I finally finished this. It was a pretty easy read, and yet it will make you think about the meaning of madness and sanity. In Spanish, we have the saying, "De artista y de loco, todos tenemos un poco. ("Of artist and mad, we all have a little bit.")

I won't give away the ending, but I will say I had mixed feelings about it. On the one hand, it seemed a bit contrived. On the other, it could be seen as a good thing. Yet a part of me wondered what if the ending would have been allowed to take a more natural course. This was the reason I only gave the book four stars instead of five, for the novel overall is really good. I think readers have to just read it and decide. The best part of the book is the premise: what if your time was counted? What would you think about? What decisions would you make? The book made me think and ask questions about myself and steps I have taken in my life, and I think that is a good thing when a book does that. In the end, I think a little madness is a very good thing, and I do my best to embrace mine.

On a final note, I think people who have thought about suicide (or attempted it) may identify with Veronika and with the book. Something to consider.

By the way, I always read Coehlo in Spanish (again, my bias that something translated from Portuguese to Spanish will likely be better), but his works are widely translated, so go get a hold of his works in whatever language works for you. I still The Alchemist is his best, but this one is very good too.