Eleven Minutes

Paulo Coelho

A novel by Paulo Coelho ( author of The Alchemist) has been translated from Portuguese, and according to the blurb on the cover is “a gripping exploration of the potentially sacred nature of sex within the context of love.” I found this book to be both enthralling and intriguing. It has a fairy tale feeling about it, and is the story of a young girl from a Brazilian village who learns about love and life through her adventures as a prostitute in Switzerland. The book claims to be a fictionalized version of a true life story. Certainly this is “X-Rated” but it transcends sex and I found it to be very moving and transcendental in its views and experiences about love, life, and pain. This book is one of those hidden treasures that one feels privileged to have discovered and enjoyed.

Review by Len Oppenheim