Rating: 
Summary: Veronika Decides to Die
Review: A truly inspiring book by Paul Coelho, "Veronika Decides to die"Paul Coelho's amazing fictional character Veronika illustrates life experience of mentally ill himself. You'll be amazed how ridiculous he has chosen the name Veronika for this book, or should I say, a bit of coincidence? This book is about a young woman Veronika, who has gotten everything what man wants, she is pretty and nothing falls behind in her attractiveness. Yet, she tries to kill herself and one day she wakes up in Villete the mental hospital, and alerted by the nurse she has got 5 more days to live. I think this book is a bit too dramatic but so interesting finding why she tries abandon this world, and its more fascinating how she work through herself until the fifth day, and perhaps after that too.
You'll be interested how Paul Coelho describes the environment of a mental hospital, you will be stirred; what you thought of mental hospital would be like is not the way you think it is. Paul again makes scenes so realistically I feel like I'm part of this book.
I like how Paul distinguishes between a mad man and a normal man and it will definitely surprise you. I truly respect Paul after reading his book, I feel this world is full of conformist, and I think this is what his trying to tell us is to develop your own culture between you and your peers, which makes you unique. I wish to say this is a must-see book, this book makes you think back of your memories and also think ahead and you'll see the importance of life.
Rating: 
Summary: Who is really insane
Review: I think that many people think that the people is insane just because they are in their own world, I know that many people suffer of sever head problems, but many of them are just different from us and we think that they have to be at the hospital, as is written in the book, how many times you wanted to do something different and you didn't just because of the people? How many times you did what you wanted to do no matter the people? The difference to do anything different and not going to the hospital is not hurting anybody, even yourself.
This is a very easy and fast book to read I recommend this book in a long flight.
Rating:
Summary: profound
Review: ****************
refreshingly honest. i fell in love w/ paulo after reading Alchemist...and he is yet to dissapoint- well worth the time to read it! unprecedented perspective!!!
thoughtful, wise and endearing
Rating:
Summary: Meaningful book
Review: Veronika believed that everything in her life would head downhill from then on. She decided that she already had the best time of her life, thus she decided to die. But she was saved and informed that she had only 5 days to live, that was how long her heart was expected to function, which was supposedly damaged from the drug overdose. Through her interaction with people at the mental institute, we learned about the meaning of life from the unconventional perspective of mad people.
We are solely responsible for the meaninglessness of our life. We live within the 'rules' and expectations of a good life, unquestioning. We consider anyone who deviates from the conventional and mainstream as mad. Love has a powerful role in giving strength and meaning to life. When one could live life as if everyday is a miracle, then perhaps one has found the meaning and joy of living. I think everyone would get something out from this book.
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs up!
Review: Not the best but certainly worth a read (slightly gritty, if anything a little strange). Its perhaps the honesty of the book and the main characters feelings or lack of feelings towards the purpose of her life that makes it quite a harsh read but one with great meaning behind it. I didn't find my self sympathising with the characters trouble but instead I found my self willing her on to rediscover and appreciate her life once again. Certainly a book that gets you thinking, some interesting points are made. Definitely a clever idea to the story, one undoubtedly film worthy. If you liked the craziness of Girl interrupted then this books for you.
Rating:
Summary: Thumbs up!
Review: Not the most life changing of books but certainly worth a read (slightly gritty, if anything a little strange). Its perhaps the honesty of the book and the main characters feelings or lack of feelings towards the purpose of her life that makes it quite a harsh read but one with great meaning behind it. I didn't find my self sympathising with the characters trouble but instead I found my self willing her on to rediscover and appreciate her life once again. Certainly a book that gets you thinking, some interesting points are made. Definitely a clever idea to the story, one undoubtedly film worthy. If you liked the craziness of Girl interrupted then this books for you.
Rating: 
Summary: The Fall of Man
Review: The first part of Veronika Decides to Die is a bleak journey into the head of the fatalistic young woman who gives the book its name. Author Paulo Coelho does a good job here of describing the mindset that would lead someone to suicide, and in setting the stage for Veronika's rebirth in the later parts of the book. Really understanding the book, I think, requires understanding this part. But understanding Mr. Coelho requires understanding the rest of the story. There is a simple beauty to Mr. Coelho's style, in evidence as he describes Veronika's ascent from the depths of her private purgatory to her return to her place among the living. This evolution in Veronika is the crux of the book and it illustrates Mr. Coelho's strengths and weaknesses as a storyteller: his ideas are fresh and original and his sense of plot of solid. But his techniques as a writer, his dialogues, his pacing, are weak. To be sure, Mr. Coelho's ideas are the cornerstones of his legion fan base. The ideas are not only visible in this book when it comes to Veronika's rebirth but also in interesting but minor parts of the story. One of my favorites was when Mari -- an antagonist to Veronika, a lawyer, and a fellow patient at the Villete hospital where most of the story takes place -- muses about how she would defend Adam in the eyes of God for the role he played in the Fall of Man. I also enjoyed the metaphor from Zedka -- another patient -- about the king and queen who rules a kingdom of mad people and how they reacted. But I quarrel with Mr. Coelho's development of characters, and especially with his choice of dialogue. Veronika, notwithstanding her epic journey from being suicidal to becoming essentially optimistic, can seem almost two-dimensional in the sense that she seems to evolve on her own, like a self-contained universe. And events are too pat: witness Eduard, who may have been pretending to be a schizophrenic waiting for the off chance that someone like Veronika would come along. The dialogue is similarly contrived. Open the book to any page and read out loud what is between quotation marks and it will probably seem artificial. People do not talk that way -- especially when they are talking to themselves, which is often the case here. I also wonder why Mr. Coelho chose to put certain dialogue -- things like "yes, I will" or "sometimes I do," which would normally be added to the narration in the form of paraphrase -- in quotations when they add almost nothing to the characters' development. I have friends who are big fans of Mr. Coelho's work and they tell me that these unconventional characteristics add to the other-worldliness of the author's stories. I can see how that might work, but I cannot help but feel that they simply make the story less effective, that they dull the edge of what could be sharply original and important story rather than one that is merely good. Despite that, I will say that if you are reading these reviews because you are undecided about whether or not to read Mr. Coelho's books, I would encourage you to do so and to start with Veronika Decides to Die. In spite of its imperfections, it is a quick and enjoyable read and probably the best point of entry to the collection of work from a writer who has enjoyed phenomenal success worldwide. As I have stated, I do not believe this is a book without flaw, but I cannot be so critical as to say the story is also without value. Read it, and decide for yourself how far the scale tips one way or the other.
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful and riveting!
Review: This novel is beautiful and decadent in its purity. Paulo Coelho's writes with riveting prose and (apparent) simplicity. Veronika Decides to Die is a wonderful revelation. Veronika suffers from malaise and decides that she'd be better off dead. After a failed suicide attempt, Veronika awakens in Villete, a reputable mental hospital. Her attempt to die had gone awry, however, what's revealed about her health in the hospital forces her to reevaluate her life. There are some disarming twists in the novel. I savored the final few pages like fine wine. I couldn't put it down. Coelho's life lessons are dark and stark, yet beautiful and poignant. His writing is exquisite. I recommend Veronika Decides to Die to those who'd like a reminder of that precious wonder that is life.
Rating:
Summary: just because
Review: This book transcends the boundaries of a mere story or modern day fable - it is a touching yet chilling look at what happens when people suddenly start doing only what they want to do. Set in a mental institution in Slovenia, the main character, Veronika, discovers after a botched suicide attempt that she may have been more successful than she thought; she won't live out the week. Suddenly confronted with the limits of her own mortality in a place where people go to seek asylum from the outer world, she transforms herself and people around her into modern-day heroes brave enough to seek out their dreams. Paolo Coelho's glimpse inside the reality of mental institutions questions the morality of the label 'crazy', exhorting us to sieze the day because one day it will be our last. A truly outstanding book.
Rating:
Summary: I Decide To Love This Book
Review: This book is one of the most amazing books that I've read. I read it in one sitting (something I did not expect to do). The book is not about suicide, as it seems... it's about living, and *learning* to live. It is a beautiful, tragic miracle, and I would recommend it to anyone who cares to read it.
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