The Winner Stands Alone

I'm a great fan of Paulo Coelho, having read some of his other books like the Alchemist. This motivated me to pick up The Winner Stands Alone. Paulo Coelho is certainly a fantastic writer and he puts in the best of his efforts to create a story of power, glamour and manipulation in the glamour and film industry.

The story is about Igor, an extremely powerful Russian Entrepreneur who sets out to get his ex-wife Ewa back from well-known fashion designer Hamid Hussain. His methods are not legitimate at all, as he wants to achieve this motive by ‘destroying worlds’, or in rather simple terms, by murdering people.

The story is set in the background of the Cannes Film festival and winds from start to finish in a matter of just 24 hours. Within this short time-frame, we are introduced to a number of characters in the plot, and for some, this can be quite heavy to follow through the narrative.

Nevertheless, with the book has all the elements of a fast-paced plot coupled with Coelho's literary style of rumination and reflection. The Winner Stands Alone is a superb narrative about the lives of the rich and famous and the superficial nature of their achievements. In the foreword of the book, Coelho’s describes the book as a 'crude portrait' of the present times.

The book makes the reader think hard about how much is the limit to excess and what are the boundaries of vanity in the world of glamour and fashion. Most people in today's world believe that a world full of money and fame is the right dispensation for their miseries, but Coelho thoughtfully explores the world of the superrich in this novel.

I do feel that sometimes the author's rambling and philosophising can put you off, but nevertheless it is a good read. I recommend that you read it in a single go. I will certainly read more of Coelho's books in the future.

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