In the novel ‘Eleven Minutes’, Paulo Coelho, renowned novelist, tells people that rock reality of world forces man sometimes to surrender to adversities prevailing around them. In his previous creation ‘Alchemist’, Coelho had successfully given the message to readers about the importance of dreams and efforts to realise it in the lives of people.
Readers will realise shocking realities, which forces a human to be thrown into lowest point of the life. This is what happened with the Maria, central character of the novel. In her pursuit of her dream to become rich and to achieve success, she finally leads her life towards prostitution. Where her life faces darkness and light during her encounter with various persons coming to search for pleasure in her socially forbidden occupation.
Coelho is definitely a master in blending the reality with mysticism, which seems disintegrable in his novels. There are few creators like him, who could so successfully merge reality, magic, omens and spiritualism. Although thousands of books have been written over the subject ‘sex’, but in ‘Eleven Minutes’, there are other aspects of sexual life, which is unknown to major portion of the population.
Two main characters, Ralf Hart and Terence, who represent light and darkness, could be viewed as positive and negative forces in the life. Both the forces are strong, promises to give pleasure and satisfaction. However, one leads to enlightenment and other leads to further degradation. Maria experiences extremes of both the forces.
The novel also tells that one person is always free to make choices in life. Soul of a person always comes into the picture to warn people when he or she is going to take wrong direction, but inner voices will die soon in case that person do not pay heed to it.