
by Paulo Coelho
The beloved, bestselling international author of The Alchemist returns with another haunting novel—a thrilling journey into our constant fascination with the worlds of fame, fortune, and celebrity.
A profound meditation on personal power and innocent dreams that are manipulated or undone by success, The Winner Stands Alone is set in the exciting worlds of fashion and cinema. Taking place over the course of twenty-four hours during the Cannes Film Festival, it is the story of Igor, a successful, driven Russian entrepreneur who will go to the darkest lengths to reclaim a lost love—his ex-wife, Ewa. Believing that his life with Ewa was divinely ordained, Igor once told her that he would destroy whole worlds to get her back. The conflict between an individual evil force and society emerges, and as the novel unfolds, morality is derailed.
Meet the players and poseurs behind the scenes at Cannes—the "Superclass" of producers, actors, designers, and supermodels, as well as the aspiring starlets, has-been stars, and jaded hangers-on. Adroitly interweaving the characters' stories, Paulo Coelho uses his twelfth novel to paint an engrossing picture of a world overrun by glamour and excess, and shows us the possibly dire consequences of our obsession with fame.
Paulo Coelho, born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a Brazilian novelist known for employing rich symbolism in his depictions of the often spiritually motivated journeys taken by his characters. Coelho dropped out of law school in 1970 and traveled through South America, Mexico, North Africa, and Europe. In 1972 he returned home and began writing pop and rock music lyrics with Raul Seixas, a well-known Brazilian singer and songwriter. He worked for Polygram and CBS Records until 1980, when he embarked on new travels in Europe and Africa. It was during this trip that he walked the route of Santiago de Compostela, which formed the basis of his first book, *O diário de um mago* (1987), which was published in English as *The Diary of a Magus* in 1992 and was reissued as *The Pilgrimage* in 1995. In 1988 Coelho published *O alquimista* (*The Alchemist*), which ultimately became an international best-seller. His other notable works include *The Valkyries*, *Eleven Minutes*, *Manual of The Warrior of Light*, *Manuscript Found in Accra*, *The Devil and Miss Prym*, *The Fifth Mountain*, *Veronika Decides to Die*, and *The Zahir*. Source: [Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paulo-Coelho)

by Paulo Coelho
The beloved, bestselling international author of The Alchemist returns with another haunting novel—a thrilling journey into our constant fascination with the worlds of fame, fortune, and celebrity.
A profound meditation on personal power and innocent dreams that are manipulated or undone by success, The Winner Stands Alone is set in the exciting worlds of fashion and cinema. Taking place over the course of twenty-four hours during the Cannes Film Festival, it is the story of Igor, a successful, driven Russian entrepreneur who will go to the darkest lengths to reclaim a lost love—his ex-wife, Ewa. Believing that his life with Ewa was divinely ordained, Igor once told her that he would destroy whole worlds to get her back. The conflict between an individual evil force and society emerges, and as the novel unfolds, morality is derailed.
Meet the players and poseurs behind the scenes at Cannes—the "Superclass" of producers, actors, designers, and supermodels, as well as the aspiring starlets, has-been stars, and jaded hangers-on. Adroitly interweaving the characters' stories, Paulo Coelho uses his twelfth novel to paint an engrossing picture of a world overrun by glamour and excess, and shows us the possibly dire consequences of our obsession with fame.
Paulo Coelho, born and raised in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a Brazilian novelist known for employing rich symbolism in his depictions of the often spiritually motivated journeys taken by his characters. Coelho dropped out of law school in 1970 and traveled through South America, Mexico, North Africa, and Europe. In 1972 he returned home and began writing pop and rock music lyrics with Raul Seixas, a well-known Brazilian singer and songwriter. He worked for Polygram and CBS Records until 1980, when he embarked on new travels in Europe and Africa. It was during this trip that he walked the route of Santiago de Compostela, which formed the basis of his first book, *O diário de um mago* (1987), which was published in English as *The Diary of a Magus* in 1992 and was reissued as *The Pilgrimage* in 1995. In 1988 Coelho published *O alquimista* (*The Alchemist*), which ultimately became an international best-seller. His other notable works include *The Valkyries*, *Eleven Minutes*, *Manual of The Warrior of Light*, *Manuscript Found in Accra*, *The Devil and Miss Prym*, *The Fifth Mountain*, *Veronika Decides to Die*, and *The Zahir*. Source: [Britannica](https://www.britannica.com/biography/Paulo-Coelho)