Books : Veronika Decides to Die: A Novel of Redemption (P.S.)

Rating: - Another book straight to the heart of the matter
He's done it again. If you loved The Alchemist, rush out to your bookstore (don't even wait to buy it online and wait for shipment) and immediately buy this book! I don't know which I like better. Other reviewers can tell you what it's about, but frankly, with this author's books, you're better not knowing and just falling in love with reading it. A perfect book for reading when things are crazy, life isn't as expected, or even when life is perfect. It's a soul searching novel, asking you to delve deep into changing the situation to create happiness around you.

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Rating: - Substandard
Plenty of writers have examined clinical psychology and the people who practice it, challenging the standards of sanity, the therapies, and the operation of mental institutions. And most of their books are a lot better than Veronika Decides to Die. Paulo Coelho doesn't really add anything to what's already been said on the subject.

Granted, this is the only work of Coelho's that I've read, and I'm reading it in translation, so I may not be getting the full effect. But so far as I can tell, this book is a series of serious missteps interspersed with only minor displays of skill.

I'm ceding it two stars because it's brief and simple, but that's the best thing I can think of to say about it.

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Rating: - A "Life Is Beautiful" Account Any Cynic Can Enjoy!
Paulo Coelho weaves us the story of your quintessential twenty-four year-old European woman who decides to kill herself when she realizes that her life is insignificant and that she will just keep getting older and uglier and people will betray her and her life will just go downhill. She decides to cut her losses and kill herself with an overdose of tranquilizers. She wakes up on the medical floor of a renowned and intimidating mental hospital known as Villette. Once she is conscious, Veronika is informed by doctors that she has done irreversible damage to her heart and will die within a week; this knowledge reinforced by recurrent episodes of cardiac arrest. Upon hearing this knowledge, Veronika is forced to come to terms with the numbness and oblivion with which she has lived and how she can make the most of the life she has left.

The book has many colorful characters and its setting in Slovenia throws in some historical intrigue. There is Zedka, a housewife undergoing insulin-shock treatments for depression over a lost love whom she misses, but doesn't really understand why. There is Eduard, a handsome young schizophrenic who unwittingly becomes the impetus for Veronika's spiritual and sexual reawakening. Lastly, there is Dr. Igor, the humorous and metaphysical head psychiatrist, who will stop at nothing and no one to complete his thesis on "Vitriol" (his name for the inner poisoning which creates insanity in his patients--or in a simpler term "bitterness". Together, these colorful characters pave a path for Veronika's recovery, culminating in a truly fabulous and suspenseful ending which can't possibly be imagined beforehand.

Although the translation is a bit awkward in parts, the book is very well-written. Coelho shows insight into a female character without degradation. It is a very fast read and fairly easy to understand in spite of its highly philosophical content. Hints of Coelho's own life shine through in his portrayal of a society's great disdain for artists. Humor adds an ironic twist to the story, particularly in the beginning, where Paulo Coelho himself makes an appearance in his own story. There is a richness and lightness about the topic in spite of its ominous note of death, and Coelho speaks like a modern Emerson. Veronika's cynicism contrasts perfectly with her later sense of enlightenment and rebirth.

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Rating: - A book that must me read
My first reading of Coelho was 'The Alchamist' and it changed my life.When i first saw 'Veronika Decides to Die' on the shelves i grabbed it immediately. Again it changed my life,beliefs and perception of life.
Veronika resembles millions of those who are lost between being what they are and what others want them to be.After she thought that her life became redundant, she thinks that the only thing she hasn't discovered yet is death. After her failed attempt to commit suicide,she is addmitted to Villete, a hospital for mental patients.There she meets people who are simply incapable of living a 'normal' life because they are not acceptable anymore.
Her presence in the hospial triggered others to percieve life in a different view.Eduard, a schizophrenic,discoverd love, Zedka decided to carry on her life,Mari knew what she really wanted after hiding from it all her life.
A book that would make you read it till the end without stopping.You will discover what is love,dignity,dreams,and craziness. It answers the questions of 'what is right and what is correct', 'why should we live','who should we be'.
A book that you must have in your library.
Finally, thank you Paulo Coelho for changing my life.Thank you for making me "CRAZY".

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Rating: - Coelho makes you think about not taking life for granted
This a beautifully written book. It makes the reader think of all the possiblities in life and the power inside yourself to overcome fear.