Product Description

The new novel from internationally acclaimed author Paulo Coelho -- a dramatic story of love, life and death that shows us all why every second of our existence is a choice we all make between living and dying. Veronika has everything she could wish for. She is young and pretty, has plenty of boyfriends, a steady job, a loving family. Yet she is not happy; something is lacking in her life, and one morning she decides to die. She takes an overdose of sleeping pills, only to wake up some time later in the local hospital. There she is told that her heart is damaged and she has only a few days to live. The story follows Veronika through these intense days as to her surprise she finds herself experiencing feelings she has never really felt before. Against all odds she finds herself falling in love and even wanting to live again...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3481 in Books
• Published on: 2000-09-04
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
"On 11 November 1997, Veronika decided that the moment to kill herself had--at last!--arrived": so begins Paulo Coelho's extraordinary new novel, Veronika Decides to Die. Renowned for the international success of The Alchemist, Coelho has secured his reputation as an outstanding storyteller and a key figure in world literature (his work has been translated into over 40 languages). Translated from the Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa, Veronika Decides to Die is a compelling story of a woman's struggle with and against life, told with Coelho's wit, subtlety and economy. On the track of whatever it is that makes life worth living, Coelho plots Veronika's fate with infinite care, weaving the mystery of her decision to take her own life into the themes of national identity--Veronika is a citizen of Slovenia, "that strange country that no one seemed quite able to place"--and madness.

Veronika does not die; instead, she wakes up in Villette--the "famous and much-feared lunatic asylum"--only to be told that, having damaged her heart irreparably, she has just a few days to live. What she faces now is a waiting game and the strange world of Villette: the rules and regulations which govern the lives of its inmates and the doctors who treat them. Coelho's question may be a familiar one: crudely, who, or what, is mad? But his fiction is a remarkable, sometimes chilling, response to it. "Everyone has an unusual story to tell" is the starting-point of the new treatment initiated at Villette by the enigmatic Dr Igor; it's also the insight from which this book takes off to explore the impact of a "slow, irreparable death" on a young woman and the mad men and women around her. --Vicky Lebeau

Review
'Coelho's writing is beautifully poetic but his message is what counts... he gives me hope and puts a smile on my face' DAILY EXPRESS 'His books have had a life-enhancing impact on millions of people' THE TIMES 'One of the few to deserve the term "Publishing Phenomenon"' THE INDEPENDENT ON SUNDAY

Coelho is one of the most widely read Latin authors in the world today, with his best-known novel, The Alchemist, figuring in many people's list of favourite books. This concise and expressively written new piece is a masterly marrying of style and content that should spread his appeal even further. The attractive Veronika appears to live in the best of both worlds, surrounded by handsome boyfriends, a devoted family and everything that makes life worth living. But in the winter of 1997, she decides to die. After overdosing on sleeping pills she wakes up in a hospital bed to be told that her survival will be short-lived. The intensity with which Coelho describes Veronika's coming to terms with her existence is at time painful yet always informed with compassion and a clear-sighted understanding. An unforgettable heroine and a life-affirming book. (Kirkus UK)

Synopsis
The new novel from internationally acclaimed author Paulo Coelho -- a dramatic story of love, life and death that shows us all why every second of our existence is a choice we all make between living and dying. Veronika has everything she could wish for. She is young and pretty, has plenty of boyfriends, a steady job, a loving family. Yet she is not happy; something is lacking in her life, and one morning she decides to die. She takes an overdose of sleeping pills, only to wake up some time later in the local hospital. There she is told that her heart is damaged and she has only a few days to live. The story follows Veronika through these intense days as to her surprise she finds herself experiencing feelings she has never really felt before. Against all odds she finds herself falling in love and even wanting to live again...

Customer Reviews

Bitesize philosophy
That is a little crude, but it was the first title that popped into my head. This is a captivating, beautifully written (albeit short) story of a young woman who decides to commit suicide. However she doesn't die straight away, but wakes up in a mental institution and is told that she has irreparably damaged her heart and has less than a week to live. She then spends the next 5 days on a personal journey, learning to appreciate life, and cherish even the mundane moments. She can fulfil fantasies as she has no fear of rebuke. One prevalent theme in the novel is that we repress our feelings for fear of what others may think, when we should just have the courage to live.

There are many other complex issues touched on in this novel. Those surrounding mental illness, philosophy, love...I could write a thesis! But I won't. I will just say that this book comes highly recommended. I defy anyone who says that they can't identify with aspects of the characters, their thoughts and fears; and who isn't a little bit moved. This book will keep you thinking long after turning the last page.

Will tomorrow always be there?
A complicated story of a girl, who decides to die. It is far from corny, and is in reality much more insightful. I personally picked it up and dropped it about 10 times before finally managing to start it. My grandmother's recent passing made me think it would not be a pleasant read. Turns out it was, even in that context.
I loved it because it made me pause, and think, and realise, that I should not take tomorrow for granted. And neither should you. It's one of those books that you read once and they change you. Their lessons can never be forgotten.
Highly recommended reading.

An interesting tale
I really enjoyed reading this book. It is the sort of book that makes you think about the subject matter. It's about a young girl who is bored with her life and unable to bear living a moment longer in the monotony of her existence so she decides to kill herself. She then wakes up to find she has been taken to a mental hospital and is told that she only has a few days to live as the pills she has taken have irreversibly damaged her heart. During the few days she spends in the mental hospital knowing she will soon die, she begins to think about why she wanted to die and she discovers her true purpose in life. The story does not only follow Veronika's life story but also the interesting stories behind why some of the other patients in the mental hospital are there. It questions the definition of madness. The message in the book seems to be that most people don't find their true purpose in life because most people just lives their lives in the way they are expected to or in the way other people want them to.