foolishness. If you’re a good warrior, you will not blame yourself for this, but neither will you allow your mistakes to repeat themselves.

- There are moments when God demands our obedience. But there are moments in which He wishes to test our will and challenges us to understand His love.

- There is no tragedy, only the unavoidable. Everything has its reason for being: you only need to distinguish what is temporary from what is lasting. What is temporary?… The unavoidable… and what is lasting?… The lessons of the unavoidable.

- A child can teach an adult three things: to be happy for no reason, to always be busy with something, and to know how to demand with all his might that which he desires.

- Sadness does not last forever when we walk in the direction of that which we always desired.