About the Author & the Novel:
Paulo Coelho, one of the most widely read author in the world today, has come up with yet another powerful novel which deals with a bold subject - s-e-x.
In this work of fiction he has dealt with many aspects of the life of a prostitute.
’Eleven Minutes’ gives an insight into the dark world of prostitutes, their trials & tribulations, their fickle-mindedness.
’Eleven Minutes’ is about Maria’s unending search for love - True Love. She goes through major heart-breaks at a tender age & decides that love is something which brings suffering. Her quest for money mingled with despairing attitude towards love & life leads her into the dark world of prostitution. She still believes that it(prostitution) is just a phase in her life which will end soon. But, then she realises that its just not getting over. She finds herself trapped in a vicious circle. She pretends to be happy. She convinces herself that she is happy. But anyway she isn’t. She needs someone to love, someone to share, someone to care. She feels terribly lonely and tries to find solace in her diary. She writes in it each and every moment of her life.
What happens next in her life? Read the novel & find it for urself.
My Take on the Novel:
After having read this novel, I was unable to decide whether I liked it or not.
The reason being, this novel is an amalgamation of ’good’ as-well-as ’bad’.
It has its disgusting moments which only help to better understand the significance of sweet moments.
The extracts from the diary of Maria gives an idea about her fickle-mindedness.
I am very much impressed by the author.
He has an amazing style of writing - simple yet powerful.
I specially loved the way he exhibited the ending. Though it was another fairytale ending but it was presented quite differently.
This novel taught me:
Pessimistic approach in life leads only to a dark world.
Negative thoughts takes a toll on ur life.
Life is all about making right decisions at the right time.
Wrong decisions in life makes ur life a hell but at the same time gives an opportunity to learn from them.
True love do exist in this world.
Never stop believing in love.
Every end has a new beginning.