Book Review:

THE ALCHEMIST by H. P. Lovecraft

Rating: 4.9/5

“The Alchemist” is a short story written by H. P. Lovecraft when he was just 19 years old. In this story, a boy named Antonie Comte lived in an old castle in France. After his parents’ death, he had bought up by a person named Pierre. When he was 21 years old Pierre handed him a family document. From this, he came to know about his family's curse. Then he understands why Pierre bought him isolated and not allowed to play with other children. His objective was to keep from Antonie’s ears the idle tales of the dread curse. After reading family documents, he learns that one of his ancestors named Henry Comte was cursed by Charles Le Sorcier. Because he killed his father, Michel Mauvais after his child went missing. Since Michael was a black magician and alchemist, and many of the village's children had gone missing in the past, after Henry's baby Godfrey went missing, the villagers suspect the father and son. But to avenge his father’s death, Charles cursed Henry and killed him, and escape.

H. P. Lovecraft was called the father of modern short stories. His writing style was different. Through each short story, he had shown the extraordinary power of imagination. Such phenomenal creations had come out through his writing, I think he could had given more unimaginable writings to the readers if he had lived longer. I consider him my idol. Maybe it is not possible for anyone to think like that as he thought. Every story written by him has something to teach as a metaphor.

In this story, the author wants to understand as a metaphor that no one can actually give a curse. The curse lives within us. Our repentance is imperishable that slowly punishes us from the inside.

Those who like short stories, especially horror short stories must read H. P. Lovecraft's stories. Every story written by him has fear, mystery, and strange imagination as well as there is a lot to learn from it. Stories recommended by me are The Call of Cthulhu, The Dunwich Horror, The Dreams in the Witch House, The Haunter of the Dark, Azathoth, etc.