“Eleven Minutes. The world revolved around something that only took eleven minutes.”
If someone asked me what the book “Eleven Minutes” is all about, I would have carelessly answered “It's about prostitution”.
But no, Eleven Minutes is more than that. It's about failed dreams, of refusing to be a victim in a trap you found herself in, of going beyond your limits and of knowing when to stop.
Prostitution is the first word that would come to my mind, considering that Maria, the protagonist who came from the interior of Brazil and dreamed of having a future at a faraway place, has ended up being a prostitute in Switzerland. Blessed with beauty and charm, a trip to Rio de Janeiro changed everything she had in her life – from being the simple girl in a small town with ambitious dreams into the girl who sold her body for a living in the name of a better life in one of the most expensive countries in the world.
But again, there's more to that.
It's a novel of how a string of failed relationships can lead a fragile girl to believe that love can only bring pain, frustration and suffering.
“The remedy is worst than the pain: I simply don't fall in love.”
It's a novel that shows us that choosing not to fall prey into life's tricks can make you bold and fearless, but also puts you in danger of losing yourself.
“I can choose either to be a victim of the world or an adventurer in search of a treasure. It's all a question of how I view my life.”
It's a novel that teaches us the true meaning of freedom and love, and the treacherous faces of pain and suffering.
“That is the true experience of freedom: having the most important thing in the world without owning it.”
“Pain is frightening when it shows its real face, but it's seductive when it comes disguised as sacrifice or self-denial.”
And most importantly, it is a novel of redemption; that no matter how downward spiral your life has become, love, and only love, can be the sole thing you need to make your life right again.
It's a story of how a beautiful and intelligent woman named Maria, who is capable of writing “very wise thoughts” in her diary, has slipped into darkness and found her way back to light again after meeting a painter named Ralf Hart. Together, they taught each other lessons about life, love and sex, and saved each other from the worlds that entrapped them for so long.
This is the fourth Paulo Coelho book I've read, and the second which I have read twice. I can't say it's Coelho's best book because I haven't read all of his creations, but I say it's something every adult who have loved and lost must read.
Why? Continue reading.
Just like in any other Coelho books, Eleven Minutes is filled with profound quotes that talk about life, taking risks, and love. Themes exploring love and sexuality are not new anymore to Coelho, but Eleven Minutes is the most erotic, I think, since it explicitly uses words such as a person's sex organs, vividly describes love scenes, and touches element of sadomasochism in the story. (Get lost 50 Shades)
But Paulo Coelho is a brilliant storyteller. He incorporates prose and poetry in a masterful way and uses allegorical conversations between the main characters. (Seriously, it's hard to think of people having these super wise conversations in real life.)
Maria: I have lots of pristine train sets in my life too. One of them is my heart. And I only played it with when the world set out the tracks, and then it wasn't always the right moment.
Ralf: But you loved.
Maria: Oh, yes, I loved, I loved very deeply. I loved so deeply that when my love asked me for a gift, I took fright and fled.
Ralf: I don't understand.
Maria: You don't have to. I'm teaching you because I've discovered something I didn't know before. The giving of gifts. Giving something of one's own. You have my treasure: the pen with which I wrote down some of my dreams. I have your treasure: the carriage of a train, part of your childhood that you did not live. I carry with me part of your past, and you carry with you a little of my present. Isn't that lovely?
Ralf: I never understood why I kept that carriage. Now I do: it was in order to give it to you one night before an open fire. Now the house feels lighter.
Oh God, do couples really talk intellectually like that? I love that dialogue so much; it gave me goosebumps that when I would find my other half, I'd give him my ballpen too, believing with all my might that it's more romantic than giving him a couple shirt. :))))
Yes, Paulo Coelho is a romantic in the truest sense of the word, and unfortunately, his romanticism can be contagious. I'm afraid I've been infected.
The symbolic exchanging of gifts, a meaningful dialogue before an open fire, the fear of turning your dreams into a reality, the art of making love without entering the body of the other, the true freedom of loving without asking anything in return - all these and more are found in Eleven Minutes.
No, Eleven Minutes is not just about prostitution. It's a story of a prostitute who have found love and redemption in the arms of a painter. It's a story that tells us that no matter how wretched you think you are, there is someone out there capable of accepting and loving you for your past, your present and your future.
And just for the record, the prostitute and the painter did end up together. :P
Ooooppppssss! I'm sorry I have to stop. Otherwise, I am running the risk of spoiling everything. :)
But in case you still you want to read some soulful quotes from the book, I'm sharing a few to you:
“Life moves very fast. It rushes us from heaven to hell in a matter of seconds.”
“Dreams don't come cheap.”
“Life always waits for some crisis to occur before revealing itself at its most brilliant.”
“Loneliness is the worst of all tortures, the worst of all sufferings.”
“The person who gives him/herself wholly, the person who feels freest, is the person who loves most wholeheartedly.”
“Considering the way the world is, one happy day is almost a miracle.”
“Love is not to be found in someone else, but in ourselves; we simply awaken it.”
“Really important meetings are planned by the souls long before the bodies see each other.”
“Everyone knows how to love, because we are all born with that gift.”
“It wasn't necessary to know your own demons in order to find God.”
“When I had nothing to lose, I had everything. When I stopped being who I am, I found myself.”
“Human beings weren't made solely to go in search of wisdom, but also to plough the land, wait for rain, plant the wheat, harvest the grain and make the bread.”
“Life is too short, or too long, for me to allow myself the luxury of living it so badly.”
*end
Labels: books about sexuality and love, Books Movies and TV, Eleven Minutes book review, Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho, must-read books by Paulo Coelho, Paulo Coelho quotes
