According to Paulo Coelho‚ The Winner Is Alone is a photograph of the world we live in‚ captured in the form of a novel. The action‚ in accelerated rhythm‚ occurs in less than 24 hours during the Cannes Film Festival. Igor Dalev‚ a successful Russian entrepreneur‚ arrives in France determined to recover Ewa‚ his ex-wife and the great love of his life. Since Ewa is remarried to Hamid Hussein‚ a stylist and star of the fashion circuit‚ Igor becomes increasingly desperate‚ determined to get her attention by any means necessary. And so‚ crippled by jealousy and passion and‚ above all‚ a desire to impress Ewa‚ Igor becomes a serial killer. By killing innocent people‚ he believes he is "destroying universes" and hence demonstrating the strength of his feelings. Producers‚ consecrated actors‚ aspiring actresses‚ top models and stylists -- all of them are portrayed in a merciless portrait of luxury and of the Superclass‚ the elite who‚ by influencing people‚ define the directions of our days.
By providing the reader with details of how these characters -- all of them based on real-life people -- live and behave‚ Paulo Coelho turns his twelfth novel into a shrewd criticism of a world overrun by glamour and excess. But above all‚ The Winner Is Alone is a pulse-pounding‚ page-turning psychological thriller -- a striking departure for one of the world's best-loved authors.
