|
PAULO COELHO ANSWERS QUESTIONS ABOUT ELEVEN MINUTES
Rio de Janeiro, March 2003
The title of Eleven Minutes is inspired by Irving Wallace's novel The
Seven Minutes, published in the 70s. Wallace's bestseller deals with a
long-running legal battle over the banning of a book that takes a close look at
sex: in particular the seven-minute duration of the average sexual encounter.
Although this censored book never existed, Paulo Coelho imagined its content and
determined to write it. While Coelho abandoned his original idea, The Seven
Minutes remains the inspiration for the title (modified to Eleven Minutes
because Coelho found Wallace's original estimate too conservative) and the
subject matter: an attempt to talk about the association and dissociation of
bodily pleasures in relation to those of the heart.
After a conference in Italy in 1999, Coelho returned to his hotel to find a
manuscript waiting for him. It was the story of a Brazilian prostitute, Sonia,
recounting her life in Europe. The text interested him and, three years later,
he was finally able to meet her in Zurich. She took him to the local red light
district, Langstrasse, where his visit turned into an unusual signing session
during which Coelho inscribed copies of his books for several of Sonia's
colleagues. After this incident had been mentioned in the press, several other
prostitutes of various nationalities gave Paulo other manuscripts at another
book signing in Geneva. And so he later met Maria, Amy, Vanessa and many others.
From these meetings emerged the protagonist and the main theme of Eleven
Minutes.
What is the central idea in Eleven Minutes?
We live in a world of standardized behaviour, standardized beauty, quality,
intelligence, efficiency. We believe there is a standard for everything, and we
believe, too, that if we stick to that standard we'll be safe. Because of
this, we have created a kind of 'standardized sex', which, in fact, consists
of nothing but a string of lies: vaginal orgasm, virility above all else, that
it's better to pretend than to disappoint your partner, etc. As a direct
consequence of this, millions of people have been left feeling frustrated,
unhappy and guilty. It also lies at the root of all kinds of aberrant behavior,
for example, pedophilia, incest and rape. Why do we behave in this way with
something that is so important?
To what extent is the Maria in the book the real-life Maria? How much of
herself will she find in the story?
Maria is a real person, and is now married with two children. However, the
book isn't simply her biography, because I've also tried to make use of
various other parallel elements. I think she would recognize her story in the
book as a whole, but she wouldn't necessarily have been confronted by the same
situations with which my character is confronted.
Has she read Eleven minutes?
She read a first draft, in October 2002. She felt that the book was made up
of a blend of different people, and I told her that this had been precisely my
intention. She asked who had written the diary in the book, and said that she
wished she could have written it. She did ask me to change the age of the
principal male character, and I agreed - he's older in real life than he is in
the book.
Did meeting foreign prostitutes working in Switzerland mean that the book
turned out very differently from the way you had originally envisaged it?
The idea of writing about sex is one that had been in my mind for a long
time, but I hadn't found the right approach. Besides, the gestation of every
book is a mystery to me: the text itself only comes into being once I've written
it already in my subconscious. Perhaps in my other attempts to write about sex,
I was too determined to deal only with its sacred side. The reality is very
different, though, and I'm very pleased with the way I've resolved the problem.
Hundreds of Brazilian women share Maria's story: going from the backlands
of Brazil to the big city and then traveling abroad to work as prostitutes. Is
there a parallel between that sad trajectory and the pilgrimage routes?
My book doesn't set out to be a study of prostitution. I've tried to avoid
any kind of moralizing tone and in any way judging the main character for the
choice she makes. What really interests me is how people relate to each other
sexually. My intention, as always, is to be straightforward without being
superficial.
What is the significance in the book of the references to the Road to
Santiago? Is there something particularly significant about the fact that Maria
meets the male character, Ralf, on a stretch of that particular pilgrimage
route, even though she knows nothing about it?
There's a realistic aspect to it - the Road to Santiago does, in fact, pass
through Geneva - and there's a symbolic aspect too - because, from that moment
on, Maria's body and soul begin to become reintegrated, because of love.
Do you think the fact that your main character is a prostitute will cause
you problems in Muslim countries, like Iran, where your books have had great
success?
I don't think about these things when I write. I think only
about being true to myself.
In the dedication, you say that some books make a reader dream, whilst
others bring him or her face to face with reality. Could this be seen as a
warning?
The dedication isn't a warning, it's a declaration of personal principle. I
have to write about topics that interest me, not just things that others might
want to read about. My readers are intelligent people. If they felt there was a
formula that was repeated in all my books, they would stop reading them. I
myself am always surprised by what I write, and that, I think, gives life to a
book.
Translated by Margaret Jull Costa. Reproduction without authorization is
forbidden.
|
