In Eleven Minutes there are a couple of explosive scenes (including some BDSM) that never once struggle for ways to say “penis” or “vagina”. One thing Coelho does well, and that all of us writers can take away from his writing is sex scenes.
If you’re looking for an exploration of sensuality and the meaning of human physical relationships and don’t mind a strong dose of authorial judgment, this is the book for you. If you are looking for believable plot and dialogue, go elsewhere. If you are looking for complex, realistic characters, go elsewhere.
With a grain of saltĪs a reader, you have to go into this novel with the right mindset. Coelho seems bent on instructing the reader in the complex ways of sex, even if it means writing unrealistically self-aware characters. The Washington Post was spot-on with its book-jacket quote, “an adults-only fairy tale.” Because it reads like a tale told to children. Instead, he simply tells us about them, expecting the reader to accept and move on to the juicier bits of the novel. Coelho spends little time developing protagonist Maria’s early life and relationships. And it’s clear that this is what Coelho wants to talk about the build-up of the story unfortunately suffers for it. The word sex is mentioned directly on the book cover four or five times, so we can safely assume that this will be a major theme throughout the novel. “Hmm,” Liz replied, “you can take that one if you want to.” An adults-only fairy tale “It’s a story about a Brazilian prostitute in Switzerland,” I said. “I don’t really remember why I picked that one up or what it’s about,” Liz said. The first, The Alchemist, I read in high school and absolutely adored (though I’m afraid to reread it now for fear of changing my opinion). As I dragged a finger over the titles, I came across two books by Paulo Coelho.
Our friendship, which goes back to grade 6, has revolved almost entirely around books. Last week, I found myself sprawled on the floor of my friend Liz’s London flat, perusing the books on her bookshelf.
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