Written by: Estella Shrestha - 2023013, Grade IX
Posted on: 26 August, 2020
Eleven Minutes is a novel by Paulo Coelho which was published in 2003. It is translated from the Portuguese language by Margaret Jull Costa. This Novel was recommended and was given by Mr. Suraj Khanal. The genre of this novel is fiction and romance. The theme as Maria had to experience pain throughout her life in order to discover her true self. Loneliness is shown through the novel as Maria was lonely and her soul and mind were lost in order for her to continue with her difficult career choice.
The story takes place in Brazil and Maria shifts to Europe for her work. In the interior of Brazil, there was one cinema, one bank, and one nightclub. Maria lives in a dusty street in Brazil with her family. Draper's shop is a place where Maria does her job. Maria also goes to Rio de Janeiro. It is in Rio de Janeiro where Maria meets Roger, the Swiss man who hires Maria to dance at his club in Geneva, Switzerland. Maria is an adolescent who is a prostitute. On the first day of the school term one, she was ahead going on the way to school she realized that on her way she was not alone. A boy was following her (the name is not mentioned in the book) he was her neighbor. Usually, they didn't communicate with each other. Maria started to have feelings for him but at the same time, she hated him when he didn't love her back. She stopped liking him and moved on. She shifted to Europe for work. After three years, Maria learned geography and mathematics. Maria started writing a diary describing her humdrum life and her desire to experience first-hand the things they told her about in class the ocean, snow, men in turbans, elegant women covered in jewels. She turned fifteen, she fell in love with a boy in a Holy Week procession. They started to interact and started going to the cinema and to parties together.
Six months passed Maria learned all the necessary lessons, for example, how the Copacabana worked. It was one of the most expensive places in Rue de Berne. Most of the prostitutes who worked there were aged between eighteen and twenty-two and they stayed, on average, for two years, when they would be replaced by newer recruits. They then moved to the Neon, then to the Xenium. They almost all ended up in the Tropical Ecstasy. The Copacabana was a quiet place, and Switzerland was possibly the best country in the world in which to work as a prostitute.
Maria got fired from her job. She is living in Geneva, Switzerland. She is hoping that she might get a job very soon. Usually, in her free time, she used to go to the library named Little prince to get more knowledge about sex. She takes a book name, "The Psychology of Frigidity in Women". Maria was able to discover that place as soon as she got there she gotta learn it was a night club which was owned by Milan( a man who was really famous in Geneva). This nightclub was the most expensive one in that area. She became a prostitute at that place. She worked there for nine months and in the middle of her job she used to take the time to go to the library and she reads about human emotions rather. Similarly, after nine months she became rich and quitted her job. She decided to go back to her hometown and do the farming-related works so she read the book farm administration. She went to the cafe to read a book. She met a painter called Ralf hart. Maria falls in love with him immediately and begins to experience what "true love" is. Ralf went to the Rue de Berne and asked Maria for a drink but she refused. After several meetings with Ralf Hart, often at his house, they shared something she didn’t share with any other clients. She felt hopelessly in love with him as he brought her to rekindle her soul. Maria then felt she needed to leave Rue de Berne because of her feelings and travel home to her family regardless of the fact that if she worked for just six months longer, she could have given her family everything they desire.
In the end, Maria decides to put an end to her adventure and to return home to her parents. She has enough money to buy a small farm and enough life experience to keep her away from trouble. She jumps on a plane headed for Paris without telling Ralf about her plans. Ralf guesses her intentions and decides to follow her to Paris and ask for one more chance. They meet at the airport and kiss and decide to visit the Eiffel Tower.
The protagonist herself discovers many things. This book gives a lesson about loving a person by heart. And one of the main reasons I liked this book is because it says that we should not give up easily like Maria. She always ended up having many boyfriends and waited for her prince charming then she started liking a boy and started dating. She never gave up. We should never give up in love no matter how hard it may seem somewhere out there God has made the perfect match. The languages used here are very simple and t
