The Alchemist (Portuguese: O Alquimista) is a novel by Paulo Coelho first published in the year 1988.he basic story of The Alchemist appears in previous works. In 1935, the Argentine writer, Jorge Luis Borges, published a short story called Tale of Two Dreamers in which two men dream of the other's treasure. Another version appeared in E. W. Lane's translation of The Thousand and One Nights.