Veronika's Journey to the Edge of Life: A Novel by Paulo Coelho (Cover Image May Vary)

Dámaris Lugo: Excelente libro

United States on Oct 09, 2023

Kindle Customer: I liked how Paulo Coelho described the behaviors of normal people from a mental health patient. It may sound weird but true.

United States on Jul 30, 2023

Sayan: Wonderful story by Paulo. Took a month to finish reading it. Feels nostalgic. The story might feel like a burden to read at first. I thought many times to stop reading it because it is little depressing story. But when you keep reading it and try to understand it. It will leave an everlasting feeling in you which you won't forget. There are many things in the story which will teach you something about the reality of the life and society. I am glad i finished reading it.

India on Dec 18, 2022

Haneet: Book- Veronica decides to die
Author Paulo Coelho

"There is always a gap between intention and action"
~ Veronica decides to die, the very first page
In the said 'SATIYUGA', action and intention measured the same sin.
But it is not the age of truths, but agendas, the backdrop where the story is set. A newly mapped country none knows about, and the lives it fortifies, no one cares about or wants to know, not even the ones behind the walls, accompanying their lives.
Veronica the protagonist, has everything one can aspire for, but struggles to unleash the barricades of monotony, living everyday, but failing to live and meet the meaning of her life.
Many of us have gone through what Veronica's mind couldn't get past! Once in their lives, everybody must have thought about finding and giving a meaning to their lives, but to no consequence, concerned with the painstaking effort of being clueless and turning towards nothingness, then calling quits and thinking about death!
Here the difference begins, the difference between intention and action! We all intend to commit something melancholic and dreadful, yet ecstatic and peaceful. On the other hand, Veronica had...

India on May 26, 2021

Surbhi Islam: Despite the title, this book is more about life. At some point in life, you must've thought about how meaningless, how futile your life has become. How difficult it is to put on your shoes and walk even a few miles, how callous people have been around you, how love has betrayed you in every possible way, how hard it has been to prove every inch of your mind and soul, how you have to work harder than others to procure littlest of the worldly pleasures, how your prayers remain unanswered, how really difficult it is to put on your shoes and walk even for a mile.
You've raised a hundred questions and answered them with your own limited knowledge. You try to keep balance, you compete with the entire world, you please everyone around you, at least you pretend to, you try to fit in so bad, you try to prove you can, you think you've known everything and when you seem to can't achieve happiness you give up on yourself.
It has happened to all... Isn't it? Pleasing yourself is the last thing we deem important to do as there's always too much more to do.
You feel content to know the height of Everest and the depth of Mariana but you have no clue what lengths of passion your mind may...

India on Jun 02, 2020

freak_Redefinedfreak_Redefined: VERONIKA DECIDES TO DIE

Author: Paulo Coelho

Genre: Fiction/Philosophy

THIS BOOK REVIEW IS ONLY BASED ON MY FEELINGS DURING READING THE BOOK. IT DOES NOT INTENT TO HURT ANYONE’S FEELINGS, AND DOES NOT MEANT TO COMPARE WITH ANY OTHER REVIEWER’S FEELINGS

IS LIFE ALWAYS WORTH LIVING ???????????

YOU ACTUALLY MAY NOT BE AN OUTCAST, JUST BECAUSE YOU SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY. ……….. 

Another Paulo Coelho book for mine, and again I’m amazed. How can one author be so prominent in writing his books, so that in every line, you will sit back and think like whats he is talking about, and then realize that every bit of words in the sentence actually also relates to you?

Though I must say that this book was not up to the mark initially, and I was getting a little bored, and that took me almost weeks to finish it up. But the last hundred pages were amazing, and the final twist in the tale it gave, was awesome.

For the readers who want to read it, I must say it is a highly spiritual kind of a book, and if you don’t have the power of imagination and belief you should not go for it. But if you want, and go through it, there...

India on May 10, 2020

MJ Smith: I like that all of Paulo Coehlo’s stories are journeys that are about mysticism and the journey of life. And, Veronika Decides To Die does not disappoint on this theme. There are some great points in this story that make you think about life and whether you are living it in a way that is really being true to who you are. In that regard, it’s a great book. And worth reading.

Veronika is a pretty young woman who has made safe choices in life and leads a very ho-hum existence. It’s too much and she decides to commit suicide. I struggled with this being her reason, as in real life, many suicide attempts are by people who are deeply depressed or suffering from tragedy or deep pain. But, back to the story, when she overdoses she is shocked to wake up in a mental hospital. She is given the diagnosis that the overdose severely damaged her heart and she only has a short time to live. At first, this makes her just want to get it over with, and she wants to try again to kill herself and tries to make some connections in the mental hospital to do that. But as she meets others in there, she begins to find out that numerous people there are not crazy, and not mentally disabled,...

United States on Apr 02, 2019

Richard Latham: With so many good books never read it is always a surprise when someone reads a book again.
For me this is a book that I truly enjoyed the first time although how the book crossed my path I can not quite recall. To read it again and have the same wonderful feelings and be able to relive the aspects of the book, to capture its uniqueness and quality.
The book is all about a young woman who decides to one day to end her life, an existence that is tedious, without promise and lacking any future she wants to be part of looking forward. A clever piece of writing shows her considering the method and best means to accomplish her wish. The writer does not dwell on the negative aspects or make suicide appear an easy way out.
For spoiler alert, she does not die as planned. However, she is taken to a mental asylum and treated in intensive care initially.
What then follows is Veronika’s interaction with other patients and for the purpose of the novel they are not nearly as mad as they need to be, but fall under the strange system of Dr Igor. The patients have learned that this pretty young woman, Veronika,, has irreparable damage to her heart and has barely a week to live...

United Kingdom on Apr 13, 2018

Bernie Gourley: “Veronika Decides to Die” is about a young Slovenian woman, Veronika, who attempts suicide, fails, is institutionalized, and is informed that her attempted suicide damaged her heart and she has only five days to live. In the hospital she has to come to grips with what it means to be dying, but also what it means to be insane.

The book deals with the effect of Veronika’s death sentence diagnosis on her as well as on other patients with whom she interacts. The first patient Veronika comes in contact with is a depressive named Zedka who offers Veronika advice and insight. Then there is Maria, a woman who withdrew from her professional and family life to be institutionalized because she was having inexplicable panic attacks. Finally, there is Eduardo, a schizophrenic who is virtually non-functional when he meets Veronika, but who ends up in a relationship with the young woman nonetheless. These patients come to realize that they are hiding out at the hospital. They stay in the hospital because they are free to defy norms without judgment. When Veronika decides she doesn’t want to die hiding out, it has a profound impact on the others.

The book borrows heavily...

United States on Mar 25, 2016