For some odd reasons, now a days I dont read books as I used to 2 years back. There was a time when I used to devour books one after another, and now its as if I can read a book at the most when I am travelling – previously before I had a car, I had the luxury of reading books while sitting in trams, bus, or subways; alas, even that comfort is gone now :(. Nonetheless though, whenever I do read, and if by chance that book happens to be a really good one, then it more than makes up for the months of lack of reading.
Veronica Decides to Die, is, precisely one such book.
Not that I am a fan of Paul Coehlo (I absolutely hated The Alchemist), I picked up this book very apphrensively over another supposedly good book by Umberto Eco , which scared me by its luxurious size. In contrast, VDTD seemed reasonably small enough to finish off on a long distance flight. I was not wrong – I finished the book in 2 sittings, and must admit this is one of finest pieces of work I have read in a long while now.
What happens when you have everything you wanted in life and led a very satisfying life? Would you think that your life has really no purpose because you have everything you wanted in life, and there really is nothing more to look forward to? Veronika, the book’s protagonist thinks the same and decides to die, for there is no more a reason to live. However her attempts to die by consuming a terrible amount of sleeping pills go haywire as someone does save her and she is sent to a mental institute for a checkup.
On surviving and coming back to senses, Veronika is informed that though her attempt to die failed, her excess consumption of sleeping pills didnt help her cause, and that her heart was so weak that she would hardly live a week. What happens during this course of a week forms the gist of the story, so to speak. Veronika questions her own life, while people around her question their own life when compared to hers. While at the institute, not only does she inspire people around her to live, but engulfs on a path of self discovery.
What happens at the end of the week? Well, I dont think I would mention it here š
The book is full of theological questions about life, the purpose of life and death itself. It is the discourse between various people and Veronika which makes this book so readable and so damn enjoyable. The varied explanations of life and viewpoints raised made me smile and think a bit about it too; whilst it is to Paul Coehlo’s credit that he has kept the story simple to read and grasp. And just the right length as well.
Sometimes books may contain a great idea, but may become boring if streched too long (aka Ayn Rand!), but Paul Coehlo manages to keep the book crisp and in the process creates a superbly told story. I must say so impressed was I by this book that I didnt muster enough inspiration to read the second book I had, just because I wanted to ponder on the book a bit more.
In short, this book is a MUST-READ!