This is all about Veron
ika Decides to Die, which i think is one of the best fictions of all time.
ika Decides to Die, which i think is one of the best fictions of all time. A trash can on my right, a tape dispenser on my left and a stack of CDs and files underneath. Six years ago, I thought I’d be occupying the office with the view at this stage in my life, or to be a nocturnal navigator that dines and wines with the who’s whos of the literary circle. My life was supposed to be full of vigor, dynamism, color. Zooming in on my life now, I see it just as an old film clip: a remembrance of good things in the past. Worse, my life is a rustic film in sepia.
Like an act on a play, this is supposedly the point in my life where climax is most welcome; the part where life-changing decisions are made; where Legally Blonde moments come to life. But, no. After the rising action, there was abrupt denoument.
Three years ago I read this book called Veronika decides to die. And I recommend these to all “lost souls out there.” Veronika, supposedly has everything in the world (steady job, steady boyfriend, sane relatives) decided to die because of this, you know. "This,” meaning quarter-lifing distress.
Not that I am conceding with suicide but hey, quarter-lifing does happen. “Lifing” does not just happen when your 40 and you get bulges all over your mid section; it also happens when you are at the peak of your beauty, with flat tummy, and gravity is still on your side, yet you feel that the world is conspiring against you so the things you have imagined yourself to be just won’t come true. Let’s say, after four or for some, five long years in a 50,000 per sem college, you get a starting pay of 10,000 a month. Bummer right?
The book’s heroine Veronika “decided to die,” at 24 to do a graceful French exit on her life’s boring drama. But when she decided to end her life, in effect, she started really living. When she woke up in an insane asylum, labeled as a creep, relegated to the lower crust of society, consigned to the four walls of what others call as a hub for those with a few screws loose, Veronika discovers herself and finds the beauty of living without pretensions that humans unconsciously adapt.
At the time when she felt that there was a hole in the bossom of her existence, the help of a “fellow creep,” not her sane family , loving boyfriends, and doctors, helped her fill it in. She discovered the security in unsafe decisions and unsafe love.
Like an act on a play, this is supposedly the point in my life where climax is most welcome; the part where life-changing decisions are made; where Legally Blonde moments come to life. But, no. After the rising action, there was abrupt denoument.
Three years ago I read this book called Veronika decides to die. And I recommend these to all “lost souls out there.” Veronika, supposedly has everything in the world (steady job, steady boyfriend, sane relatives) decided to die because of this, you know. "This,” meaning quarter-lifing distress.
Not that I am conceding with suicide but hey, quarter-lifing does happen. “Lifing” does not just happen when your 40 and you get bulges all over your mid section; it also happens when you are at the peak of your beauty, with flat tummy, and gravity is still on your side, yet you feel that the world is conspiring against you so the things you have imagined yourself to be just won’t come true. Let’s say, after four or for some, five long years in a 50,000 per sem college, you get a starting pay of 10,000 a month. Bummer right?
The book’s heroine Veronika “decided to die,” at 24 to do a graceful French exit on her life’s boring drama. But when she decided to end her life, in effect, she started really living. When she woke up in an insane asylum, labeled as a creep, relegated to the lower crust of society, consigned to the four walls of what others call as a hub for those with a few screws loose, Veronika discovers herself and finds the beauty of living without pretensions that humans unconsciously adapt.
At the time when she felt that there was a hole in the bossom of her existence, the help of a “fellow creep,” not her sane family , loving boyfriends, and doctors, helped her fill it in. She discovered the security in unsafe decisions and unsafe love.
Veronika found strength when she acknowledged weakness.
Writing fiction for a living despite not getting enough pay tops my list of weaknesses. Long-haired bad boys who speak some European language, cripples my steady heart. Lots of sleep, chocolate, alcohol, and strongly-brewed coffee occupy my “top weaknesses list.” They render me powerless, they disrupt my direction, and drive me insane.
I am still processing that I one of this days I will finally have the courage let entertain my weaknesses and to succumb their powers. To allow those screws loose popping out of my head.
Some would say that I jumped on a bed of coals with the decision I made in quarter-life, when I was 25, with much narrow hips. But I’d proud to tell my kids (if I’ll ever have any) when I’m mid-lifing, and drinking organic juices, that my suicide was my ticket for a ride to a great life.
ABOUT THE BOOKVeronika seems to have everything she could wish for. She is young and pretty, has plenty of attractive boyfriends, goes dancing, has a steady job, a loving family. Yet Veronika is not happy; something is lacking in her life. On the morning of November 11th, 1997, she decides to die. She takes an overdose of sleeping pills, only to wake up some time later in Villette, the local hospital. There she is told that although she is alive now her heart is damaged and she has only a few days to live.
This story follows Veronika through these intense days as, to her surprise, she finds herself drawn into the enclosed world of Villette. She begins to notice more, to become interested in the other patients. She starts to see her past relationships much more clearly and understand why she felt her life had no meaning.
In this heightened state, Veronika discovers things she has never really allowed herself to feel before: hatred, fear, curiosity, love - even sexual awakening. Against all odds, she finds she is falling in love and wanting, if at all possible, to live again. Veronika's experiences lead her gradually to realise that every second of existence is a choice that we all make between living and dying. This is a moving and uplifting song to life, one that reminds us that every moment in our lives is special and precious.
Paulo Coelho was born in Brazil and has become one of the most widely read authors in the world today. Renowned for his best-loved work The Alchemist, he has sold over 20 million books worldwide and has been translated into 42 languages. The recipient of numerous prestigious international awards, Paulo Coehlo is a storyteller with the power to inspire nations and to change people's lives.
FROM WIKIPEDIA:
Veronika Decides to Die has recently been adapted into a screenplay with Muse Productions set to begin shooting in August of 2007 in either Slovenia or Hungary. EmilyYoung is tentatively secured to direct, and the part of Veronika has yet to be settled upon, though Jessica Alba, a fan of the novel, has expressed interest in the role.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronika_Decides_to_Die"
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Veronika_Decides_to_Die"
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