Veronika Decides to Die (On the Seventh Day, #2)

by Paulo Coelho

Margaret Jull Costa (Translator)

The new novel from internationally acclaimed author Paulo Coelho – a dramatic story of love, life and death that shows us all why every second of our existence is a choice we all make between living and dying.

Veronika has everything she could wish for. She is young and pretty, has plenty of boyfriends, a steady job, a loving family. Yet she is not happy; something is lacking in her life, and one morning she decides to die. She takes an overdose of sleeping pills, only to wake up some time later in the local hospital. There she is told that her heart is damaged and she has only a few days to live.

The story follows Veronika through these intense days as to her surprise she finds herself experiencing feelings she has never really felt before. Against all odds she finds herself falling in love and even wanting to live again…

• ISBN10: 0722539312
• ISBN13: 9780722539316
• Publish Date: 6 September 1999
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 4 October 2004
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: Thorsons
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 208
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[clementine]

I've been meaning to read this book for years now, but somehow only got around to it last week. As with a lot of books that awe me, I don't even know what to really say about it. I loved the style of narration, I loved the characters, I loved the pacing, I loved everything about it, really. The only thing I didn't love was that Veronika didn't actually die. It wasn't entirely a copout, but I'm not always a fan of happy endings and I think I would have been happier if the ending had been a bit less miraculous.

(This is a really short review but I don't have much to say and I need to catch up on the other books I read while I was away so OH WELL.)

[Jyc]

★★★★ // haunting.

[celinenyx]

I wish I could say I picked this book up because I wanted something more to read than the plain old paranormal romance. I wish I could say I read this book because I wanted to know more about life. I wish I reviewed this book because I wanted to share with the world the joy of life.

The reason I picked this book up? My favourite band, Billy Talent, has a song called Saint Veronica. About a girl that decides to die. I like that song.

Yes, for that superficial reason I took this book from the library shelf and brought it home.

Then I read it in two sittings. And discovered that my superficial reasons don't do this book right. It is truly a great book. It makes me want to say "but I do enjoy my life!". Coelho writes in such clear and simple language that this book is enjoyable for about anyone. It makes you think about your life. It still has you thinking days after you have said goodbye to Veronika and Eduard and Doctor Igor.

Can't say it's a masterpiece, 'cause well, it isn't. It has some flaws, like the quite unrealistic plot twist and the questionable medical research. Sometimes we lose Veronika, whom I think to be the main character, for way too much time because we have to listen to the life story of a character that doesn't really matter anyway.

I just loved the way Coelho portrayed the mental hospital. The madness, and even the structure behind the madness.

Inspiring. Read it for superficial reasons, but read it anyway.


No one ever thought that she was capable
And the damage done is irreversible
Now she clings to life inside a hospital
Like she's trapped inside a frozen waterfall
Always said her life was never meant to be
Stuck here living someone else's dream
Well beyond your window there is so much more
Even every prison has a open door

[Linda]

The whole plot to make the two people who wanted to die want to really live again was a little too over the top for me. I am quite sure other people will love it, though. Mr. Coelho's writing is always wonderful, but the story itself did not appeal to me.