An excellent excellent book. Veronika decides to die is a book that makes you think.
What does it mean to be mad? Anybody
who lives in their own world is mad. Schizophrenics,
psychopaths, maniacs.
People who are different from others....People who live
their life the way they want to, instead of the way others want them
to. People who follow their own
rules, and not other people's rules. Being free.The book, in a way, is liberating. Can you
imagine a life free of "should"s and "should-not"s, shrugged off with a
simple "Yes but I am mad."? All of us live in a world filled with self-imposed rules
and restrictions. It is hard to throw them off and disregard them. The book, however, comes along and tells you that it's ok to be mad. It is ok to indulge in the
small little foolish things in life that give you pleasure, but really
may not contribute to your grand scheme in life. It is ok to pursue something even if you think it might not work out. Why the
restriction? It
is not easy to be mad. Would you stop to think and ask why clocks go in the
direction they do and not the other? Clock-wise and anti-clock-wise - who determined them? Would you stop to ask why things are the way they
are? No, few of us would. We usually take things for granted and we
even chide others, "Are you mad? Why are you
asking these questions instead of doing something productive? Go study.
Go find a job. Do this. Do that. Don't upset the way things are now." When Veronika was sent to a mental hospital after her
failed suicide attempt, she thought "even if they allowed her to do all
the mad things she wanted to do, she wouldn't know where to start. She
had never done anything mad." A point to ponder over indeed.