Veronika Decides to Die - Book Version

“In a world where everyone struggles to survive whatever the cost, how could one judge those people who decide to die?” – Veronika

     First of all, I would like to say how much I enjoy my World Literature class. I could write a million articles about poets, writers, and their masterpieces with a smile on my face. Anyway, this time, our class is tasked to write a critique about the book version of Veronika Decides to Die. For those, who have already read the book and have also seen the movie then the differences between the two should be obvious. In the book, Veronika works in the library but in the movie she works as an Account Executive and the doctor in the mental hospital is named Dr. Igor but in the movie, the doctor is named Dr. Blake. The setting in the book is in Slovenia but the movie is set in New York. However, these minor differences aren't really that important because both versions did convey the same message and that message is "Awareness of Life".

     Alright, so let me begin by stating a fact mentioned in the book. Veronika is a character that was taken from a real life person who is also named Veronika. Paulo Coelho heard about Veronika's story and pursued to know more about it. For those who already know the story, you know that Veronika decided to commit suicide but she failed to end her life and found herself in a mental hospital. In relation to that, Paulo's reason of wanting to know more about Veronika's story is because he had gone to a mental hospital himself three times, in 1965, 1966, and in 1967. He still found it unusual though as to why he was brought there by his parents. So the first part of the book is simply an introduction as to how the author came up with the whole concept of the book. Furthermore, Paulo also explained the two reasons why Veronika decided to die. The first reason is that everything in Veronika's life was the same and just like in the movie, she was very negative about how her life would turn out once her youth was gone. Second reason is that everything that was happening around her was wrong and she felt useless because she found no way of making things right.

     In the book, Veronika was living like any other normal human being. She lived in a rented room located in a convent and works as a librarian. She got sick of her mechanical ways of living and after taking a handful of pills, she found herself tightly strapped on a hospital bed. By then, she knew her plan of killing herself didn't work. She promised to herself that she would not leave Vilette alive. However, the doctors of the hospital broke the news brought about by the pills she took. Her heart was irreversibly damaged and soon it would just stop beating. It would only take a week at most before her heart would stop to function. In her stay in Vilette she met Zedka, Mari and Eduard, the guy whom she fell in love with. Eduard is schizophrenic in the book and expresses his own view of paradise through his painting. After meeting Eduard and showing interest in him, she realized then how much she could in her life, things she never thought she could do. After experiencing a shift in her view of life, she asked two favors from Dr. Igor. First was that she wanted to get an injection to prevent her from falling asleep and the second was she wanted to leave from Vilette and die outside. She mentioned all the things that she wanted to do once she steps outside and she wanted to do them one after the other despite the exhaustion covering her body. And just like in the movie, Dr. Igor didn't tell Veronika that she wasn't really going to die.

     Since the differences between the two aren't really that significant because it didn't affect the whole point of the story, I found both masterpieces an effective way of reminding people about how important it is to value life and to appreciate everything that's happening around them. The message of the book is "awareness of life" and was delivered by Dr. Igor through his decision not to tell Veronika the truth about her illness. Veronika also sent me a message through her former way of living. It reminds me of myself sometimes. I tend to assume what the future might bring and dwell on them for too long without realizing that I am already degrading the value of my life.

     Paulo Coelho's writing is impeccable and his way of narrating Veronika's story is purely creative. His choice of words and construction of sentences aren't too complicated making the book easy to understand. The message that was sent across by the book inspired me to live my life to the fullest. I believe that every single individual on earth should take a chance in reading Paulo Coelho's work because it will surely change their view of life, especially if they are living the kind of life that Veronika used to live into. I don't think that people would have a different take on this book since the reason why Paulo wrote this book is apparently to inspire his readers and remind them about the importance of life. I guess there's one thing mentioned in the book that I could relate with and that is the the assumption of negative things that could happen. Sometimes when we think logically, we can come up with possibilities of what could happen next in a particular situation. Like for example, imagine a pregnant 18 year old high school student who just dropped out from school. If we think about it, we can already build a future for that girl based on her present condition and that's what I do sometimes. I have a tendency to build my future through assumptions and believe that they would come true. Sometimes, I forget that my future is built through the actions I take in the present and how I respond to the challenges my life are throwing at me.

     To sum it up, this book is one of the best books ever written in the history of the human race and I recommend this to those who haven't read the book yet.

Photo from: inthenextroom.blogspot.com

Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl

"And whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery." -Anne Frank

Anne Frank's astonishing and lucid life undertaking reached me through one of the best movies in my list, Freedom Writers that is starred by Hilary Swank. A fragment of Anne's story was discussed in the said movie and in fact, some of the actors even read several of the many heart-breaking excerpts from the book. Upon getting enlightened by her unbelievable story, I knew right then and there that I had to get a copy of this book. Actually, it took a few years before I got a hard-copy of it but it was worth the wait. 

Imagine a life inside a small box.

Pitch-black.

Uncomfortable.

Desolate.

A life of nothingness.

This was the kind of life Anne Frank had to live in. Generally, she was living a blissful life as a 13 year old girl and then one day, everything seemed to have turned upside down and the only life she knew how to live was suddenly nabbed from her. She was forced to go through a kind of living that any 13 year old doesn't deserve.

It was in the year 1942, the time when Nazis was still occupying Holland, the time when Anne and her family had to flee from their home in Amsterdam and hide. It didn't take long before they were traced and had to live with another family in what they labelled as the "Secret Annexe" located in an old office building. They had to endure hunger, boredom and the consequences of living in confined dwellings and worst, the possible discovery of their whereabouts that could lead into death.

Upon reading Anne's diary chapter after chapter drew me to so many questions. Why did they have to live through such a gruesome life if they could have lived otherwise? Why did they have to suffer even if there was an option not to let them? Why did a lot of people have to die even if they didn't have to? It was an issue of arrogance, greed of power and discrimination that led to the sufferings of a 13 year old dreamer and I am pretty sure there were a lot of Anne Franks out there whose dreams were cut short too because of the fact that there were some people who couldn't live without mercilessly putting innocent people through such terrible ordeal.

Through Anne's diary I learned to love more. To love people regardless of color, culture and personal belief. There are myriad of reasons why we're living in such a chaotic world and one of the reason is because we can't accept the fact that people are different and most importantly we can't learn to love people for who they are. If we could just learn to love one another and be kind to another, we can move mountains and definitely bestow peace that has never been given to this ever-deranged world of ours.

This book is an eye-opener and an inspiration to anybody.

By the way, as I was reading this book, I took the time to take note of my favorite quotes from her diary.

MY FAVORITE QUOTES FROM THE BOOK:

"The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature."

"As long as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles."

"Riches can all be lost, but that happiness in your own heart can only be veiled, and it wills till bring you happiness again, as long as you live. As long as you look fearlessly up into the heavens, as long as you know that you are pure within, and that you will still find happiness."

"Go outside, to the fields, enjoy nature and the sunshine, go out and recapture happiness in yourself and in god. Think of all the beauty that's still left in and around you and be happy."

"And whoever is happy will make others happy too. He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery."

"I can shake off everything if I write;my sorrow disappears, my courage is reborn. I can recapture everything when I write, my thoughts, my ideals, and my fantasies."

"Laziness may appear attractive, but work gives satisfaction."

"Parents can only give good advice or put them on the right paths, but the final forming of a person's character lies in their own hands."

The Fifth Mountain by Paulo Coelho

"If you have a past that dissatisfies you, forget it now. Imagine a new story of your life, and believe in it. Concentrate only on those moments in which you achieved what you desired, and this strength will help you to accomplish what you want." - Elijah

If I would name a walking inspiration in my life, one of them would be Paulo Coelho simply because he breathes encouraging thoughts through his novels that triggers a blast of motivation to a person's life. I remember the very first novel of Paulo that I read, "The Alchemist", it taught me to follow my dreams and fulfill my purpose in life. Next was, "The Devil and Miss Prym", it made me embrace my strengths and weaknesses as a human being and despite my weaknesses present within me, I can always choose to do the right thing. "Veronika Decides to Die", taught me to value my life and always live it to the fullest. "Like a Flowing River" taught me to persevere in the pursuit of my personal goals and to never ever give up in times of challenges and last but absolutely not the least, "The Fifth Mountain" that taught me the value of having a strong faith in God and how limitless is a man's reach with a mighty faith.

"The Fifth Mountain" is one of the recent books of Paulo Coelho that I've read. The story begins in the ninth century B.C. The Phoenician Princess Jezebel wants all the prophets who renounce to bow down to the pagan god Baal to be executed. While the order from the princess is in the process, Elijah was advised by an angel of God to escape from Israel and find refuge in the land of Zarephath. Unexpectedly, he finds true love in the said land with a young widow but his new found joy is  about to disappear when his faith in God is tested through a whirlwind of unfortunate events that is cast upon him. 

The ordeal that Elijah had to face somehow resembles human beings' problems in real life. Whenever we cross paths with any difficulty, we tend to ask God why, what for and how are we going to go through this and of course we don't get any verbal answer from him and so we get hurt, not because God doesn't respond to us but because of the fact that we are in a total rut. We cry and eventually, sometimes, we find someone or something to blame knowing that doing those things can never really ease the pain. At some point we want to give up because we feel that it's hopeless. This is exactly what Elijah was feeling while he traverses the rocky paths he had to take. 

After reading the book, I realized that Elijah symbolizes every human being in this world. Each and everyone of us faces challenges everyday. Some challenges are a walk in the park but some are "Mission Impossible". Either way, we seek strength from our personal inspiration, it could be a God we believe in, a family member, music or anything that can help us go through any challenge with flying colors.

Personally, I hold on to God in my highest and lowest times. He may not answer my questions verbally but he has answered a lot of my questions so far through every trials I have faced in my life. Sometimes I would get confused and think maybe God doesn't like me so much he fills my life with relentless misery. However, in my 20 years of existence, I know for a fact that God is not destruction and that God is not misery. I personally believe that God is love and God is hope. Since God is nothing but goodness, I can safely say that behind every ugly faced ordeal is a shining light of love and hope that can sweep even the darkest corner in a person's life.

Where the Heart Is by Billie Letts

"Where the Heart Is" is a book encompassing friendship, love and family and how each one proves its significance in a person's life. The story begins with the introduction of Novalee Nation, a true believer of superstitions;unlucky sevens to be particular. She's only 17 years old carrying a seven month old baby in her womb heading to California with Willy Jack, her boyfriend (and I thought I'd only see a case of teenage pregnancy on MTV).  Due to someone's inconsideration and selfishness, Novalee finds herself stranded at a Wal-Mart in Sequoyah, Oklahoma. Novalee, only having $7.77 in her pocket, faces a seemingly troublesome life that is pending to unfold before her and her baby. Yeah, I know. Seventh month old baby, 17 years old, $7.77, talk about unlucky sevens. Anyway, as she builds a temporary home in a Wal-mart, she encounters these incredible people willing to give her a hand to forget the past, start a new life and learn new things with the person closest to her heart, her baby.

As a book lover, as much as possible I open my horizons to various types of books simply because I get bored when I stick my face on one book genre. Moreover, books of the same genre get predictable for some reason. I used to read books written only by Nicholas Sparks and after finishing a couple of his works, I got a little bit uninterested due to the fact that every book of Sparks that I own seem to revolve around love and its bitter-sweetness. Upon realizing that, I found out that I am man in pursuit of variety in terms of book types.

Going back to Billie Letts' masterpiece, this book has taken me to an emotional roller-coaster ride for it does not tackle only one aspect of a person's life but it also deals with the importance of family and friendship. As embarrassing as it may sound, I should say that this is one of the few books that made me teary-eyed. It's filled with dramatic scenes that get more intense as you go through the motions of every character in the story. Lastly, I like the way the story runs from the very beginning to the end. There's no boring segment in it which some books unfortunately have. If you like to find out the moving, funny and unforgettable journey of the 17 year old Novalee Nation then give this a try. 

Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin

Give yourself a minute to take a look around. Take a sight not just at what your eyes can reach but at how far your imagination can go. Imagine the places on the other side of the world. See what's making people busy. Are they happy or are they sad? Tell me, what do you see? For some people, it only takes awareness before they realize that there's something that must be done. Others have to be pushed until they realize the importance of their initiative to make a change.

For Greg Mortenson, it didn't take days or weeks or years before he knew that action must be taken when he found himself in a spiral of problematic chaos in Pakistan and Afghanistan. The apparent hopelessness of people presented itself right before Greg's eyes. In the process of getting to know the villages he stumbled upon and its inhabitants, what really caught his attention and what broke his heart into pieces was the suffering of the educational system and institutions of the people there.

He knew right then and there that a lot of children were more than willing to get an education but their dreams of getting a degree was gradually being crushed by seemingly unavoidable societal issues. He didn't waste a second before he formulated his plan to build schools for the young generation. He didn't waste a second to shower hope upon these people even if that meant risking his life for them. He didn't waste a second to set his personal life aside and put his mission as his top priority. His mission to promote peace and build a better future for the children.

Upon reading this book, I wasn't that much concerned on how the remarkable story of Greg Mortenson will be narrated for as long as the message of hope will come across as clear as the blue sky because I think that's the sole of purpose of having printed the book in the first place. And that is to inspire and give hope especially to those people who think world problems can never be solved anymore. However, I have to say that David Oliver Relin did a very good job in writing Greg's uplifting story. He did write about Greg's life very well which helped me grasped the meaning of Greg's life and the path that he decided to take.

When I got to the ending, the story of Greg Mortenson convinced me more that there is still hope for us despite the persistent predicaments unfolding from left to right. I feel re-energized knowing that there are people out there on the move, doing what they believe is right.

Based on "Three Cups of Tea",  it takes full awareness of the problem backed up by sincere continual action to make a change. 

Haven't read the book yet??? I suggest you give it a try.

What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell

Most of us believe that the truth will set us free, but what if speaking the truth will put the people we love in jeopardy, will we still think of our own freedom? 

It was this question that haunted Evie, the main character in this novel, when she got into a situation where she was torn between doing the right thing and protecting the most important people in her life. The supposed fun vacation in Palm Beach, courtesy of her father Joe, turned her life into a movie, playing a series of unfortunate circumstances right before her eyes. When she thought Peter Coleridge, who used to work for Joe, would be the love of her life turned out to be holding a very dark secret that could break her family apart. The exchange of every event in Evie's life breathed confusion, realization and somehow, the truth.

This mystery novel was written by Judy Blundell who is known to write books for middle grade, young adult and adult readers. You may be familiar with her other masterpieces, Premonitions and The 39 Clues.

First of all, I must say how much I love this novel. One of the many reasons is the fact that the author was able to fill a 280 page novel with a very effective mystery. The perfect mystery that can cause you an incessant longing for answers. As a matter of fact, I found myself hanging with so many questions chapter after chapter which I like in a typical mystery book. Every character connected with the conflicts that arose seemed to have been hiding something which I personally believed would clear Evie's confusion with what's going on around her.

The way Judy Blundell described every character, every place and every scene in the book definitely created a blockbuster movie in my mind. 

The characters are given enough spotlight for me to figure out their significance in the story and their respective descriptions made it possible for me to draw a visual illustration of what I think they look like. I also like it when there's not too many characters in a novel because I only get stuck in a spiral of confusion if so, making me lose my interest of reading another word in the book. "What I Saw and How I Lied" has a perfect number of characters to create a very strong story foundation.

The selected places in the novel seemed to have been taken from real life making the whole point of the book realistic. Every scene that took place are well-written I could actually feel every emotion that it conveys.

In a nutshell, I like this book so much I recommend you guys reading it if you haven't read this book yet.