Veronika is a young woman in Ljubljana who looks to have it all, but she is tired of a life of routine and tries to end it with sleeping pills. She is saved and wakes up in Villete, an asylum, where she is told she has only a few days left because of the damage to her heart. In the short time that remains, Veronika meets patients who are labeled mad but are often more honest than the people outside. Paulo Coelho uses the setting to question what counts as normal, to criticize conformity, and to show how mortality can awaken desire.
Readers who enjoy compact, thoughtful fiction with a message will be at home here. It also suits those curious about Coelho beyond The Alchemist, offering a darker and more psychological subject but the same belief that people should choose how they live.
Inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; an easy read.
Best for readers like The Mindful Reader. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 2002
- Publisher
- Diogenes
- ISBN
- 9783257233056
- Language
- DE
