Veronica Decides to Die

Veronica Decides to Die

Book review: Veronica Decides To Die
collective madness is called sanity
What is reality? What defines reality? I mean can anyone construct a concrete reproduction in which to turn and proclaim once and for all, “There, I give you reality in the flesh.” The answer is no. For as, the character, Dr. Igor stated “. . . Other things, however, become fixed because more and more people believe that’s the way they should be (167).” Reality is nothing more than a socially accepted opinion – a perception inherently subjective. This very principle is the driving force behind Paulo Coelho’s introspective novel, Veronica Decides To Die.

The book tells the story of Veronika. A 24 year old woman who decides to end her life .In his brilliant novel about the aftermath of a young woman ’s suicide
attempt, Paulo explores three perennial themes: conformity, madness, and death.

From the very first letter Paulo starts spinning a mesmerising yarn about her.
Veronika lives in Slovenia, one of the republics created by the dissolution of Yugoslavia. She works as a librarian by day, and by night carries on
like many single women --dating men, occasionally sleeping with them, and returning to a single room she rents at a convent. It is a life, but not a very compelling one. So one day, Veronika decides to end it. Her failed attempt and an inexplicable reason for wanting to die, that she suicide because nobody knows where Slovenia is lands her in Vilette where she learns that she is destined to die within a week ’s time, of a heart damage caused by her suicide. Gradually, this knowledge changes her perception of death and life And though, she finds the will to live and love, she lives with the constant knowledge that each passing moment is one less from the future

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