The thing is this? just writing a book on sex does not make it bold or even novel. Even Jackie Collins has loads of sex in her books ? but when Paulo Coelho does it, it becomes bold !
I must say Eleven Minutes failed to live up to my expectations of Coelho ? After the Alchemist, I was expecting a lot more ? let?s say?magical. The story has been described by many of the reviewers here and I won?t go over it again. Suffice it to say that it is the eternal fascination with the subject of a golden-hearted prostitute (eg. Pretty Woman).
The question that always occurs to me in such movies is ? if she was so golden-hearted, then why did she become a prostitute ? The quest, of course, goes unanswered in this case also. Why did this girl, with everything to her advantage - including looks and a good brain - turn to prostitution ? Could she think of nothing better to impress her hometown folks with ? What is this character that would do anything for a get-rich-quick scheme?
Nevertheless, as a central character of the book, we have a girl who ?drifts? into prostitution. Within a short period, she becomes a thorough professional ? but keeps her ?inner light? intact. So much so that a painter comes to fall in love with her. While he is doing this, she is making a foray into sado-machoism with another customer. He ?rescues? her in a totally incomprehensible manner. Then she decides to ?run away? from him and return to her home town ? for no reason that one can see. If she really can?t take on a real life with him, one wonders how did she stomach her professional days for so long ?
Still, the painter decides to follow and woo her ? and then they live happily ever after. Applause, anyone?
It remains that the book portrays the girl?s relationship with the painter sensitively. This book also manages to convey what the author had set out to do ? the difference between sex and ?sacred sex?. But it could have been told better from the point of view of the painter rather than the girl. Still, worth a read.