We take life for granted. We get bored, we miss out the finer aspects of life, and keep chasing and running elusive goals set by others for us!! And all the while, the sands of time slip through. When we are ready to enjoy, old age and death face us. Sometimes, even before we are ready.
This book makes you sit back and think. What if you were faced with the prospect of death just as you started valuing life?
Veronika has no troubles in life - and that troubles her. She has friends, she does not have any impossible wants and her life is smooth. Too smooth. So, she commits suicide. Unsuccessfully.
And she is taken to an asylum for treatment. Here, she sees life - people really mad, people pretending to be mad...and she sees life. But, life plays a trick on her and she will die in a week. Now starts her hunger to live it to the fullest - and she tries to snatch seconds, minutes and hours.
The beauty of Coelho’s writing is that, he presents thoughts without complexities, almost like in parables. Though his Alchemist was more like a parable, this one is like a story that could happen to you and me. And, it sets you thinking without dragging you into philosophy. You just feel V’s pangs and want to join in her joys and pains.
This is a must read for all.