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Veronika Decides to Die (Paperback)

by Paulo Coelho (Author), Margaret Jull Costa (Translator)
4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Veronika Decides to Die + The Alchemist: A Fable About Following Your Dream + Eleven Minutes
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Product details

  • Paperback: 208 pages
  • Publisher: Thorsons; Film tie-in ed edition (4 Sep 2000)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0722540442
  • ISBN-13: 978-0722540442
  • Product Dimensions: 19.6 x 12.8 x 2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 9,011 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #5 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > C > Coelho, Paulo

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Product Description

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
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Customer Reviews

72 Reviews
5 star:
 (41)
4 star:
 (14)
3 star:
 (6)
2 star:
 (2)
1 star:
 (9)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (72 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
14 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars thought-provoked by clear message and simple style, 26 Jul 2002
By A Customer
Most of the reviews here compare 'Veronika' to 'the Alchemist', and I think that the comparison is a valuable one. Coelho's message in both books is one of being true to yourself, seeing and accepting the beauty of your own life. This is indeed a deeply personal lesson worth learning. However, I think it's better expressed in 'the Alchemist' than here. Coehlo writes in simple and accessible prose, which gives his message a certain charm. But I think really if you've read one Coelho book, then unless you appreciate the style more than the message, then there's no need to read any more. 'The Alchemist' is enough Coelho for me. If the message of self-realisation interests you then I'd recommend Hesse's 'Siddharta' instead of 'Veronika'. Having said that 'Veronika' is not a bad read, just a re-hashing of the same ideas Coelho has expressed before.
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18 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A great inspiring novel that you must have, 18 Aug 2001
By scheufler@pandora.be (Brussels, Belgium) - See all my reviews
After "The Alchemist" I think this is his second best novel. I've read almost every of his books and this author is really AMAZING, you never get tired of him! All of his books have a message, hidden or not, they all have a message: In "Veronika decides to die" the message is that you have to LOVE LIFE beneath all... The story is about a "perfect woman" that wants to get rid of her life and how life changes for her when that does not happen, instead she has to live knowing that she will actually die...the end is magnificent!!! If you like Paulo Coelho this book is a MUST from his collection.
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30 of 46 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Another 'thinker' from Coelho, 31 Oct 2002
By Philip Roberts (Brighton - UK) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
After I read 'The Alchemist' I wanted to explore more of this authors writings, and 'Veronika decides to die' seemed the natural progression.

Something that struck me, was my visualisation of the little town in Slovenia where Veronika lives was very clear, Sometimes I read books and find the picture in my minds eye to be clouded and interrupted, but in this book it was clear as a bell and sharp. Even the hospital she spends much of her time in: I could almost smell the bleach!

I think the main tone of this story is that life is precious, and we should make the most of it. I guess in the hurly burly day to day events of city life, that can be all to easy to forget, and Coelho tries, and succeeds to wake us up to the fact that there is more to life than work and toil, that we only have to look out of our windows and see the world turning to understand how important life is.

Coelho's writing is poetic and deep, probably not the light relief someone might want on holiday, but these books are I believe important and the message they have, page after page is a message that is good and incredibly simple. There are SO many things to read out there, hundreds of thousands of books to choose from, and of course, choice can only be a good thing. But here is a book, that like 'the alchemist', the story does not leave you when you close the book for the last time. The story and the message will be there every day, and I think will make that day a little bit easier and more fulfilling.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A jolly little tale
Paulo writes fairy stories for grown-ups. It's very commercial and written for a female audience I suspect, because the majority of fiction readers are women. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Justice Peace

4.0 out of 5 stars Just ignore the title!
Forget the title! This is a great philosophical tale of living life to the full. It makes you want to go out and have fun!
Published 3 months ago by Scotties List

3.0 out of 5 stars A question of sanity...
I always enjoy Coehlo and more often than not I find that I can take words, sentences and paragraphs that resound. Read more
Published 3 months ago by M Worthington

5.0 out of 5 stars A true joy to read
I took this book with me on holiday and finished it on the first day. It was so good, I read it on the plane coming back again and was just as good the second time round. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. S. M. Mccormack

4.0 out of 5 stars deep and meaningful read
I must admit that I didn't find the alchemist a brilliant read. It was enjoyable but it didn't leave any lasting impressions. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Jonathan

5.0 out of 5 stars Another inspirational book by Paulo Coelho.
The first book i read by Paulo Coelho was the Alchemist after being given a copy from a fellow traveller at the time. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Nick

1.0 out of 5 stars A poor novel on so many levels
Having run out of books on holiday, I started on other people's leftovers. One of them was Veronika Decides To Die - and in the normal run of things, I wouldn't have lifted it... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Mister Hobgoblin

4.0 out of 5 stars 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... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Femmielala

4.0 out of 5 stars 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. Read more
Published 16 months ago by E. Exintaris

4.0 out of 5 stars An interesting tale
I really enjoyed reading this book. It is the sort of book that makes you think about the subject matter. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Maria Savva

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