For June, Book Club read and discussed Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho.
Eleven Minutes by Paulo Coelho
Comments related to the semi-serious discussion about the book:
I tore through the first 179 pages, then put it down and read, like, 5 mindless novels, and picked it back up. I expected a better finish.
Dude does not know women.
I loved the way it was written, so quotable.
I forgot how graphic it was.
It started to fade for me, I was disappointed in the ending. It would have been better if he had left it with “what if”.
I love the way it was set up, with the journal entries.
I didn’t like it in particular, I didn’t hate it.
I had no idea what the author’s intent was.
I had no connection to the characters. Not that I didn’t like the writing–I loved the descriptions and the writing.
meh.
Every third virtual page, I would say “self-indulgent claptrap.” The Afterward verified what I’d been thinking–he was interested in exploring sex outside his own world, wrote a novel about it, didn’t succeed.
The framework seemed like he was following instructions-you must include this element, this element. beginning, middle, end.
There were logical fallacies. It made sense in the scene but pulled me out of the story because it was illogical.
I actually really liked it. It was so compartmentalized, it made it easier to take. I didn’t question it.
The inconsistency wasn’t jarring enough to take me out of the story.
I could tell it was a dude writing, it didn’t bother me.
For some reason, I just can’t get orderly thoughts about it. It didn’t illicit strong emotions in me.
Finding out it was based on a real person made it more to me.
This was Pretty Woman.
That sacred love scene between them was so high school.
The whole sacred prostitution was a stretch. He did too much research.
I enjoyed reading it, but there were things that bothered me.
He set it up as an ambitious project.
He set her up as viewing love so simplistically.
The journal entries were so elegant, so self-aware. “I’m a college student and have taken a philosophy course.”
He wanted to do this big thing but it didn’t go there generally.
Don’t develop characters but use a foil.
I really dislike it. I enjoyed how it started. I hated the ending.
It was very much a man writing,”Oh, she felt like . . . ” I thought, no, she didn’t.
I disliked him. I had no connection to the characters. I didn’t care what happened to her.
I felt he [the author] was always talking about himself.
It starts with her very naive, then very head-driven not heart. It was very male.
-It reminds me of Story of O in a lot of places.
-But that is more emotional.
-Same objectivity, outside of the acts.
This happened–stop–philosophical bit.
It didn’t ring true.
It was obviously what he was thinking, not her.
They were all stereotypical.
And now some random not-so-much book related comments:
Is it ok to eat the cake?
She cheated on her husband, that’s pretty cool.
This is a wedding invitation right here.
Get the lit out.
-A family of lesbians.
-It’s called Little Women.
If you had a safe word, we’d spank you.
I don’t want to know if my mom has a safe word.
All chaps are assless, by definition.
Jules’ Review: I didn’t love it. I felt like Coelho way trying to make a point, but I had no idea what it was. It was very much a man attempting to write a woman. Some of the language was beautiful, and visual. I mostly felt he thought he was being open and liberal, but he wasn’t. I guess I’d give it a 2-ish.
