《愛的十一分鐘》探討的是”必需性”,探討人類如何行使自由,試圖找出人類對性的觀感。我構思這本書許多年,考慮該如何細膩描述這個主題,最後我終於在日內瓦遇到一位妓女,我們花了三天討論有性無愛的人生到底是什麼模樣,如何享受世俗的性愛,然後讓它成為神聖的性愛。--保羅‧科爾賀談《愛的十一分鐘》
保羅‧科爾賀最新長篇力作,一部探討性、思索愛的小說。保羅再度發揮他說寓言故事的魅力,新作融合了浪漫、挑情與感動,且一貫地激勵人心。
這本書的書名有著向前輩作家 Irving Wallace 的 Seven Minutes 致敬的函意,Seven Minutes 是七○年代處理的藝術與色情爭議的一部作品,著重於美國因著對性的保守,引發對出版、藝術創作的扼殺,而保羅科爾賀則在他的新作《愛的十一分鐘》(Onze Minutos)中以一個妓女夢想著跟一般女孩得到一樣的幸福為故事主軸,藉著性來思索愛的深刻,並反過來以愛的眼光重新接受性。
*本書中譯本《愛的十一分鐘》>由時報出版。
"One of Coelho’s strongest."--Kirkus Reviews
"The book casts a curiously sweet spell."--Entertainment 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 "love is a terrible thing that will make you suffer." 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, Maria’s 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 darkness--sexual pleasure for its own sake--or risking everything to find her own inner light and the possibility of true love.
"Sensual . . . [An] adults-only fairly tale."--Washington Post
"[This] Brazilian wizard makes books disappear from stores."--TheNew York Times