Veronika Decides to Die - Softcover

Coelho, Paulo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 8172235437 ISBN 13: 9788172235437

Publisher: Harper Collins, 2005

Synopsis

Veronika seems to have everything she could wish for. She is young and pretty, has plenty of attractive boyfriends, goes dancing, has a steady job, a loving family, Yet Veronika is not happy; something is lacking in her life. On the morning on November 11th, 1997, she decides to die. She takes an overdose of sleeping pills, only to wake up some time later in Villette, the local hospital. There she is told that although she is alive, now her heart is damaged and she has only a few days to live...

This story follows Veronika through these intense days as her experiences lead her to question the whole idea of what madness is, before she comes to realise that every second of existence is a choice that we all make between living and dying.

VeronikaDecides To Die is a moving and uplifting song to life, one that reminds us that every moment in our lives is special and precious.

About this title

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

From the Back Cover

Twenty-four-year-old Veronika seems to have everything—youth and beauty, boyfriends and a loving family, a fulfilling job. But something is missing in her life. So, one cold November morning, she takes a handful of sleeping pills expecting never to wake up. But she does—at a mental hospital where she is told that she has only days to live.

Inspired by events in Coelho’s own life, Veronika Decides to Die questions the meaning of madness and celebrates individuals who do not fit into patterns society considers to be normal. Bold and illuminating, it is a dazzling portrait of a young woman at the crossroads of despair and liberation, and a poetic, exuberant appreciation of each day as a renewed opportunity.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harper Collins
• Publication date: 2005
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 8172235437
• ISBN 13: 9788172235437
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208