Eleven Minutes: Summary and book reviews of Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho, plus links to an excerpt from Eleven Minutes and a biography of Paulo Coelho.

A new, international bestseller by the author of The Alchemist tells the story of Maria, a young girl from a Brazilian village, whose first innocent brushes with love leave her heartbroken. At a tender age, she becomes convinced that she will never find true love, instead believing that "Love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer ..." A chance meeting in Rio takes her to Geneva, where she dreams of finding fame and fortune. Instead, she ends up working as a prostitute. In Geneva, Maria drifts further and further away from love as she develops a fascination with sex. Eventually, Maria's despairing view of love is put to the test when she meets a handsome young painter. In this odyssey of self-discovery, Maria has to choose between pursuing a path of darkness, sexual pleasure for its own sake, or risking everything to find her own "inner light" and the possibility of sacred sex, sex in the context of love. In this gripping and daring new novel, Paulo Coelho sensitively explores the sacred nature of sex and love and invites us to confront our own prejudices and demons and embrace our own "inner light."

BookBrowse

The growth of the main character from innocent village girl to the writer of philosophical journal entries stretches credibility a little too far, and the whole story seems to be too obvious a vehicle for moralizing.  (Reviewed by BookBrowse Review Team).

Full Review (686 words).

Media Reviews

Amazon.co.uk - Barry Forshaw Paulo Coelho's astonishingly beautiful writing in Eleven Minutes virtually guarantees it the cult status that The Alchemist already enjoys.....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.   Publishers Weekly ....a philosophical exploration of sexual love, using Maria's increasingly ponderous and pseudo-philosophical diary entries as a means for expounding on the nature of sexual desire, passion and love. At the end, the story boils down to a rather predictable romance tarted up with a few sexy trappings.   Library Journal New territory for an internationally best-selling author a prostitute learns the meaning of love.   Kirkus Reviews The Brazilian Coelho, whose inspirational fables have sold about 50 million copies in 150 countries in 57 languages, at times persuades reviewers with his talent but often is seen as gucky and spiritually challenged.....Down-to-earth dialogue and detail about classy whoring one of Coelho's strongest.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by Becky
Captivating ~ Addictive
Enjoyed every word...every minute...it presents all sides & kinds of women: inexperienced # professional , weak # strong , sensitive # courageous , the insecure..educated..sexy - all in one woman! It's Captivating and Addictive.

Rated of 5 by Bridget Forde
Eleven Minutes
I read this book two years ago and re-read it occasionally even now. I loved that Paulo Coelho was able to give such an accurate account of a young woman's hopes and dreams and the book was a delight to read. The ending was weak and sentimental...   Read More

Rated of 5 by rinki
A+
I really liked this book. It made me see the other side of the coin. life is really very beautiful, everything has a meaning of its own. everything we do in this world is connected to some other thing. I love this author. thank you very much for...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Naomi
A most read book!
This book is a passionate exploration of the beauty of "making love". I read this book in just a few hours. I loved every moment. I have to say I fell in love with every word. Soñe, no con una situacion ni con una persona, sino con un perfume,...   Read More

Rated of 5 by kate
Enchantingly dangerous book
Most intoxicating novel about love, sex and desire I have read. Coelho will bring you deeper into the spiritual and shaking emotional aspect of sexual intercourse. He discusses prostitution in the light most of us have not imagined...delving...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Kiamehr Ebrahimian
Mary-Uh ;) is an ordinary human.
How old you should be to know such these things (if you 'd have ever known) ? A brand new window to the life . With reading this book I Understood that there are many things around me to enjoy my life and love the ones I Love more than now.

...20 More Reader Reviews

Readalikes

If you liked Eleven Minutes, try these:

---

---

This is one of 3 readalike suggestions for Eleven Minutes. Members have full access to all readalikes. If you are a member, please login. To find out more about membership, click here.

Books with similar themes

• Novels
  
• Europe 
  
• Contemporary 
  
• Foreign Language/Translation 
  
• Immigrants & Expatriates 
  
• Controversial Subjects