Veronika Decides to Die in Q&A with Paulo Coelho

Dec 27, 2007 Irina rated it it was amazing

Fantastic read! Awesome! I could not put the book down!

“Veronika Decides to Die” – just read the title again….decides to die…
How many times have you said to yourself, at least I have, “Ahh…I don’t care, I don’t really want to live anymore”, without even thinking about the meaning of it.

So Veronika said the same thing and decided to do something about it. Why?
Nothing bad had happened to Veronika, she was beautiful, had a regular life…very ordinary though ... but normal
She decided that it was not Fantastic read! Awesome! I could not put the book down!

“Veronika Decides to Die” – just read the title again….decides to die…
How many times have you said to yourself, at least I have, “Ahh…I don’t care, I don’t really want to live anymore”, without even thinking about the meaning of it.

So Veronika said the same thing and decided to do something about it. Why?
Nothing bad had happened to Veronika, she was beautiful, had a regular life…very ordinary though ... but normal
She decided that it was not exciting enough, and decided to die!
But her suicide attempt didn’t succeed and she ended up in the mental hospital. The pills ruined her heart and she had one more week to live before she dies – or so she was told.

"An awareness of death encourages us to live more intensely." Having only week to live, Veronika re-discovers herself sexually and emotionally, falls in love, and starts having this eagerness to live.

In addition, her suicide touched lives of other people in the mental hospital, who started cherish every day of their lives.

"Basically everything that happens in our life is our fault, and our fault alone."

So when the next time you say to yourself, “Ahh…I don’t care, I don’t really want to live anymore” - think twice.

2014 Update:
I re-read this book this year for my book club... 6 years since I read it first. I agree with all points after my first read but want to add some additional points on issues that Coelho discusses:

- Conformity, society norms and its danger
- Madness/insanity and what they really mean within the chains of society norms; how society norms varies from culture to culture, and how personal individuality can be affected by these “norms”
- Death and life and how knowing that death is imminent changes your perception of life: you start appreciating every moment and allow yourself to express yourself
- The book discusses other characters, Mari, Zedka, and Eduard. They were hiding inside the walls of Vilette because they were trying to escape the real world due to similar reasons related to to not being understood by their families and society. Vilette’s environment created a shield from the real world, “society”, and allowed these “insane” people to express themselves and behave the way they want without criticism. At the end… Veronika’s suicide affects them profoundly awakening in them a desire to live outside of Vilette’s walls and also making them to realize that Vilette is just another form of controlled society with its own rules and acceptance. And that at the end the true happiness lies in our own desire and believe, in our own acceptance and willingness to remove any boundaries and allow ourselves to live to the fullest, and be happy! ...more

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May 26, 2008 Yaya rated it liked it

Shelves: mooched, paulo-coelho

Paulo Coelho rasanya gak mau berbasa-basi mencari judul dengan kata-kata yang puitis deh, soalnya baca judulnya aja paling nggak pembaca udah bisa nebak isi bukunya tentang apa.

Veronika decides to die yang kalau dalam bahasa Indonesianya: Veronika memutuskan untuk mati memang bercerita tentang seorang gadis yang mencoba untuk bunuh diri tapi gagal total, malah harus jadi penghuni semacam RSJ bernama Villete. Pertama-tama membaca buku ini jujur saya gak suka banget, karena gaya penulisan Paulo te ...more

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