The winner stands alone

According to Paulo Coelho, The Winner Stands Alone is a snapshot of the world we live in. The fast-paced action takes place over 24 hours during the Cannes Film Festival. But it's not the film industry that's at stake for Igor Dalev, the Russian businessman who arrives in the French city obsessed with winning back Ewa, the great love of his life. To get his ex-wife's attention, Igor becomes a serial killer. Surrounding this sick mind are producers, acclaimed actors, aspiring actresses, top models, and designers, in a ruthless portrayal of the Superclass, the elite of the elite that dictates the direction of life today. By giving the reader details of how the characters, based on real life, live and behave, Paulo Coelho makes his novel not only a testament to the crisis of values in a universe centered on appearances but, above all, a thriller that can be read in one sitting.