Veronika Decides to Die

I would recommend this book to everyone. This book is so powerful. It makes you want to do new things, to really live your life. It makes you rethink your life choices. It makes you think what truly living can actually do.Reading the title would make you assume it's only about why Veronika, well, decided to die. But it's so much more than that. The book explores how people perceive life. Difficulties faced by them. And how they can be cured of their monotonous, boring life with a little madness. Everyone is capable of madness but the right amount can make all the difference. “Be crazy! But learn how to be crazy without being the center of attention. Be brave enough to live different.”There were moments when that made me go WTF. Most of it was when Dr. Igor starts on his discovery of Vitriol. Other than that, the book gets 4 shiny stars.As it's said to the kids, the moral of the story (for me): follow your passion. Do things to make your soul happy and let your crazy out every once in a while.

The themes of the book are fascinating – the cross-over between madness and sanity, the difficulty people face when they feel they are at odds with society. The suggestion that every one is different but that the masses expend vital energy trying to be the same as everyone else (I recall a Monty Python sketch at this point). It looks at the value of life – the mindless repetition of days versus the thrill of believing each day might be our last, and living every moment to the full in an authentic way.What doesn’t work in the book, for me anyway, and reading other reviews it seems a common complaint, is the way the story shifts point of view in an arbitrary manner, taking away from rather than adding to the value of the piece. The author manages to insert himself into one of the chapters for no good reason, sticking to the afterword would have been more effective. Following Veronika’s journey closely to its conclusion would have been far more satisfying, instead the narrative jumps between patients and the doctor. It doesn’t commit to the story, and perhaps this is to reflect that Veronika didn’t commit to her life. But it doesn’t feel like a metaphor or a clever device. It feels lazy and ill thought out.It is a good story, but it isn’t as great a book as I’ve come to expect from Coelho.

Read this back in 2007 & remember enjoying it - has a strong message and was beautifully written.Coelho is a wonderful writer.Limited story, but a great read if you feel you are in need of some perspective.

I bought this after reading the synopsis. I was intrigued by the thought that what would a person do when they find out they have only a week to live after that person already tried to commit suicide. Does it changes their perspective about life or it encourages to commit suicide again?As I was reading the book, I found out that the emotions that the girl feel inside the hospital are usually the same we all feel in our daily lives living in our society. It motivates us to live freely, not to waste even a second about what others say or feel about you. Those people are not living your life. There are people who wants us to live our life like they want, like the society has intended for us. This book forces us to question that are they right to do so? Do we want to live like that? Do we want to live our life suppressing our desires just because society thinks its taboo? Are we going to do the same with future generation?This book made me think all those questions. As I kept on reading, I found the answer to those question.This book made me feel so special that after finishing it, the first thought that came in my mind is to write a review about it so that more & more people read it & live their life without any guilt or shame about what they desire or how they want to live.So, just go for it without thinking twice because .well, its Paulo Coelho.... Happy Reading....

A book to make you think and question your outlook on life. How many people affected by the world we live in and the wars that rage around us question the reason for their existence. This is a book to help give you answers and cope with these tragic times. Really enjoyed it.