The Devil and Miss Prym/Veronika Decides to Die by Paulo Coelho (3 & 4 /1294)

I saw this story about 10 Books to Read for the new year, and thought I would talk about Paulo Coelho's books. One of the books on the list of books to read for the new year was The Alchemist

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I probably discovered Paulo Coelho differently than most people. The Alchemist didn't sound too appealing to me and didn't have much interest in reading it until I had first read the other two books on the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list. I decided to give in and see what the hype was, and I wasn't too impressed.

The book tells the story of Santiago, a shepherd who travels to the pyramids of Egypt in search of a treasure. It was a short book, and while it wasn't bad, I didn't feel like I got much out of it either.  I was a little disappointed, because I definitely liked it much less than his other two books that I've read.



There's obviously a lot of books on the list, and there was a large number of books that I've always wanted to read and never did.  There were many more that I never heard of.  Sometimes I'll intentionally pick a book that looks good, and sometimes I'll pick one of those books at random, not knowing what to expect.  This was one of those books where I didn't know what to expect, and just started reading.

This was a small book, quick to read, and had a "simple" premise - whether human beings are good or evil.  The basics of the plot are that Miss Prym comes across a stranger in the woods, who has buried 11 gold bars in two holes, and shows Miss Prym where one gold bar is located.  The stranger's proposition to her is that she must tell everyone in the small village of Viscos the story, and if after seven days they murder one of their own, the 10 gold bars are theirs.  If after seven days, the villagers resisted the temptation and Miss Prym didn't steal the gold bar he would conclude that people are good.   If one of the villagers is murdered and Miss Prym steals the gold bar he would conclude that people are evil.  If one of the two happened, he would conclude that people are both good and evil.

I enjoyed the book quite a bit, and it was an interesting book to read.  It was an interesting concept, and well written.  I always wonder how much of translated books get lost in translation, but regardless, I enjoyed both the book, and was inspired to check out more books by Coelho.



Veronika Decides to Die was the next book that I picked up.  The book tells the story of Veronika, who seems to have a good life, but decides to kill herself by taking sleeping pills.  She wakes up in a mental hospital after the failed attempt, and is told that she only has a few days to live because of the damage done by the attempted suicide.  It's after she wakes up and learns she is alive, but will die that she learns to live.

It's a good story, and a good message.  I enjoyed the book, and would recommend it, but I still have mixed feelings about Coelho.  I've read three of his books, and I don't know if I'll be reading a fourth.  Somehow I just feel they are missing a little something, or perhaps a little simple.  I guess I wouldn't rule out reading another of his books, but I've got plenty others that are on the list in front of him.

My ratings:
The Alchemist - 2 stars
The Devil and Miss Prym - 3 1/2 stars
Veronika Decides to Die - 3 1/2 stars