âOne of Coelhoâs strongest.ââKirkus Reviews
âThe book casts a curiously sweet spell.ââEntertainment Weekly
From the author of beloved international bestseller The Alchemist, a daring novel that explores the sacred nature of sex and love and invites us to confront our own prejudices and demons.
Eleven Minutes tells the story of Maria, a young girl from a Brazilian village whose first innocent brushes with love leave her heartbroken. At a tender age, she becomes convinced that she will never find true love, instead believing that âlove is a terrible thing that will make you suffer.â A chance meeting in Rio takes her to Geneva, where she dreams of finding fame and fortune, yet ends up working as a prostitute.
In Geneva, Mariaâs despairing view of love is put to the test when she meets a handsome young painter. In this odyssey of self-discovery, Maria must choose between pursuing a path of darknessâsexual pleasure for its own sakeâor risking everything to find her own inner light and the possibility of true love.
âSensual . . . [An] adults-only fairly tale.ââWashington Post
â[This] Brazilian wizard makes books disappear from stores.ââThe New York Times