Rating: 
Summary: A life wake-up call with a beautifully simple storyline.
Review: It is said that real masters can use very little and accomplish a lot; so is the case once again with P.Coelho. His previous books, simple in story and frienly in language, nonetheless grabs hold of the reader with all-important themes that are SO forgotten in this day and age: to reach for a dream, to fight for a goal, to LIVE life. How can we even live without dreams? These are simple enough ideas, and in 'Veronica Decides To Die', they are delightfully presented once again, without excess plot twists or complex characters. Those who find Coelho's books too simple or boring have been watchig TV too long, always expecting the big Hollywood explosions or the naked bodies to get their attention. Society has grown numb to the beauty in simplicity. It is refreshing also to remember that geniuses and innovators are always considered crazy or non-conformant to society. Beautiful! We should all act crazy more often, ignore the naysayers and take bold chances. Thank You Paulo Coelho!
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Summary: In Praise of Life
Review: I am great fan of Coelho's and absolutely love his books and the messages that they impart. This is the third book of his that I have read and I found his latest book to be no different! This is an excellent book - it will have you questioning your own life and the value that you do or don't place on it. As some of the reviewers have said - this is a book about life and not about death and I could not agree more. After an unsuccessful attempt at suicide, Veronika awakens in a mental hospital with a grim death sentence hanging over her head of only having five days left to live. Her conformist way of life, her mediocrity, her stifled creativity, as well as her unwillingness to take risks or challenges, are all brought into the limelight for the reader to "feel". The reader experiences many emotions on Veronika's journey during the remaining five days of her life. We are treated to what her dream "would have been" if she followed her heart and allowed her emotions and passions to shine through. Veronika's five-day metamorphosis is in effect her rebirth into life. She allows her buried feelings, passions and creativity to surface and to be acknowledged. Her brief stay also influences other patients in the hospital, as they too undergo their own rebirth into the joy of living. The ending of this tale will come as a surprise to some readers, to others maybe not. Nonetheless, this book is excellent and will re-confirm to the reader just how precious, joyous and love-filled life is. This book also brings home many messages, the most important one being - life is what you make it - it is your choice and your choice alone - one can either live life to the fullest or be a walking zombie as Veronika was. I thoroughly recommend this book as another inspiring and thought provoking book by Paulo Coelho. I very much look forward to his next book.
Rating: 
Summary: Paulo Decides to Write...?
Review: I really, really, really (I could add infinite "realys") dont see what the big deal is with Mr Coelho. I am close to finish this second book of his , after reading the terribly disapointing "the Alchemist" and a I stronlgy beleive that this is a very mediocre book, with very poor ideas that simply are not developed to the optimum. And this doesn't do justice to his characters. I was hoping that Coehlo could add to the list of talented Latin writters such as Borges and Garcia Marces. Unfortunatly looks like even Alliente does it better than him. His funtametalistic attitude becomes ennoying here, although is coverd better than in "the Alchemist" and his obsession with destiny still makes his work as animaginative and predictable as ever. Krima
Rating: 
Summary: Thought Provoking
Review: At the end of this novel the reader is given the gift of a second chance at life, but only if the reader dares to defy conformity and live according to their heart's passion, assuming of course that the heart has a recognizable passion. That's the catch. If you are satisfied with your own mediocrity then I don't recommend reading this because you might just find yourself identifying with Veronika, who never dared to take any real chances or go against the flow, one day after another being that of mundane existence. You may in fact find yourself quite jealous of Veronika's remarkable foresight when she analyzed the reasons for not finishing her life, and then for having the calm courage to end her life of monotonous conformity. This book challenges you to examine the value of your own life, and the cost of sacrificing whatever it is that is unusual about you for the sake of acceptance by others. If you aren't afraid of holding up a mirror to yourself then read away, and enjoy the spiritual jewels the authors lays at your feet.
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Summary: well suprise - suprise
Review: This is my first read of Coelho. I had no expectations or pre-formed ideas of his methods. I should have seen through the set-up which, I feel, is the betrayal of a promise to his living father. Don't get me wrong, I think that the book is very good, I just feel the ending was sightly a let down. It wouldn't have been a let down had I not been fooled earlier. Coelho should have left himself and his friend out of the story and he should have waited to write it. Though his appearance in the store is minimal, it damages the value. I wasn't reading this book to experience "help" with understanding the value of life. I read it thinking I would be given a little credit for understanding the difficulties of survival. Yes, it is moving, especially if you want to witness the events of life altering decisions made based on instinct and desires while in conflict with parental pressures. In conclusion, a good book with a couple of flaws. Like I said earlier, I should have see through the set-up.
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Summary: Are you nuts?
Review: I am crazy about this book. In fact...I am crazy about life. And that's what this book want to let you know...if you think you don't belong to this world, or if you aren't sure about it, read this book. It will make you love life. I'll say this is a great lesson to anybody that seeks advice to give up stress, depresion, or sadness. Nothing worth stop your life. Keep on living and sharing with those you don't even know. Something else: if you have read other books from this author, this may be surprising, specially the way he talks about sex. Great book!
Rating:
Summary: Thought provoking and intriguing.
Review: THIS is a cool book! I loved it right from the start and found the introduction of new characters throughout to be a smart and savvy way of keeping a serious story light. Yes, it's about suicide, but the author's psychological insight and plain common sense made me laugh and cry and nod my head, "yes!" Sometimes a hard blow is what is needed to wake us up, and Veronika was delt the hardest. How she emerged and what she thought about in the process is fascinating. This is creative writing at its best.
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Summary: This Book is a Failure
Review: I have some personal experience with the subject matter, but that is really not relevant to my criticisms of the book. I found Coelho's writing style very distant and not very engaging. The ending is a cheap hollywood trick and fails to bring any real insight on the subject matter. The body of the work is told from a very distant perspective and the reader is never drawn into the story. A waste of time and money!
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Summary: neat-o
Review: I first read about this book in the newspaper and i could never find it. I finally had to order it and I got the chance to read it. I liked all the characters and how they were so realistic and expressed things that only few have thought of or could never put into words. Things about myself I couldn't describe but Paulo Coelho expressed them in Veronika. I wish everyone worth it could feel the way Veronika did in her(thought to be)last days. It was a wonderful book and I would recommend it to anyone and everyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Failed Suicide; Failed Storytelling
Review: Beginning with his novel's intriguing title, "Veronika Decides to Die," Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, promises something he does not deliver. As Veronika fails as a suicide, so does this parable of madness fail as a narrative. Rhetorical devices abound in this contrived comedy of errors: irony, interior monologue, metaphor. For followers of the writings of Che and Camus, who may view the choice of suicide as revolutionary, political, and existential act, Veronika not only fails but also reawakens as an artist for whom the personal is apolitical. For fans of Sylvia Plath's "The Bell Jar," Veronika's angst may not ring true. For fun-seeking free spirits who love Ken Kesey's "One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest," the sane/insane reversals of society/mental asylum may dull in comparison. Nonetheless, this book does have appeal as a fairy tale. Rather than Veronika, the most interesting character is Dr. Igor, a psychiatrist who views the mental institution as "Skinner box." Through him, in but one of his numerous ironies, Coelho presents his exposition of "doctor playing God," or "God as puppeteer." However, Coelho's hagiography, replete with tortured rendition of Mary as second Eve, reveals his lack of iconographic insight.
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