If Only It Were That Easy (Veronika Decides to Die - Paulo Coelho)

Member Name: mattydalton

Product:	Veronika Decides to Die - Paulo Coelho
Date:	14/07/06 (259 review reads)
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Introduction

“Veronika Decides To Die” is the third book I have read by Paulo Coelho. The first book I read by him was “The Devil and Miss Prym”, lent to me by my girlfriend Emma, and I was instantly trapped in Paulo’s fictitious world.

The Plot

Veronika is a young lady who has pretty much everything she could possibly want. She is good looking, has a comfortable lifestyle, has countless boyfriends and, most importantly, has the unconditional love and support of her family. She lives in a convent in Ljubljana, in Slovenia. So, why is it exactly that Veronika decides to die?

The main reason behind her sudden crazed suicidal obsession is she places no importance in her life or anything that she does. She has no passion for life. She feels no love, no hate, no happiness and no sadness. She is in no way depressed, and has no reason to be either.

One fateful day she decides it is the right time to leave this world. She takes an overdose of four packets of sleeping tablets and, after a short period of contemplation, falls asleep in the hope of never waking up.

Of course, Veronika doesn’t die; otherwise it would be a pretty poor story. Her first image upon waking up is one of the inside of a mental asylum in the village of Vilette.

Veronika was immediately despondent at the realisation she was still alive and couldn’t believe her bad luck. She was determined not to stay in this world and couldn’t stand the thought of another day in this monotonous, boring world.

As always, there was a twist of fate. Within a short space of time, Veronika was informed that, although her suicide attempt had been unsuccessful, she would grant her ultimate risk in the long run as she had done irreparable damage to her heart and would be dead within a week.

But, guess what? Yep, you got it there’s another twist!! I’m not going to go any further into the plot though, as it would just spoil it for you.

The Characters

Veronika

Veronika seems to be quite a level headed young lady. She is resentful for the unconditional love she received from her parents and longs to experience the basic human feelings that we all feel.

Zedka

Zedka is an older woman who, although having been severely depressed, is well on the mend. She has a very clear outlook on life and passes these thoughts on to Veronika throughout the book. She clearly has quite an influence on Veronika.

Mari

Mari is also an older woman. She is part of a group called the “fraternity”. This is a group of people who are well enough to return home at any time they please but have found some solace within the confines of the asylum. Mari, although confident inside the walls of the asylum, is fearful of returning to the real world, a world where panic attacks and reality can strike at any time.

Eduard

Eduard is the son of a powerful politician who is deemed to be a schizophrenic. He never talks to anyone, apart from Mari on the odd occasion. Beneath the hollow exterior that Eduard radiates is an intelligent man, frustrated by his parents’ denial of his right to live his life in the way he pleases.

Eduard made me think of Paulo Coelho at many times throughout the book. The lives of the two men seemed to be, from my limited knowledge, consisting of similar experiences.

Some Random Information

First Published: 1999
Pages: 191
Overall Rating: 85%

What The Critics Said

“Coelho’s writing is beautifully poetic... He gives me hope and puts a smile on my face” – The Express

“The global bestseller The Alchemist established Coelho’s reputation and Veronika is sure to reaffirm it…intensely poetic…this is a powerful and unsettling reminder that we must always ‘seize the day’.” – Time Out

“His books have had a life-enhancing impact on millions of people” – The Times

“One of the few to deserve the term ‘publishing phenomenon’.” – Independent on Sunday

More Importantly, What I Said

Like all of the other books I have read by Paulo Coelho, I found this one to be a very easy read. The characters are all very likeable and I found many to be believable characters from any walk of life.

I liked the way in which Paulo made me ask questions of myself and my own life, without actually asking any questions. There are descriptions of many feelings that I think a lot of people will have felt – regret, exasperation, loneliness, unhappiness, frustration, panic attacks, etc..

I enjoy Paulo’s writing style immensely. He writes very simply but very cleverly. I find his writing very easy to read, yet not condescending. His choice of words is normally very good and his experience of mental asylums provides him with all the ammunition to really get a grip on this story.

I would wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who has a few hours to spare. At just 191 pages, it is long enough to provide you with a very good, meaningful story, yet short enough to leave you quickly satisfied.

About The Author

Paulo Coelho was born in 1947 in Brazil. His father, Pedro, was an engineer and his mother, Lygia, was a housewife. His parents desperately wanted him to follow in his father's footsteps and become an engineer. Paulo had other ideas, ideas of being a writer. His first success with literature came when he was a young boy, in a school poetry competition. His parents totally opposed his wishes and did their utmost to ensure he never followed his dream.

As Paulo got older he began to rebel. He became more determined not to adhere to his parents' wishes and rules. His father supposed, due to Paulo's "bizarre" behaviour, that he was mentally ill. Not only did he suppose, he took action. At the age of just seventeen, his father had him committed to a psychiatric hospital, not once but twice! Whilst in the care of the psychiatric hospital, Paulo was subjected to session after session of electroconvulsive therapy.

Still Paulo ignored his father's wishes and joined a theatre group and obtained a job as a journalist. Worried about their son once more, his parents had him readmitted to the psychiatric hospital. At the time, theatre in Brazil was a big problem - there were no morals involved in this world and it contravened "normal" ideological views. Paulo experienced further problems, surely caused by his serial mistreatment and, once more, his parents sought help.

This time they were slightly less radical. They called out a doctor in order to get an assessment on his mental health. Unsurprisingly, to me at least, the doctor said that there was no way that Paulo was mad - he was just a youngster struggling to find his way in the world. These experiences were a major influence in the writing of one of his other books - Veronika decides to die.

Paulo returned to his studies for a short while - a decision probably taken to quell his parents' ridiculous reactions towards his behaviour. It didn't last long though as he dropped out soon after and reengaged with the theatre. By this time, it was well into the 60s. The well known "hippie" regime was well in season by this time and Paulo was sucked in by the whole thing - but then again, who wasn't back then? He took on the hippie life in all ways - he donned long hair for some time and also got involved with drugs.

Shortly after, Paulo was asked to write some lyrics for a guy called Raul Seixas. The first record was nothing special but the second was a massive success, selling over half a million copies! Paulo subsequently wrote more and more songs for Raul - totalling 60 by the end of their partnership. Their music apparently altered the Brazilian rock genre forever. Controversial comic books, written by Paulo and Raul had a major impact on both of their lives soon after. Both were imprisoned for these, as they contradicted what the tyrannical dictatorship declared acceptable. Paulo, seeming to be the brains behind the operation was detained for longer.

Within two days of his release, Paulo was accosted again - it seemed he had really p*ssed the dictatorship off!! He was subsequently transported to a military torture centre - presumably of the Guantanamo Bay genre - where he remained for about a week. Paulo recounted that he only managed to get out of there by convincing his torturers that he was stark raving mad. How did he do this? Well, firstly he started to cut shreds out of himself while they were watching and, secondly, he revealed his history of mental health "problems".

Having suffered such atrocities throughout his younger years it is no wonder that Paulo has taken a spiritual route in his writings. He beat the drugs and decided to seek some spiritual "meaning" in life. Along the way he also published several books, some relating to his experiences, some to his thoughts on life. So successful, he has had his books translated into an incredible fifty six different languages and has topped the best sellers’ lists on several occasions in several countries throughout the world.

Summary: A very enjoyable read