Eleven Minutes

The author breaks down the subject of sexuality into a number of themes. A panoramic view of the book may reveal, however, that the one theme Coelho returns to repeatedly is sexuality is not a simple aspect of human life like walking or talking that people naturally learn as they grow and master completely after a few weeks of practice. Instead, Coelho presents ample evidence that sexuality is a lifelong learning experience. In fact, Coelho would likely refer to this sexual journey as a spiritual pilgrimage in that he perceives a close connection between sexuality and spirituality. The lessons each soul is to learn about sexuality, he seems to say, are geared to the specific individual, with the insights gained by one soul differing but enhancing the insights of another.

Coelho provides ample examples of this concept throughout the book. Heidi, the librarian, an aging widow, discovers in her middle years the extraordinary, rewarding quality of a one-time fling. At the end of the narrative, she is still learning about the relative sexual ignorance of most human beings—particularly when it comes to appreciating female anatomy—and she shows a new inclination to become an advocate for anatomical literacy.