1. Summary
Veronika has everything such as youth, beauty, family, and job, which are coveted by most people. But she has one essential thing missing: a reason to live for. She attempts suicide by taking sleeping pills but to no avail. She ended up waking up in a mental hospital and she is told that she has only several days to live.
There are other inmates in the hospital. Zedka who had an out-of-wedlock relationship suffers from severe depression after realizing that she was exploited by the lover. Mari who was an efficient lawyer has a panic attack and has to leave her firm. Eduard who wanted to become a painter faces his affluent parents' strong objection and suffers from schizophrenia.
Interacting with the patients, she does/says what she wants without worrying about what others think of her. She frees herself to experience hatred and love. She eventually escapes from the hospital to live a happy life with Eduard.
Veronika does not die on her last day and ushers in another day of life with delight. This miracle has to do with Dr. Igor's experiment. He believed that an awareness of death encourages people to live more intensely, and it has been proven.
2. Reaction
This is my second Coelho book following The Alchemist. Honestly, neither of them I like. They are both too philosophical and out-of-this-world, which sound more like textbook lessons. Besides, the stories don't have to be that long just to say that something obvious and unequivocal. Neverthelss, I have to admit that the writer's style is impeccable and quite a few sentences resonated with me. The author definitely knows how to touch burned-out souls. But there is little or no use of getting solace from him because I know I'll have to go back to my routine with no ultimate solution.
An anecdote tells us what sanity is. When 65-year-old Mari sets off in search of adventure, the Fraternity says that Mari has finally gone insane. Normality is merely a matter of consensus; A lot of people think something is right and that thing becomes right. People go against nature because they lack the courage to be different, and thus just accept the yardstick society imposes on without wondering why they should behave like that. In a way, crazy people in the mental hospital are perfectly normal and healthy, whereas seemingly normal people outside are mentally deteriorating.
Each human being is unique and it's OK to be different. Thus, do and say what you want and be who you want in order to stay mentally healthy. Live today as if you'll die tomorrow.
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