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one of my favorite books
“Loved this book! I found the characters so complling and intriguing! This is a great story and is done in a delicate fashion! I fell in love with Maria, even though she was so different from me!”
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-08-08. -
2 of 3 members found this review helpful.
a brazilian man writing about women
“A friend asked me to read this book because I am Brazilian. I get that a lot, I should like something Brazilian because I am Brazilian. I will finish reading this book, but first I have to vent about how insulting this book is to all women. I was raised a Brazilian woman; I know how to behave as such. The stereotype you probably know about Brazilian women fits most of us, because we were bred that way. This book, just like many things in the Brazilian culture, is a man's view into what women are, what and how women think and behave, and how man knows best about women. To sum up, the main character Maria visits her hero at his house and he tells her that: "I need you, Maria. Because you have a light, although I don't really think you believe me yet, and think I'm trying to seduce you with my words..." Oh, this is absurd! A man that has just met a woman can see a light in her that - supposedly - this intelligent woman can not see on herself. Give me a break.
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-07-08.
The story in this book is unintelligent, trivial, and stereotypical of a Brazilian man writing about women.
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Greating Beginning, Abrupt Ending...
“"Eleven Minutes" is the second book I have read by Paulo Coehlo. Although the beginning to middle was pretty fascinating and passionate, I still felt that the ending was too forced and quick. Overall, it was still an enjoyable read and something different. My rating: 3.5/5 stars. ”
An amazon user wrote this on 2009-03-08. -
Interesting In A Somewhat Morose Way
“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.”
An amazon user wrote this on 2008-12-10. -
2 of 4 members found this review helpful.
Worst book I ever read!
“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.
An amazon user wrote this on 2008-11-05.
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.”
