U3A Veronika Decides To Die
-
U3Agraham
- Posts: 10
- Joined: 08 Jul 2010, 06:19
- Bookshelf Size: 0
U3A Veronika Decides To Die
When an author writes himself into the story on page 1, I wonder how many twists there will be in the plot until some character ups and murders him.
However I am half way through Paul Coelo's book and he has disappeared under an imaginative view of what is reality from other people's points of view.
And I find myself in another mental asylum! After reading Fingersmith I didn't want to go there for a while but this is a beguiling investigation into normalcy. Or into what a tenuous hold we all have on what we call normal.
I hated Veronika on page 1. I thought she was a wimp. But the story of her confrontation with her own mortality is aligned with her realisation that there are other ways of viewing the world, just as valid as hers and what is more some of them work!
I am still waiting for the author to re-emerge. As he is supposedly a writer of computer games - another view of an organised world - I forsee him returning in some guise.
How are others taking to the reading?
However I am half way through Paul Coelo's book and he has disappeared under an imaginative view of what is reality from other people's points of view.
And I find myself in another mental asylum! After reading Fingersmith I didn't want to go there for a while but this is a beguiling investigation into normalcy. Or into what a tenuous hold we all have on what we call normal.
I hated Veronika on page 1. I thought she was a wimp. But the story of her confrontation with her own mortality is aligned with her realisation that there are other ways of viewing the world, just as valid as hers and what is more some of them work!
I am still waiting for the author to re-emerge. As he is supposedly a writer of computer games - another view of an organised world - I forsee him returning in some guise.
How are others taking to the reading?
-
JimBlair
- Posts: 4
- Joined: 09 Jul 2010, 05:16
- Bookshelf Size: 0
On the back cover of the book, it states that Paulo Coelho is one of the most widely read authors in the world today. The CAE note writer states that he the second best-selling author, after John Grisham (p 4).
So.......... after not enjoying his writing style I thought I had better read his most famous book, The Alchemist, however the Latrobe Valley libraries do not have a copy, and they are getting one in from a distant library for me. Hopefully it will come in, in time for me to read it before our next meeting.
So.......... after not enjoying his writing style I thought I had better read his most famous book, The Alchemist, however the Latrobe Valley libraries do not have a copy, and they are getting one in from a distant library for me. Hopefully it will come in, in time for me to read it before our next meeting.
-
Alexa12345
- Posts: 148
- Joined: 07 Jul 2010, 18:52
- Bookshelf Size: 0
I've read 4 or 5 books of Paul Coelho's and i liked it(also Veronica prepares to die). I started with The Alchemist and this broght me the taste for the author. I like it because in every book i feel that he writes things that happened to him, that he met during the life. I also liked its becouse the stories are kind of strange.
And I prefer judging a book by its content, not by what its author did during his life.
And I prefer judging a book by its content, not by what its author did during his life.
-
Zander
- Posts: 2
- Joined: 22 Jul 2010, 21:23
- Bookshelf Size: 0
-
U3Agraham
- Posts: 10
- Joined: 08 Jul 2010, 06:19
- Bookshelf Size: 0
Good point Zander.
I think it was Samuel Johnson who said that " the knowledge that he is to be hanged in three days concentrates a man's mind wonderfully."
In this case though it isn't the mind that Veronika is working with; it is her soul. I like the way Coelo has taken little sliding glances at this issue and the sum total is to give us a picture of a girl struggling to find her own answers to what a good life should be. The picture at the end of the difference between a cistern and a flowing river is an apt description of what she is trying to gain - a life outside of the boundaries she has so boringly set for herself.
I do feel let down by the ending, however. To find that it has been a controlled experiment by Dr Igor brings back the rational control which the book's framework has been fighting against.
Perhaps he is saying that all the fighting for freedom is a cynical ploy, and that we have to be rational creatures to be human. I don't like that!
I think it was Samuel Johnson who said that " the knowledge that he is to be hanged in three days concentrates a man's mind wonderfully."
In this case though it isn't the mind that Veronika is working with; it is her soul. I like the way Coelo has taken little sliding glances at this issue and the sum total is to give us a picture of a girl struggling to find her own answers to what a good life should be. The picture at the end of the difference between a cistern and a flowing river is an apt description of what she is trying to gain - a life outside of the boundaries she has so boringly set for herself.
I do feel let down by the ending, however. To find that it has been a controlled experiment by Dr Igor brings back the rational control which the book's framework has been fighting against.
Perhaps he is saying that all the fighting for freedom is a cynical ploy, and that we have to be rational creatures to be human. I don't like that!
-
PhotonicGuy
- Posts: 193
- Joined: 05 May 2010, 07:40
- Bookshelf Size: 0
Unfortunately I only read The Alchemist by Paul Coelho and I didn’t like it too much. I read it because it made a fuss at the appearance (like Da Vinci Code) and because I was disappointed about it, I not was curious to read other books written by Coelho. But after I was seeing this topic I am thinking to give him a second chance, maybe I will have more luck 
.
.-
Zander
- Posts: 2
- Joined: 22 Jul 2010, 21:23
- Bookshelf Size: 0
I think Coelho is dealing with Veronika's soul.
When the story commences Veronika seems completely turned in upon herself. In Christian theology Martin Luther suggested that's a good definition of sin - being closed off to God and to the needs of others.
In the story, I see Veronika opening up to her deeper self, to other people and to new possibilites.
Mari's comments on page 150 are gems e.g "Where is my soul that I might play the music of my own life with enthusiasm?" Some great thoughts on this page!
Coehelo provide some sueful insights into life.
When the story commences Veronika seems completely turned in upon herself. In Christian theology Martin Luther suggested that's a good definition of sin - being closed off to God and to the needs of others.
In the story, I see Veronika opening up to her deeper self, to other people and to new possibilites.
Mari's comments on page 150 are gems e.g "Where is my soul that I might play the music of my own life with enthusiasm?" Some great thoughts on this page!
Coehelo provide some sueful insights into life.
-
tanvi02
- Posts: 11
- Joined: 10 Aug 2010, 05:25
- Bookshelf Size: 0
well verinica decides to die has few elements of paulo's autobiography because he himself has been to a mental asylum...the ending is very interesting...a reader is prepared from the beginning about the tragic ending but what happens is really surprising...when i started reading veronica i had the view that this girl is not uncommon to find....the author really has magic...
-
Perrywinkle47
- Posts: 598
- Joined: 31 Aug 2010, 05:51
- Bookshelf Size: 0
Well, I have read a couple of books of P. Ceolho. I started off with the Alchemist and getting inspired with the book, I decided to read some more from him so I read By the river Piedra, I sat down and wept which was just fine. However, not as good as the first one then I read the eleven minutes and couple more and the last book that I read by him was valkyries where I started losing interest in his books so I never bothered reading Veronika decides to die..
