I am pleased that we have placed this stunning novel in the adult fiction of our K-12 library. As its title suggests it is about a young woman who decides to commit suicide. Veronika has a very ordinary life, one without the depths and heights of any emotion and it is in this blandness that she decides to take her own life. Despite this attempt she actually wakes up in a hospital, a mental hospital, and she is told she has done such irreparable damage to her heart that she only has a few days left to live. Suddenly her whole attitude changes from resignation to inevitable death to making the most of any moment she has left. The other patients in the hospital also have an effect on Veronika's beliefs about what is normal, what is happiness. The book ends on a very hopeful note. I am always a little cautious about having books about suicide in a collection for Young people but this book is worthy the discussion it will create as people read it.
Paul Coelho is the author of many best selling books. This interveiw with the Telegraph newspaper provides some interesting insights into the writer's life and his spiritual journey.
For a review of 'Veronika decides to die' see the blog Book reviews by Bookovers for booklovers