Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho; A Brief Review

Brief Overview

Paulo Coelho's 11 minutes is based on a prostitute's journey in a foreign land, where like most professionals across the globe,  she strives to create wealth, find love and achieve success.

Maria, like every lady, was once an impressionable virgin. She had dreams of falling in love, getting married and raising her kids in a nice house with a sea view. Although slightly obsessed with what other people will think of her, she comes off as adventurous, bold and driven.

In a chance meeting, she gets a job offer abroad but is soon left  with no choice but to join the oldest profession in the world, prostitution.

Is the book rouchy? Yes it is. But every so often it forces you to pause and reflect.

Here are a few of those moments:

That's what the world is like: people talk as if they knew everything, but if you dare to ask a question, they don't know anything. ....... Whenever I try to appear more intelligent than I am, I always lose out. Well, enough is enough.

We can all agree that those who are wise know that they do not really know, and from that they take the time to listen and learn.

  When I had nothing to lose, I had everything. When I stopped being who I am, I found myself.

'You can't say to the spring: "Come now and last as long as possible." You can only say: "Come and bless me with your hope, and stay as long as you can."'

This stuck to me because we cannot take ownership of people, love or our experiences, we can only be grateful for the moments shared.

In order to master the soul, one must also learn to master the body.

I only have one word after that, DISCIPLINE

How often do you do things that cause you pain in the name of loving others. Paulo puts it so well in the passage below:

Most are so accustomed to pain, especially it's seductive disguise of sacrifice or self-denial or cowardice.

'Does a soldier go to war in order to kill the enemy? No, he goes in order to die for his country. Does a wife want to show her husband how happy she is? No, she wants him to see how devoted she is, how she suffers in order to make him happy. Does the husband go to work thinking he will find personal fulfilment there? No, he is giving his sweat and tears for the good of the family. And so it goes on: sons give up their dreams to please their parents, parents give up their lives in order to please their children; pain and suffering are used to justify the one thing that should bring only love.' 

Life is too short or too long, for me to allot myself the luxury of living it so badly. 

Lastly, life is hard. It can push you to a point of despair over and over again, but if Maria, a prostitute in a foreign land can find herself and push for a better life then So can you. 

Till next time...