Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho (Epub)

Description

A 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…

User’s Reviews

Amazon.com Review When Paulo Coelho (The Alchemist) was a young man, his parents had him committed to mental hospitals three times because he wanted to be an artist–an unacceptable profession in Brazil at the time. During his numerous forced incarcerations he vowed to write some day about his experiences and the injustices of involuntary commitment. In this fable-like novel, Coelho makes good on his promise, with the creation of a fictional character named Veronika who decides to kill herself when faced with all that is wrong with the world and how powerless she feels to change anything. Although she survives her initial suicide attempt, she is committed to a mental hospital where she begins to wrestle with the meaning of mental illness and whether forced drugging should be inflicted on patients who don’t fit into the narrow definition of “normal.” The strength and tragedy of Veronika’s fictional story was instrumental in passing new government regulations in Brazil that have made it more difficult to have a person involuntarily committed. Like any great storyteller, Coelho has used the realm of fiction to magically infiltrate and alter the realm of reality. –Gail Hudson –This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition. From Publishers Weekly The bestselling Brazilian author of The Alchemist delicately etches this morose but ultimately uplifting story of the suicidal Veronika, who creeps along the boundary between life and death, sanity and madness, happiness and despair. Veronika, 24, works in a library in Ljubljana, Slovenia, and rents a room in a convent; she is an attractive woman with friends and family, but feelings of powerlessness and apathy tempt her to find “freedom” in an overdose of sleeping pills. When Veronika awakens in the purgatory of Villete, the country’s famous lunatic asylum, she is told her suicide attempt weakened her heart and she has only days to live. At this point, Coelho takes a role in the novel; he describes the circumstances under which he discovered Veronika’s story and then recounts his own youthful incarceration in a Brazilian sanatorium, consigned there by parents who couldn’t understand his “unusual behavior.” As quickly as he drops in, however, he drops out again, relying on interior monologues to set scenes. In a sedative-induced haze, Veronika finds companionship in white-haired Mari, who suffers from panic attacks, and Eduard, an ambassador’s son who has been diagnosed as schizophrenic, and she begins to question the definition of insanity. It is her supposed death sentence from the devious Dr. Igor, who is trying to shock her back into reality, that allows Veronika to reacquire the will to live and love. Employing his trademark blend of religious and philosophical overtones, Coelho focuses on his central question: why do people go on when life seems unfair and fate indifferent? The simple, often banal prose contrasts Veronika’s bleak inner landscape with the beautiful contours of Slovenia, gradually culminating in an upbeat ending with the message that each day of life is a miracle. Coelho’s latest will appeal to readers who enjoy animated homilies about the worth of human existence. Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. –This text refers to an alternate kindle_edition edition.

Reviews from Amazon users, collected at the time the book is getting published on UniedVRG. It can be related to shiping or paper quality instead of the book content:

⭐ I like that all of Paulo Coehlo’s stories are journeys that are about mysticism and the journey of life. And, Veronika Decides To Die does not disappoint on this theme. There are some great points in this story that make you think about life and whether you are living it in a way that is really being true to who you are. In that regard, it’s a great book. And worth reading.Veronika is a pretty young woman who has made safe choices in life and leads a very ho-hum existence. It’s too much and she decides to commit suicide. I struggled with this being her reason, as in real life, many suicide attempts are by people who are deeply depressed or suffering from tragedy or deep pain. But, back to the story, when she overdoses she is shocked to wake up in a mental hospital. She is given the diagnosis that the overdose severely damaged her heart and she only has a short time to live. At first, this makes her just want to get it over with, and she wants to try again to kill herself and tries to make some connections in the mental hospital to do that. But as she meets others in there, she begins to find out that numerous people there are not crazy, and not mentally disabled, they are people who were just simply not normal. They didn’t fit into society. And the question is posed, what is crazy? And the point is brought up, weren’t people like Einstein and Beethoven and others like them just as crazy, since they heard of imagined things no else could? And, as we find out, there are numerous people in the mental institute who were committed by family for this reason, they were misunderstood, didn’t fit in, and in cases like Mari she had panic attacks. And Eduard the schizophrenic, turns out, his parents thought he was crazy and had him admitted, and he has chosen to accept this title to escape his parents not allowing him to live the life he wanted of being an artist.The doctor in charge of the patients, Dr. Igor, a clever name certainly hinting at Dr. Frankenstein’s assistant, who is somewhat mad himself, has strange theories that insanity is actually primarily caused by vitriol in people’s lives. He is constantly working on this thesis for the paper that will one day change the way people look at insanity.Veronika, getting to know these other inmates, and realizing she has little time left, listens to the advice of some of the brilliant inmates there who are in fact not crazy, but choose to continue living there because it is a place they feel comfortable and are free to be who they really are. So Veronika begins to loosen up, speak up, say things to others she normally wouldn’t say. She allows herself to step out of acting normal, and finds that life is better acting a little crazier. She can’t sleep at night and she goes plays the piano. And it turns out, this new freedom allows her to express the real piano virtuoso that has been hidden all these years and it turns out she is a real artist at heart. But, how sad to have found out so late in the game. But, she realizes she will make the best of the time she has. And she starts really living life with appreciation. And her piano playing begins to affect Eduard, bringing him out his shell, and they make a deep connection, helping each other.There are so many things about this story that have a great message about how playing it safe, and acting normal can in fact be one of the worst things a person can do. That being “normal” and trying to just fit in, is bondage. And Veronika realizes that she probably would never have tried to end her life, and would have been happier if she had allowed herself to act a little crazier.But, I struggled with the mixed messages in the story that somewhat trivializes some mental health issues and suicide, all of which are tragic and sad and very real issues in the world. And not all people who need help for mental health issues are actually brilliant and perfectly normal, but are merely misunderstood. In the book Paulo Coehlo even has some of the patients really enjoy things like Insulin Shock therapy. Zedka looks forward to it, and when she gets it it actually allows her to astral project and her spirit soar all over, going on wonderful journeys. And Eduard really likes his electrical shock treatments.This is why I struggled with my feelings on the book. He took a subject, someone despairing enough about their life to want to end it, and shows us how learning to really express who you are can make you happier in life. That’s a great message. But, in the case of Veronika, it is all under the pretext that many of the lessons she learns are from secretly brilliant people who prefer to live in an insane asylum where they feel more comfortable fitting in, and where they use things like Insulin Shock Therapy to astral project, etc. And, spoiler alert, don’t read on if you don’t want to know the ending. You find out that Dr. Igor made up the diagnosis that Veronika had a bad heart because he theorized that telling her she had a short time to live would inspire her to embrace life. And he was right.At the end of the book Paulo Coehlo gives background information on the book, that in fact, he based the idea for it in part on the real life experience, that he, like the character Eduard, wanted to be an artist, and his parents were upset about it and ultimately had him put in a insane asylum. It was enlightening to realize he was inspired based on some of his own experiences. But, again, it seemed like he trivialized the fact that suicide and depression and mental health disorders can be and are debilitating illnesses and that many health professionals are not crackpots like Dr. Igor, but actually use all kinds of medications and even behavior modification therapy to get people back to living healthier lives.

⭐ This is the second book I read by Paulo Coelho and it was even better than the first. Suicide – such a tough subject. Some feel that the person taking their life are selfish, some understand, some wish they knew that the person was that down so they could of been their to help and some just don’t understand. All in all it is a sad and tough thing to go through when a family member or close friend decide to take their own life.But when you survive suicide how does the one taking their life feel? Waking up and realizing you are alive. And if this was to happen but you were told your attempt still worked because the damage to your body is so severe you have a week to live? How does one feel then facing death knowing its inevitable? Death is inevitable but when it is to approach us we do not know. We all subconsciously think about our death – but on a daily level? The seriously ill think about death. But to actually wait for your death to come? What feelings and thoughts race through your mind. So how would you feel knowing you were going to die? Would you start to live again? It is a deep question one at the moment I am thankfully do not need to ponder (but at times will admit I do). This story was beautifully written and has awaken inside of me the joy of living. Living as life should be enjoyed in the moment not past or present and always believe in yourself.

⭐ The whole story is about to be different or yourself… and this is madness… if you want to fit in society and do everything to be the same and not different than the other people you became mad…. because everybody is different… and if we don’t live what we are, we become depressed, isolated from our true self and from other people… And this is the reason why Veronika and other people are in the madhouse… Veronika and her friends got cured by just living what they are… what is wrong to be mad or different or yourself…? What is to be mad? Different from the society!

⭐ Review: Veronika Decides To Die by Paulo Coelho. 4 Stars 11/04/2018It could have been a depressing read but Paulo Coelho made the story entertaining. The book weights highly on Paulo Coelho own personal experience when he was institutionalized. Coelho’s description of the motivation behind the story is when he was younger in Brazil around 1960’s the emphases to artist was synonymous with homosexual, communist, drug addict, and low-life is similar to the same as USA’s views of the artist who drank and smoked with simplistic behavior, sometimes occasionally functional, at times completely unstable with society and the subtlety of influences that they had to face.The story is about a young Slovenian woman, Veronika, who attempts suicide a few times, fails, and is institutionalized. While in the confines of the facility Veronika is told that by overdosing on pills she had damaged her heart and only has five days to live. She now has to come to grips with what it means to be dying.Coelho writes about the effects of Veronika’s death sentence diagnosis and how she interacts with other patients. The first patient she interacts with is Zedka who is a depressive person who offers Veronika advice and insight. Than there is Maria, who withdrew from her family, friends and society because she was having severe panic attacks. Plus there is Eduardo, a schizophrenic, who befriends Veronika who is unsure if she wants a friend. Veronika still wants to die but decides she doesn’t want to hide out at the facility like the others who are free to defy rules without judgment and the feeling of being safe and secure…She is still confused about what it means to die…!

⭐ This was a good book. Coelho seems to write really interesting book. The alchemist was good. I have not reread this but it does give a twist in perspective by the time you are done reading. I gave this 4 stars only because I think I was looking for something else in the book and THOUGHT it was going to read one way but it came about in a different direction so I guess its really not the issue of the book just in my expectation of what I thought it should be.

⭐ My favorite lines:. I came into this world in order to go through: attempted suicide, ruining my heart, meeting you, coming up to this castle, letting you engrave my face on your soul. That is the only reason I came into the world, to make you go back to the path you strayed from… “This book is very profound. I really enjoyed it. Wasn’t overly serious. Had some laughing points. However, I thought I’d scream at the scene with Edward. OMG!!I enjoyed this book! So much to think about. What I wouldn’t give to be a part a discussion on this one.

⭐ Set in Ljubljana, Slovenia – Veronika is a twenty-something with a steady job, no lack of admirers and loving parents. One day she decides to end her life, for what seems to be utter boredom with life.Her suicide fails and she wakes up in a Mental Health institution called Villete. There she finds out that the pills she took to end it all, have damaged her heart. She has mere days to live. In the week that comes, she goes on a journey of self-discovery.In “Veronika Decides to Die,” Author Paulo Coelho questions the meaning of madness. Reading you find yourself pondering the mundane aspects of the every day. Is following your dream really so crazy? Or rather, is conforming to society’s norm not the death of your spirit?In true Paulo Coelho fashion, the writing is poetic and expressive. It tends to be somewhat verbose if you are not yet accustomed to his style. Sometimes it feels like the author is breaking out into a spiritual sermon, all in the disguise of fiction. This makes it a somewhat slow read.The story is loosely based on events in the author’s own life. In the afterword, the author tells you how the book touched the life of his readers and fellow countrymen. Reading a passage from the book helped one senator pass a law, which was being held back the previous ten years. This law forbids “arbitrary admissions into mental institutions” in Brazil.“Veronika Decides to Die” gets a 5 out of 5 Stars from me. Despite its wordiness, I found the book to be genuinely inspiring.

⭐ My book club read this and we all disliked it. This is a translated book – it was originally written in Portuguese. Because of this, some of the story line seems poorly strung together and the way it is written is definitely hard to get into. I disliked all but the last 25% of the book. To get through it, I would read it in 10-15 minute intervals, as I could not get engaged in this style of writing. I am an avid reader; (1-3 books a week), and I struggled a lot with this story. Veronika isn’t happy with her life, doesn’t see it ever getting better, so she decides, why not? There is nothing heartbreaking about her story, no hidden reason, just boredom with life. The story poses thought provoking questions about how we handle the daily struggles of balancing life, work, and family, as well as why some people can’t manage the balance. But overall, I think the translation makes it just meh. I was glad to finally finish it and be done.

⭐ This book explores what people consider “normal” versus “crazy”. It also let me realize that once one is living, you dont realize the importance of things you encounter in your day to day life and show appreciation for the simple things. However, once you realize that you only have a few days to live, you try to live as much as u can within those few days, and do the things that you would never do since you wont live long enough to suffer the consequences or to even care what people would say. (Things such as approach a guy, do things in public you always thought was embarrassing, do things outside of your comfort zone).Also, it touches on the fact that when you are living and doing the same things every day in a mundane routine, you tend to think this life is not for you and is not worth living as it just a rote existence and you just want to end it all.It’s an eye opening book, but you have to interpret the full meaning below the surface/words. If you take it at face value, I don’t think you will like it. This is my 4th book that I have read by Paulo and thus far my 3rd favorite.

⭐ For anyone that has contemplated suicide, or has attempted it, or been in a mental hospital, this book is NOT just for you. Mental health is always talked about as an important issue on this planet lately. But this book, it makes you look at the real underlying truth to these “mental health issues” in this world. And the one main point that you should take from this book is that there are more people on this planet that have been through and dealt with some traumatic or darkness in their lifetime, then there are those that have not – and for whatever reason there is that time is spent in a hospital, you are the norm of society, and you always have been, you just had the opportunity to handle your issues with a professional vs. others that live in silence and repeat their daily lives never to see the world as it is and never moving past their past and present and living and breathing in this world.

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