TEHRAN -- Iranian singer and composer Mohsen Namjoo narrates the story of Paulo Coelho’s “The Alchemist” in an album with the same title.

Released by Novin Ketab Gooya Publications, the album consists of five audio CDs which consists of Namjoo’s narration of the story according to Arash Hejazi’s translation along with a 60-minute soundtrack he composed for the novel.
The Persian version of the novel by Arash Hejazi was released by Caravan Publications in 2000. It was a bestseller and warmly received by Iranian book readers.
Many literary critics believe that Coelho in “The Alchemist” was inspired by a story with the same theme in Rumi’s Masnavi (Volume 6). The eastern mysticism which exists in Rumi’s story causes Iranians to be interested in Coelho’s novel.
“This book stresses the unity of nature and four elements namely air, fire, earth and water. Mohsen Namjoo played all the roles to stress the unity existing in the book,” translator Hejazi mentioned.
Mohsen Namjoo accompanied by officials from Caravan Publications and Novin Ketab Gooya Institutions worked on the book for two months and recorded it at the Bell Studio in Tehran, he added.
Namjoo writes his own poetry with a unique modernist flair. He sometimes uses satirical lyrics and blends them with classical poetry of Hafez, Rumi and Sadi. His bent for combining traditional Persian Music with Jazz and Blues has earned him the reputation of “Iran’s most controversial musician.”