Interesting In A Somewhat Morose Way (2008-12-10)
As a pretty, young teenager in Brasil, Maria, partly by accident and perhaps partly by design, gets recruited for a prostitution ring in Europe. She works in a restaurant/bar with other prostitutes, earns some money, gains some independence but feels yearnings toward greater things. She becomes torn between someone she loves and someone who offers a strange,fascinating but dangerous area of sexuality and sensation. Ultimately she must choose. The book is based on conversations Coelho had with a woman who led such a life and the book reflects this authenticity and avoids the sensationalism of the subject for more thought-provoking ideas.

Worst book I ever read! (2008-11-05)
Actually, I should be changing the title of my review - I am a bookworm, and I have read tons of great books. To call this the "worst book I ever read" implies it can be compared to those other books. But one shouldn't even "compare" it to other books... it is a badly written Mills and Boons type of romance trying to be "profound" at the same time. The characters are stick figures, the setting contrived, plot nonexistent, and dialog - the pits. There are no emotions whatsoever. "Sacred sex" comes up in the book - "plastic sex" would describe it better.
The author wanted to be "honest" (that's what he writes in his acknowledgment) and that makes the book sound so much more false than it already is. Can the author really write about the experiences of a prostitute honestly?
Most of the time, it sounds like a terrible self-help book, with words like 'choice', 'challenge' liberally thrown in.
What a waste of time reading this book (could only manage half of it, just to see how bad a book can get). Alchemist was ok, I didn't go gaga over it, but this is soooo bad, it is unbelievable. Don't bother reading it! I would have given it a negative rating if Amazon had that option.

one of the best books ever! (2008-08-06)
This is a great book with everything you want. I've read some of the reviewers saying he writes too simple and therefor it is not a good book. But the simplicity is the strength of Coelho's writing. Makeing something like prostitution possible to grasp and comprahend and without laying out pages and pages of how horrible the situation is (with this I don't mean prostitution isn't a terrible thing - it truly is, just that it is nice to finally see a prostitute not as a helpless victim but just a womam trying to survive even though many in reality might be victims]. Read this book, you will not regret it.

feels like he's writing for young adults (2008-07-13)
This is my second book by Paulo Coelho. I first read the Alchemist and I bought this book before I realized it was the same author. Based on reading these two books, I have to say that this guy writes as though his audience is young adults. The writing is flat and simplistic. If you like reading YA books, then you might like this. Otherwise, don't bother.

Not my favorite (2008-04-26)
Eleven Minutes is not my favorite Paulo Coelho book. This is the story about a girl who fell into prostitution because she was poor and vulnerable and like everyone else in the world, looking for a better life. She fell into the trap. I didn't think this was any enlightening story about love and intimacy, more a story simply about sex.
Linda C. Wright
Author One Clown Short
One Clown Short

Interesting In A Somewhat Morose Way (2008-12-10)
As a pretty, young teenager in Brasil, Maria, partly by accident and perhaps partly by design, gets recruited for a prostitution ring in Europe. She works in a restaurant/bar with other prostitutes, earns some money, gains some independence but feels yearnings toward greater things. She becomes torn between someone she loves and someone who offers a strange,fascinating but dangerous area of sexuality and sensation. Ultimately she must choose. The book is based on conversations Coelho had with a woman who led such a life and the book reflects this authenticity and avoids the sensationalism of the subject for more thought-provoking ideas.

Worst book I ever read! (2008-11-05)
Actually, I should be changing the title of my review - I am a bookworm, and I have read tons of great books. To call this the "worst book I ever read" implies it can be compared to those other books. But one shouldn't even "compare" it to other books... it is a badly written Mills and Boons type of romance trying to be "profound" at the same time. The characters are stick figures, the setting contrived, plot nonexistent, and dialog - the pits. There are no emotions whatsoever. "Sacred sex" comes up in the book - "plastic sex" would describe it better.
The author wanted to be "honest" (that's what he writes in his acknowledgment) and that makes the book sound so much more false than it already is. Can the author really write about the experiences of a prostitute honestly?
Most of the time, it sounds like a terrible self-help book, with words like 'choice', 'challenge' liberally thrown in.
What a waste of time reading this book (could only manage half of it, just to see how bad a book can get). Alchemist was ok, I didn't go gaga over it, but this is soooo bad, it is unbelievable. Don't bother reading it! I would have given it a negative rating if Amazon had that option.

one of the best books ever! (2008-08-06)
This is a great book with everything you want. I've read some of the reviewers saying he writes too simple and therefor it is not a good book. But the simplicity is the strength of Coelho's writing. Makeing something like prostitution possible to grasp and comprahend and without laying out pages and pages of how horrible the situation is (with this I don't mean prostitution isn't a terrible thing - it truly is, just that it is nice to finally see a prostitute not as a helpless victim but just a womam trying to survive even though many in reality might be victims]. Read this book, you will not regret it.

feels like he's writing for young adults (2008-07-13)
This is my second book by Paulo Coelho. I first read the Alchemist and I bought this book before I realized it was the same author. Based on reading these two books, I have to say that this guy writes as though his audience is young adults. The writing is flat and simplistic. If you like reading YA books, then you might like this. Otherwise, don't bother.

Not my favorite (2008-04-26)
Eleven Minutes is not my favorite Paulo Coelho book. This is the story about a girl who fell into prostitution because she was poor and vulnerable and like everyone else in the world, looking for a better life. She fell into the trap. I didn't think this was any enlightening story about love and intimacy, more a story simply about sex.
Linda C. Wright
Author One Clown Short
One Clown Short