The Valkyries; The Fifth Mountain; Veronika Decides to Die

by Paulo Coelho

Three Novels by Paulo Coelho published by arrangement with HarperCollins Publishers

Genres: Fiction

667 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

The Brazilian author PAULO COELHO was born in 1947 in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Before dedicating his life completely to literature, he worked as theatre director and actor, lyricist and journalist. In 1986, PAULO COELHO did the pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella, an experience later to be documented in his book The Pilgrimage. In the following year, COELHO published The Alchemist. Slow initial sales convinced his first publisher to drop the novel, but it went on to become one of the best selling Brazilian books of all time. Other titles include Brida (1990), The Valkyries (1992), By the river Piedra I sat Down and Wept (1994), the collection of his best columns published in the Brazilian newspaper Folha de São Paulo entitle Maktub (1994), the compilation of texts Phrases (1995), The Fifth Mountain (1996), Manual of a Warrior of Light (1997), Veronika decides to die (1998), The Devil and Miss Prym (2000), the compilation of traditional tales in Stories for parents, children and grandchildren (2001), Eleven Minutes (2003), The Zahir (2005), The Witch of Portobello (2006) and Winner Stands Alone (to be released in 2009). During the months of March, April, May and June 2006, Paulo Coelho traveled to celebrate the 20th anniversary of his pilgrimage to Saint James of Compostella in 1986. He also held surprise book signings - announced one day in advance - in some cities along the way, to have a chance to meet his readers. In ninety days of pilgrimage the author traveled around the globe and took the famous Transiberrian train that took him to Vladivostok. During this experience Paulo Coelho launched his blog Walking the Path - The Pilgrimage in order to share with his readers his impressions. Since this first blog Paulo Coelho has expanded his presence in the internet with his daily blogs in Wordpress, Myspace & Facebook. He is equally present in media sharing sites such as Youtube and Flickr, offering on a regular basis not only texts but also videos and pictures to his readers. From this intensive interest and use of the Internet sprang his bold new project: The Experimental Witch where he invites his readers to adapt to the screen his book The Witch of Portobello. Indeed Paulo Coelho is a firm believer of Internet as a new media and is the first Best-selling author to actively support online free distribution of his work.

Reviews

[S. ≽^•⩊•^≼ I'm not here yet · Rating 5 out of 5]

frtc

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is actually 3 separate stories from Brazilian author Paulo Coelho; each translated into English. Each of them get you thinking about God and his plan, and how we interpret what he wants from us in leading our lives. Each are uniquely written stories, and only the Fifth Mountain takes place in the past (old Testimate times). These are not religious books; these are great stories. I highly recommend this collection, and will be looking for other books from this author.

[Janada Halbisen-Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a treat for your spirit. My copy is so dog eared and underlined, yet every time I read it I find a new moment that resonates with me.

[Asma Gh]

I must admit , reading the collection of Paulo Coelho is giving me the inspiration into literature, reading books wasn't one of my affaires, but he is one of kind , he has a a special stories and writings to share with his readers which make you live and feel the characters this what happend in Veronika decides to die .It is a unique story how a young people think of dieng when life gives them the best to live for .The journey of Veronika was hard , she struggled for a short period which made her loose hope but how love can change her mind and she wishes to live just for more single day to have the apportonity to feel loved again by an insane who I considered a dreamer who decided to chase his dreams and give up on money and fansy life for a more challenging one .Dr. Igor was somehow a selfish person how you can scarify someone to have what you want or need though I was happy that Veronika has a chance to live and reborn again and face this world with a new determinition .A great writer and a great story ...

[Pat Collingwood-Ruppel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book and found it to speak to me in a number of ways. It was different than books I've read which made it a rare find and took me totally by surprise.

There were nuggets of wisdom that peaked my interest from the second mind and channeling in "The Valkyries", to the depths of struggles of a prophet in "The Fifth Mountain" and finally pondering what is crazy in "Veronika Decides to Die".

I found it interesting how these books are landing in my hands at the perfect time to gently guide me.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

PAULO!

[Berg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Philosophically, I love this book and think it makes readers think about life & our willingness to live. The scientist in me can’t get over how unethical Dr. Igor’s experiments are - but it DOES make sense historically. Love Paulo & I’m glad that I reread this years later

[Tamara Mousa · Rating 5 out of 5]

You can find a summary about it in my blog- https://www.tamarayousefmousa.com/

[Norwenya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very nicely written. Good life lesson, even though it may seem a bit generic. The lead up to it captured the situation an emotions so beautifully, it made the book very intriguing to read!

[Gretchen Oleson · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It's a distortion of nature, it goes against God's laws, for in all the world's woods and forests, he did not create a single leaf the same as another. But you think it's insane to be different" Veronika Decides to Die