Veronika Decides to Die

"Another of Coelho's spiritual journeys, this time by the 24-year-old protagonist who, after a failed suicide attempt, rediscovers in an insane asylum in Slovenia the preciousness and precariousness of life. Costa's translation is competent, but cannot save Coelho's novel from its by now familiar and conventionally inspirational tone and message"--Handbook of Latin American Studies, v. 58. Twenty-four year-old Veronika seems to have it all--youth, beauty, a good job and loving family. But one morning she wakes up and tries to kill herself. The attempt fails, but leaves her damaged with only a few days to live. In her final days she embarks on a transforming self-discovery. A story about choices and how it affects the ones left behind.