Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho (ISBN:0060589280)

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		Eleven Minutes
	
				(2552 reviews)			
(62881 Readers)

			Paulo Coelho		
	
Paulo Coelho's astonishingly beautiful writing in Eleven Minutes virtually guarantees it the cult status that The Alchemist already enjoys. But what...more
 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   less

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							Katia
						
							few weeks ago						
didn't really like it! the book didn't attract me.

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Awesome! The truly amazing thing about this book is how the author puts a face on the very "forbidden" vocation of prostitution. You'd empathise with the person in the book. It's not one of those sad stories where the women involved have been "enslaved". The protagonist wanted a life as a star/model in europe but then stumbled upon the profession and actually decides...more
 Awesome! The truly amazing thing about this book is how the author puts a face on the very "forbidden" vocation of prostitution. You'd empathise with the person in the book. It's not one of those sad stories where the women involved have been "enslaved". The protagonist wanted a life as a star/model in europe but then stumbled upon the profession and actually decides to do out of her own free will.  And of course, forbidden love happens as in all love stories. The writer pours his heart into this with such sensuality there's some form of power of enticement that makes you want to read it more.   hide

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							A reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Ever since I read The Alchemist I have been a big fan of Coelho ... wonderful writer - I have never come away from delving into one of his books without being in deep thought - thats what the guy does, he hypnotises you and makes you think about things ... deeply ... I can nhonestly say in fact that the Alchemist changed the way I think about (certain) things. This wander down the road of what is...more
 Ever since I read The Alchemist I have been a big fan of Coelho ... wonderful writer - I have never come away from delving into one of his books without being in deep thought - thats what the guy does, he hypnotises you and makes you think about things ... deeply ... I can nhonestly say in fact that the Alchemist changed the way I think about (certain) things. This wander down the road of what is effectivly an airing of his views and thoughts on what he describes as "Spiritual sex", is about the eleven minutes that it takes the average couple to copulate. There are some good insights there but overall I came away feeling that he was half aseleep when he let this one get posted to the publisher ... less than....  Nontheless, and interesting read.   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
A young brazilian girl convinced  from an early age that she will never find true love. A chance meeting in Rio takes her to Geneva, but the gilttering life she hoped for was a fantasy. the reality, selling herself to survive is a dehumanising grind that pushes her further away from real love, towards a fascination with pure physical pleasure.
But when her emotional barriers are tested by a...more
 A young brazilian girl convinced  from an early age that she will never find true love. A chance meeting in Rio takes her to Geneva, but the gilttering life she hoped for was a fantasy. the reality, selling herself to survive is a dehumanising grind that pushes her further away from real love, towards a fascination with pure physical pleasure.
But when her emotional barriers are tested by a handsome young painter, she must choose between the dark path she is on and risking everything to find her "inner light".Can she move beyond the meeting of bodies to ameeting of minds or even souls to aplace where sex itself is sacred?   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
"...at the beginning of creation, men and women were not as they are now; there was just one being, who was rather short, with a body and a neck, but his head had two faces, looking in different directions. It was as if two creatures had been glued back to back, with two sets of sex organs, four legs and four arms.
 The Greek gods, however, were jealous, because this creature with four arms...more
 "...at the beginning of creation, men and women were not as they are now; there was just one being, who was rather short, with a body and a neck, but his head had two faces, looking in different directions. It was as if two creatures had been glued back to back, with two sets of sex organs, four legs and four arms.
 The Greek gods, however, were jealous, because this creature with four arms could work harder; with its two faces, it was always vigilant and could not be taken by surprise; and its four legs meant that it could stand or walk for long periods at a time without tiring. Even more dangerous was the fact that the creature had two different sets of sex organs and so needed no one else in order to continue reproducing.
 Zeus, the supreme lord of Olympus, said: 'I have a plan to make these mortals lose some of their strength.'
 And  he cut the creature in two with a lightning bolt, thus creating man and woman.
...now they had to search for their lost half and embrace it...That embrace in which the two bodies re-fuse to become one again is what we call sex."

GREAT BOOK....I simply LOVED IT!!!!   hide

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							♥♥
						
							few weeks ago						
Paulo Coelho is the sort of a writer who cn open our eyes to reality, evn while watchin a fairy tale... 
" at sum point of time in our life.. there are moments.. wen we hv one stp at a fairytale..n th othr at th abyss "...wonderful lines and absolutely true..
this book tlks bout prostitution n gives a detailed analysis on th need of sex.. i hd a feeling, while reading this book, i suddenly...more
 Paulo Coelho is the sort of a writer who cn open our eyes to reality, evn while watchin a fairy tale... 
" at sum point of time in our life.. there are moments.. wen we hv one stp at a fairytale..n th othr at th abyss "...wonderful lines and absolutely true..
this book tlks bout prostitution n gives a detailed analysis on th need of sex.. i hd a feeling, while reading this book, i suddenly reached an entirely different level of maturity.. itz a must read, fr readers lyk me, who tend t believe all their life.. that prostitution n unwanted sex is th dirtiest stry of civilization!.. i surely hv a different opinion aftr readin this book.. prostitutes hv their own enchanting stry!!   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
I read the Alchemist and wasnâ€™t all that impressed so when this book was recommended to me, I wasnâ€™t eager to read it - but Iâ€™m glad I did.  Like his other novels, Coelho wastes no time getting to the point of the story.  Maria, a young girl that the world would likely dismiss as uneducated and insignificant surprises me with her acute assessment of people and behaviours. ...more
 I read the Alchemist and wasnâ€™t all that impressed so when this book was recommended to me, I wasnâ€™t eager to read it - but Iâ€™m glad I did.  Like his other novels, Coelho wastes no time getting to the point of the story.  Maria, a young girl that the world would likely dismiss as uneducated and insignificant surprises me with her acute assessment of people and behaviours.  She quickly learns to see things for what they are and is a realist secretly hoping for romance.  Coelho uses Mariaâ€™s experiences to discuss sex in all its forms.  A psychological study of something that everyone is interested in and yet is too afraid to talk aboutâ€¦. â€œEleven Minutes.â€  

Favourite line: â€œDesire was an entirely free sensation, loose in the air, vibrating, filling life with the will to have something â€“ and that was enough, that will carried all before it, moved mountainsâ€   hide

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							Searching for
						
							few weeks ago						
This is more complex Coelho, A man telling the story through a female character, (this is not his only time) Seems to be a touchy subject,not sure why ?... Sex is many things to many people. Sacred? Vile? Natural? Hedonistic? But this story is more.. This character is a girl trying to find herself, and not in the "coming of age as a young lady way". Instead, in a way which some may seem vulger....more
 This is more complex Coelho, A man telling the story through a female character, (this is not his only time) Seems to be a touchy subject,not sure why ?... Sex is many things to many people. Sacred? Vile? Natural? Hedonistic? But this story is more.. This character is a girl trying to find herself, and not in the "coming of age as a young lady way". Instead, in a way which some may seem vulger. We see this girl is full with contradictory emotions. a Deep shame, empowerment, desperation, seduction, and a forbidden appetite, which this character slips a little deeper into than expected. This was an exploration of a subject I had never contemplated before, a part of the world, life out there that I would never have experienced on my own,(thats for sure)I must say I appreciate the rawness of this. I am happy to see it through Coelho's multi-dimensional story.   hide

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							deepANJAN
						
							few weeks ago						
Respect me always for that I am shameless and that I am the magnificent one......This is the line that drew my attention in the first go......A candid and honest and bold and strong and........statement by a prostitute (not from the novel)(used in the prologue)

Second surprise came when I discovered the significance of the title of the novel itself....Eleven minutes.....Can anyone guess what is...more
 Respect me always for that I am shameless and that I am the magnificent one......This is the line that drew my attention in the first go......A candid and honest and bold and strong and........statement by a prostitute (not from the novel)(used in the prologue)

Second surprise came when I discovered the significance of the title of the novel itself....Eleven minutes.....Can anyone guess what is that very important schedule of life what we require eleven minutes, not more and not less, to execute with precision......! 

I am not going to disclose it here.....The answer is in the black and white....   hide

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							A Reader
						
							few weeks ago						
Paulo Coelho is the sort of a writer who cn open our eyes to reality, evn while watchin a fairy tale... 
" at sum point of time in our life.. there are moments.. wen we hv one stp at a fairytale..n th othr at th abyss "...wonderful lines at absolutely true..
this book tlks bout prostitution n gives a detailed analysis on th need of sex.. i hd a feeling, while reading this book, i suddenly reached...more
 Paulo Coelho is the sort of a writer who cn open our eyes to reality, evn while watchin a fairy tale... 
" at sum point of time in our life.. there are moments.. wen we hv one stp at a fairytale..n th othr at th abyss "...wonderful lines at absolutely true..
this book tlks bout prostitution n gives a detailed analysis on th need of sex.. i hd a feeling, while reading this book, i suddenly reached an entirely different level of maturity.. itz a must read, fr readers lyk me, t tend t believe all their life.. that prostitution n unwanted sex is th dirtiest stry of civilization!.. i surely hv a different opinion aftr readin this book.. prostitutes hv their own enchanting stry!!   hide

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