Product Description

The new novel from the internationally best selling Paulo Coelho

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2047 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-07
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Paulo Coelho's astonishingly beautiful writing in Eleven Minutes virtually guarantees it the cult status that The Alchemist already enjoys. But what is the Paulo Coelho phenomenon? How can an author who (only a short time ago) was virtually unknown to most readers have taken the world of books by storm--and without the benefit of glitzy advertising? The answer is simple: quality. Such books as The Fifth Mountain andThe Devil and Miss Prym are enough to explain a considerable following for the author, with their atmospheric prose and involving characters.

Eleven Minutes tells the story of young Maria living an innocent life in a Brazilian village and is played out in a measured fashion, but with all the author's brilliant scene-setting (very lush here) fully in place. But then Maria experiences love and suffers great pain. From this point, Coelho has us inexorably in his grip. Maria's disillusionment with love leads her to Geneva where she finally ends up selling her body (Coelho may offer us the beauty of life, but never at the expense of its harshness). Maria's approach to sex is complex--this is no mere revulsion arising from what she is now doing with her life. And then she meets a seductive young painter, who may or may not offer her a new path in life. But does she prefer to continue on the dark sexual odyssey she has embarked on, at the expense of real love?

There are echoes of DH Lawrence in Coelho's exploration of the sacred and spiritual aspects of sex and it's a brave author who tackles a subject that can so easily slip into strained seriousness. That never happens here, and Maria's journey is one that the reader willingly undertakes; the lesson she learns are lessons for the reader. --Barry Forshaw

The Observer
'Has a strange and potent chemistry of its own.'

Glasgow Evening Times
'Coelho has a deceptively simple but elegant writing style which sits well with this strange but gripping tale.'

Customer Reviews

Worth reading

This is my second reading for Paulo Coelho, Such amazing wonderful reading that I was enjoying each minute of it. I liked this as much as I liked The Alchemist.

The concept of the story ( despite the job of the main character as a hooker ) it gives alot of moral and themes for personal life.


This man has a lovely style of writing that capture you with him till the end, especially with this novel from a woman side

Overall, it is a worth reading for those who would like to understand the male and female for different sides.

Another 'follow your dreams' novel
Having sworn never again to read any more Paulo Coelho, my book group chose Eleven Minutes as this months read. This is now my 4th book by the author and I am no more a fan than after the first. I find his patronising style simplistic and child-like and he repeats 'key' statements ad nauseum throughout his books. While they are often quick reads - this one took less than 24hrs - I still end up wondering why I bothered.

Maria, a naive young Brazilian girl, decides to take a week's vacation in Rio de Janiero. There she meets a talent scout on the look out for dancers to perform in Geneva. Maria decides to take a chance but finds that things are not quite as she'd been led to believe. When she gets sacked for missing a day's work, things start to go down hill rapidly. She is almost broke when a man offers her a huge sum to sleep with him and from this it's not such a large step to becoming a high class prostitute, serving several men each night. Money is plentiful and Maria enjoys her status - will she continue with this life or return home with money and buy a farm??
In true Paulo Coelho style there is plenty of moralising about the subject, following on from the theme of following your dream in 'The Alchemist'
The character of Maria is apparently based on the life story of a prostitute that PC met while in Switzerland, but I still found her sudden expertise on sexual problems rather unbelievable.
I also thought the novel was rather sexually explicit for a book that I might find myself reading on the bus or other public place. Personally I feel that there is a fine line decreeing what is acceptable in a book for general consumption and this crossed it.

Wonderful!
Having loved Veronika decides to Die I had bought Eleven minutes and The Alchemist but unfortunately had never got around to reading them, until yesterday when recovering from a nasty flu&feeling slightly bored I decided to read Eleven minutes. That was it the minutes flew and before I knew it it was six thirty the next morning and I'd finished it. I could not put it down, another amazing book from an amazing writer. I love the fact that Coehlo can address the most nitty gritty of subjects with a tangible realism. Although his subject was sex it never felt like he was going too far he seemed to strike a perfect chord, even when re-telling the most degrading of Maria's sexual journeys. The honesty in which this book is written is beautiful you can truly relate to his character and understand that all she is searching for is love, yet a full love that revolves around an everday life. A closeness with someone that holds much more than just sex!. She takes us on a journey of honesty and we love her for that. She learns the true meaning of love in all its forms and makes us all think alittle about the difference between sex and making love. It is a gripping story with so many hidden meanings and as ever Paulo makes us question our own existence and indeed our own sexuality. Another inspirational piece of reading from the great Paulo Coelho. The Alchamest here I come!