As always, the title of this book had caught my attention and this was Paulo Coelho’s first book that I read. The story is about Veronika, 24, who decides to die on a fine morning, by consuming a handful of sleeping pills, never wanting to wake up ever.  She feels a lack of purpose in her life in spite of her youth, number of boyfriends, a good job and a loving family. But the suicide plan goes kaput and she finds herself in a local mental hospital at Villete. There begins Veronica’s journey of learning the real meaning of life from the other mental patients in the hospital.

Paulo Coelho’s books are always very simple to read and simple language is a key for great audio. It’s an absolute breeze as Coelho doesn’t cloud his stories with unnecessary words. Though the story hovers around Veronica and her thoughts, which are pretty complex, the flow is quite simple and easy to comprehend. They say it is very difficult to be simple. And Coelho does that.

The narrator Fran Tunno’s voice just works perfectly for this story. She sounds empathetic at times and also austere with the lines which dear Coelho has written about life.  She did catch Veronica’s moods with her tonality quite aptly.

You can call this story a tale of despair, but it is also a story of enormous hope. Coelho sends out a pertinent message that existence is a gift and every moment of life should be enjoyed and not get bogged down by the bleakness that life offers at times. All this kind of resonates with me, as I really feel all that is around and happening is part of the game called life.

Review is written By Suromita Roy

Listen to the full Audiobook here: Veronica Decides to Die