by paulo coehlo.
seriously the best book i have read in years. like a Bell Jar for the new generation.

have any of you read it? it would so fit this crowd.

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"the painkillers are better even than high fashion and good coffee." - barkstonwill

No, i haven't, and i'm pissed about that lol! i made the...WRONG decision last week when choosing between to read Veronika or Eleven Minutes on a long flight.

Veronika Decides to Die was definately one of my favorite books. I loved the part about where she talks about swallowing pills and when to do it--then claims that she's never done anything crazy. I thought that was wry.
I really loved it, definately dark and depressing.

thanks for the suggest. i'm going to borders tomorrow.

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I just finished rereading Girl, Interrupted (which I really like) so I will have to check out the bell jar and this veronika one.

both of those are a billion times better than girl, interrupted which i did not find that great of a book (though the movie was excellent)

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"the painkillers are better even than high fashion and good coffee." - barkstonwill

hm..i guess i didn't get it..didn't like it that much

Didn't read it. Saw a play after it tho. Didn't like it.

paulo coelho is brazilian, and he's pretty much seen a a joke here. can't give an opinion since i've never read any of his work though.

why do people think he is a joke?

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"the painkillers are better even than high fashion and good coffee." - barkstonwill

the themes he writes about, but mainly i've heard he's a really BAD writer, like sentence structures, grammatical mistakes and so on. maybe those aspects are changed in the translations and only people who read in portuguese can tell? i don't know.

oh, that may be.
i thought it was a bit weird when he wrote a chapter about himself in the third person, right in the middle of a book about someone else, but generally i liked the book.

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"the painkillers are better even than high fashion and good coffee." - barkstonwill

i read it ages ago, and had to do an analysis on it. i remember liking it then, but can't think back on it too fondly. basically i don't remember it and it hasn't stuck with me as a brilliant book.

I really didn't like it too much. His books have way too much of a moralistic overtone to them. Its like, hello idiot reader, here is a tale all about how to live your life and enjoy every minute. Its like bad American TV shows where every episode they learn a new moral and "grow" as people. I agree with the sentiment his books are badly written too. I suppose some people see a beauty in plain sentences. I just find them boring to read. Of his books, I thought Veronica Decides to Die was *alright* (as was the Alchemist and both were infinitely better then The Devil and Miss Prym) but if you are looking for depressing literature, read The Virgin Suicides. Its like reading a slow motion multiple car pile up.

My god, I'd forgotten all about this book - I loved the title years ago and always meant to read it. It's going on the list right now.

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I'm not a big coelho fan (for the same reason as Insomnia) but I started reading this at someone's house once and really enjoyed it, I would like to read the end of it now.

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Now honies play me close like butter played toast