Veronika Decides to Die

Title        : Veronika Decides to Die

Writer     : Paulo Coelho

Year        : 1998

Language              : translated into Indonesian

This is the second Paulo Coelho’s book I read so far. And one thing that I know, I’ve been trapped in the title. Deciding to die is not the core of the book, but the idea of which the book shares the way of overcoming it.

It talks about a girl named Veronika who lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia. She decides to die in the opening of the book, and when she wakes up, she’s already in an asylum called Villete. People may consider her crazy since she tries to suicide by swallowing some sleeping pills and then sends a letter to a newspaper that she decides to die in order to make people in the world know where Slovenia is. Ending up in an asylum makes Veronika knows more about life and insanity, instead of being totally insane. She meets Zedka, Mari, and Eduard (who later on becomes her lover there), and realize that life is not a narrow path which only has one way to walk on, but it has so many choices based on self. However, picking up the other way riskily draws a controversy in which people who do it will be called insane.

Coelho also makes some certain details about other characters such as Dr. Igor, Zedka, Mari, and Eduard. He elaborates each of their own stories which then bring them to their own thoughts and opinions about life and insanity. Well, I may agree on the limit between insane and sane in social life. Since society demands people to act and think the same way and be obedient to the same rules, some of them who bravely break the rule and live in their own way of life will commonly be considered insane and abnormal. But, that’s the risk of being different, something which not many people dare to do.

I like the core of the story, but not so much the story. I consider the flow of the story is just usual. The way Coelho reveals the story is not so much interesting I think, since it is usual in my perspective. Fortunately, the language is easily understood, so I can get the core of the story in an easy way too.

Rating: 2.5

The Alchemist

Title : The Alchemist
Writer : Paulo Coelho
Year : 1988
Language : translated into Indonesian

This is the first time I read Paulo Coelho’s work after being curious about him for almost this year. I wasn’t so sure to read this book, anyway. But then I decided to be brave to read it, and I got the point.

It’s about a shepherd named Santiago wandering around Andalusia to take care of his sheep. He knows that what he wants is only being a wanderer, and this is the best job to be so. He suddenly gets a dream at night, the same dream in a row. After talking to a forecaster and a mysterious king, he eventually follows his dream to Egypt, trying to find a treasure near the Pyramids, just like in his dreams. He undergoes his journey not without any obstacles, he indeed meets some mysterious happenings and signs…which bring him to the actual path of getting his dream.

Sometimes, Santiago feels hesitated to reach his dreams because he thinks that what he has so far has been enough for him, for his life. He almost surrenders in many ways. But there are always voices in his heart forcing him to keep struggling and stepping forwards to get his dream. He decides to listen to his heart, whatever it takes, to keep reaching his dream even he often believes that his dream is not real.

The way Coelho writes the story is like a fairy tale, sometimes it’s real…sometimes it’s not. However, it’s still an interesting novel. It’s inspiring and implying such a great philosophy. Whatever you want and dream in this life…will certainly drive you to the real destiny, and God will help you in any ways. One thing for sure, I’m amazed by the way Coelho describes Islam religion here and the Muslims there. I can say…he’s right in the surface. At least, he doesn’t put any false stereotypes.

Rating: 3.5

Ascolta la mia voce

Title : Ascolta la mia voce

Writer : Susanna Tamaro

Year : 2006

Language : Italian (translated into Indonesian)

This book can be said, or is actually, the sequel of my former reviewed book, Va’ dove ti porta il cuore. The novel presents the story after the main character in the former novel, a grandmother named Olga, writes a special diary for her granddaughter, Marta. In this sequel, Marta is definitely the main character revealing her feelings and thought and undergoing her life after coming back from America, just before and then after the death of her grandmother, Olga.

Marta has just arrived in her home and finds her grandmother very sick, weak, and unbelievably insane. More of forgetful, perhaps. She has to undergo her life under her own hatred towards her grandmother but pathetically at the same time puts a big pity on her. The only thing that she can remember once she sees her grandmother again is her big hatred and the reason why. However, she can’t still run from her grandmother. She stays there at their home in Italy and feels more and more sympathy towards Olga, even though she still stands on her hatred towards her. She stays until the death of Olga, and goes on living there by her own.

After Olga’s death, Marta thinks of her family much, especially her mother, Ilaria. That thought and curiosity drive her to know about the roots of her family. She wants to know more about her mother, because Olga never gives her enough information about Ilaria, and she also wants to know about her father, whom she never knows. She finds Ilaria’s memorabilia in her house and read many things about her mother from her letters and diary. From the reading, she comes to know her father, Massimo Ancoda, who is apparently never cares about her. She tries to meet him, and succeeds in it. They talk a lot and Marta eventually knows that her father is actually not a neglectful philosopher, but is only a selfish man who is afraid of living his own life and being burden by responsibility.

Since her father seems never to care enough about her, she decides to find another root of her family, of herself in particular. She goes to Israel to find her grandmother’s cousin, Gionata, and she can eventually meet him. There, they talk a lot and Marta finds some kind of revelation, enlightenment of what life is. Particularly, she comes to know what life is for other human being. When she is quite convenient to be there, there’s information that her father has passed away. And finally, she goes back to Italy to see her father for the last time. At the end of the story, she finds Olga’s diary (which is the story of Va’ dove ti porta il cuore), and reads it.

This book is full of philosophies and thoughts of life and human beings, about why we are here and for what purpose we are living in this world. The plot of the story is just a path to reveal those philosophies and thoughts, which are, for me, very deep and inspiring. The language is quite different from the language in the Va’ dove ti porta il cuore, which is much more easier to follow. The language in this novel is more complicated and yet sophisticated, the language which fits the core of the philosophies.

Rating: 3.5