Help ID'ing a Latin 'Magical Realist' Novel from the 1990's?

topic posted Sun, April 26, 2009 - 1:24 PM by  Ben
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Maybe from later than the 90's.

I have just spent more time than I want trying to find or remember the name of a book that starts with a young lady commiting suicide, she fails, but is taken to a psychiatric ward where
she meets all these wonderful people hiding within the confines of the mock prison.

Thats all I really remember, other than that the book was good and his (the author's) other ones didn't
seem so to me.

This author was really popular a few years ago.

I think it has the name Josephine in it but I could be wrong...some uncommon name in the title....anyone?
posted by:
Ben
offline Ben
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  • I don't know but that sounds really really cool!
    • Is that by, can't remember, either Paulo Coelho or Garcia Marquez, and called "...(soandso, a girl's name) decides to die"? I had it but never read it, it dealt with a suicide attempt and was written by one of those Latin magical realists.
      • Got it, thanks gang.

        en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vero...des_to_Die
        CONTAINS 'SPOILERS'!!!

        "Veronika, who is a young beautiful lady who has everything in life, a loving family, boyfriends... , lives in Ljubljana, Slovenia. She decides to commit a premeditated suicide by ingesting too many sleeping pills. While she waits for her death, she decides to read a magazine.

        After seeing an article in the magazine which wittily asks "Where is Slovenia?," she decides to write a letter to the press justifying her suicide, the idea being to make the press believe that she has killed herself because people don't even know where Slovenia is. Her plan fails and she wakes up in Villete, a mental hospital in Slovenia, where she is told she has a week to live.

        Her presence there affects all of the mental hospital's patients, especially Zedka, who has clinical depression; Mari, who suffers from panic attacks; and Eduard, who has schizophrenia, and with whom Veronika falls in love. During her internment in Villete she realises that she has nothing to lose and can therefore do what she wants, say what she wants and be who she wants without having to worry about what others think of her; as a madwoman, she is unlikely to be criticized. Because of this newfound freedom Veronika experiences all the things she never allowed herself to experience including hatred, love and even sexual awakening.

        In the meantime, Vilette's head psychiatrist attempts a fascinating but provocative experiment..... (...spoiler)
        [edit]"

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