Book Summary and Reviews of The Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho

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A.M Waseel

A Grand Waltz Of Human Conflictions
It is no understatement but the dire truth that famed author Paulo Coelho outdoes himself in his book which should be rightfully regarded as a classic literature masterpiece.The book Winner Stands Alone vividly portrays the keel point of the writer,s motto -The price of a dream.Unlike the scores of his collection , "The Winner Stands Alone" does not follow the mellow advice enacting upon itself as the reader ascends to the core of the story instead it starts off as a tale of vengeance with the seemingly psychotic millionaire Igor,like an orchestra slowly approaching an epic finale with him at the center but as the story progresses it portrays a brutally honest depiction of high society. An overcoat to act out your life whilst burst of human nature in a twisted pattern seeps out from the very top of hierarchy giving a vital lesson in life- a typical style of Paulo Coelho "Never let your ego guide your dream lest one loses sight of self in blind pursuit". The story in a dramatic way brings highly unlikely bits (characters) together to clash in a classical way and yet instead of falsified ending it brutally portrays an ironic truth leaving the reader baffled and unfulfilled thus ending in rambunctious fashion of early eighteenth century -tragic suspenseful endings left to the readers imagination.In crux of it all the book depicts a fateful encounter of unlikely personality- a clash of egos in a dramatic flair of suspense,wit and intellect and leaves the reader parched after a certain point.

Superclass

Another success of Paulo Coelho
First I must remark on the previous comment- The book isn't boring in the beginning but it does need a while for actions to take place, mostly due to the effort the writer needs to fully explain motives and bring us closer to the mind of very ungratifying main character. (In my opinion, maybe someone likes cold murderers :) Through the eyes of a successful businessman we see the world of high class as pointless events full of lost, bored to death people and their lives as simple combination of dreams, plans and destinies with no higher meaning. Businessman believes that it's allowed to kill someone In the name of love. There are few other characters who weren't so important in my opinion, other than their role to clarify the businessman's view on value of human life. But the real character, though shyly described through the book,in the end is discovered in all it's glory. It's a young model who, though she is only nineteen years old, knows the real meaning of life - love that no money or power could ever buy. Love that is more precious than anything but human life.

Cloggie Downunder

a rather tedious read.
The Winner Stands Alone is the eighth stand-alone novel by Brazilian author, Paulo Coelho. It is translated from the original Portuguese by Margaret Jull Costa. The Cannes Film Festival: Ewa is there with her fashion-designer husband Hamid Hussein for showings and some high-power business meetings; Russian telco president, Igor Malev is there to demonstrate to his ex-wife that she needs to return to their marriage.

Igor’s obsessed with Ewa, and he had promised that if she left him, he would destroy some universes. He’s a cold-blooded killer with no conscience who easily murders random strangers: a young jewellery street vendor, an important and successful movie distributor, a first-time movie producer and a famous movie star, all without remorse. He refers to them as martyrs for love. But then his objective changes.

While the setting is well-portrayed, the plot is contrived and paper-thin, if rather bizarre in places, while the characters are one-dimensional vessels for Coelho’s preachy philosophical rants. Igor is obviously mad but the reader has to wade through chapters of his thought processes.

As the characters pontificate to one another, or to themselves, we get Coelho’s lectures on champagne, SMS messages, models, vanity, money laundering, tanning salons, gyms, police and all the industries commonly found at Cannes: movie, fashion, celebrity, cosmetics, diet, diamond, and marketing.

The whole tone is very moralistic, full of platitudes and aphorisms, and very heavy on message at the expense of good writing. It is repetitive to the point of being tiresome, making this a rather tedious read.

devangel

bored from start
I know they say that people should finish a book before starting to judge it but in my opinion its very important to amuse the reader from the start, which makes him eager to go on ... I started reading "The Winner Stands Alone " and from boredom could not continue, but I will try to continue it in order to be fair and then judge properly. I'm sorry if u do not agree with my opinion :) thank you

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