In this book, Pablo Coehlo narrates the experience of a young woman, VeróniKa, born in Slovenia, a girl who has no problems, but considers that she is not happy, that she has lived everything that can be lived and, on a November morning “decides To die". She decides to end her life by taking an overdose of painkillers. Her suicide attempt does not have the end that she expected and, after a few days, she wakes up in a very strange place, which is the Villete asylum, a mental hospital, and a nurse explains where she is.
After other days, Verónika becomes aware that she is alive, talks to her doctor and he informs her that she has serious health problems, because with her suicide attempt she has caused irreversible and irreparable damage to her heart. The doctor also informs him that he will live only a few days and that he could die at any moment.
At the hospital, Verónika met other sick women, Zedka and Mari. These became Verónika's friends and each one tells her why they are in this place and what illnesses they suffer from.
All the time Verónika thinks again how to commit suicide because she does not want to wait for death.
In a room Verónika finds a piano and gets used to playing it every night for Eduardo, a young man who had schizophrenia and who awakens strange feelings in her.
The doctor decided to treat Verónika with vitriol, a substance that kills anyone very slowly, because he believed that she would begin to fight for her life and ultimately save herself.
Verónika began to feel weaker every day, she knew that death was very close and she asked Dr. Igor for a favor, she wanted to get out of the asylum, to take advantage and do everything she had never done.
The last night, Verónika and Eduardo left the Villete, ate at a restaurant, walked the streets, climbed a hill, and fell asleep.
When she woke up, Verónika realized that a miracle had happened because she was still alive.
Verónika is the main character of this novel, she is a 24-year-old young woman, she is attractive, she has a good job, but one day in November she decides to commit suicide because she felt tired of the daily routine.
His stay in the mental hospital in Ljubljana makes him change his values, such as living each day as if it were the last, and the most important thing is that he realizes that he had not lived long enough and that he begins to regret his suicide attempt.
She falls in love with Eduardo, for whom, every night, she got used to playing the piano and realized that her true vocation when she was little was to be a pianist, but she gave up this dream for her parents.
Zedka, a 35-year-old woman, began a friendship with Verónica, she suffered from depression because she was still in love with an old boyfriend, who did not give her any attention.
Mari is another patient who was in Billete, she suffered from repeated panic attacks that have determined the end of her marriage and her professional life. Mari was a member of a group called the Fraternity, these people could be discharged but did not want to leave the asylum for various reasons.
Eduardo, part of a family of ambassadors, was sensitive and highly educated but suffered from schizophrenia and until Veronica's arrival in the asylum did not improve his illness. He was stopping feeding and living in his world, far from reality.
Eduardo wanted to be a painter, but since his parents had not left him, destroying his dream and forcing him to finish his studies, all these things have determined him to create a world just for him, in his head.
Dr. Igor, was developing a thesis on vitriol and wanted to be famous for his studies.
Topics and subtopics:
The main theme of the book "Verónika decides to die" is the knowledge of the value of life. The main character, after trying to commit suicide because his life seemed quite monotonous, had nothing exceptional and had the impression that he has lived everything that could be lived, he discovers, after the information he receives from his doctor that he has only five left days of life, that every second of his life is very important, that he has many things to do, and therefore he discovers the value of life. His entry into the Villete, the experiences he lives here, the people he meets, each one with his story, gives him back his desire to live.
