Le Critique: Book Review: The Winner Stands Alone by Paulo Coelho

SPOILER ALERT: I am somewhat describing the plot and will have constant references to different parts of the book.

I would say that of all Paulo Coelho books I have read, and I have read a good number of them, The Winner Stands Alone is the closest to the world as we know it. Pilar, Veronika, Serine, Santiago (yes, PC characters and I are on a first name basis, ), these folks, they had something extraordinary happening to them, one of mystic nature, removed from our world. With the characters of TWSA, it is more about personal power in the world we live in – or, in the world we know of that only the special lives in.

And, with personal power comes the personal demons. In TWSA, we follow four people from different backgrounds with their lives interwoven for being in the South of France during the Cannes Film Festival. Igor is a self-made “Superclass” (I’ll get to that later) from Russia who is set in destroying whole worlds for his ex-wife, Ewa – and he does so with skillful and meticulous ways. Hamid Hussein, Ewa’s current husband, is a Bedouin who has found success in the fashion industry with the support of a sheik. Gabriela is an aspiring American actress, hoping to have landed a breakthrough opportunity in becoming Lisa Winner. Jasmine Tiger, a 19-year old model who is successful in her own right, discovered by her female photographer lover slash aspiring fashion designer. As PC said in his foreword, the book is about being trapped. These characters are trapped in their motivations, and these motivations have consumed them.

In Cannes, Igor goes on in a killing spree to prove his point – his manner so skillful that he became my male O-ren Ishii. I am biased to the wise, successful and skillful killers in my literature, even if they can be the bad guys, so for me, the parts when Igor does the deed are the parts that did it for me. As Gabriela runs around through Cannes to land an acting job for a movie to be produced by Hamid Hussein, Jasmine is sought by the great HH himself to be the new face of his fashion empire. Here we see the difference of trying to make it and had just made it. Hamid, a member of the Superclass, the species at the tip of the pyramid who have it all – fame, fortune and most importantly, power, work his way to get to the ultimate Cannes party thrown in his honor. They all meet somewhat, and all meet their fate, and all are trapped in their own thoughts, their own demons.

What made TWSA different for me was here, PC describes the world of the glitz and glamour best embodied in this one event, the Cannes Film Festival, set in the most perfect location on Earth that is worthy of the Superclass’ time and attention. We all know what it is, we all know where, and we even know who goes there. But, that’s all we know. It’s a world close to ours, but very much far away. In a recent tweet, PC said himself that the more he is in Cannes, the more he is proud of this novel, perhaps because the more he knows that he described that world well. TWSA describes things we humble normal species at the bottom of the pyramid cannot even fathom. Because only the Superclass have it all. The regular celebrities may have fame and fortune, but they truly do not have the power, according to the novel. We get a glimpse of that world with TWSA.

It’s a very good read, indeed. This line from the book describes this novel that is a portrait of the people in this pyramid: “On the road to power, there’s no turning back. He would be an eternal slave to the road he’d chosen, and if he did ever realize his dream of abandoning everything, he would plunge immediately into a deep depression.” That is who we are, that is what we strive. What power we long for can make us, and make us succumb to power’s power itself.