"Veronika Decides to Die" by Paolo Coelho

Veronika attempts suicide and wakes up in a mental hospital to be told that her heart has been irreparably damaged and that she has only a week to live. She spends the week interacting with the other inmates and the staff.

The inmates are all good and the staff are all bad.

Every character is cardboard. I know Coelho has this parable-like way of narrating but this can get rather tedious and he reduces the complexity of human characters into two dimensions. At the same time he spouts a lot of crap about crystals and astral projection and saints.

The best thing about this book is that it is brief.

October 2011; 191 pages

"The Alchemist" by Paulo Coelho

This short novel is the story of an Andalusian shepherd boy who seeks treasure in the Pyramids of Egypt. On his way there he encounters an Alchemist and learns the secrets of the Soul of the World. The book is essentially an extended parable, told in a simple poetic style, to encourage you to 'follow your heart'.

A pretty story but it is more concerned with the message than the characters.

July 2011; 177 pages