The Winner Stands Alone is a 2008 novel by Paulo Coelho. The book is set in the Cannes Film Festival and is a commentary upon the human nature. This is the first book written by Coelho that can be actually called a thriller. It is also longer than other novels and probably the only one that focuses more on plot than the character.
Coelho's narrative has multiple important characters, but primarily focuses on Igor, Gabriela, and Jasmine. Even though these characters may be defined as protagonists, they can’t be described with any of the hero-like qualities. Igor is homicidal-psychopath, Gabriela is vain and Jasmine is an escapist.
The style of this novel differs from other novels of Coelho, who here focuses a lot on philosophical and spiritual aspects. However, The Winner Stands Alone focuses a lot on human psyche. Unlike other novels, there are also a lot of characters in this novel. This makes sure that the tension is always tight. Given the murder-mystery setting, this novel demands a lot of research, which is evident in the book.
This novel spans across a timeline of 24 hours, and proceeds in a series of chapters that focus on what a particular character is doing during that time. Even though the chapter starts with the main protagonist, focus shifts to other characters to show their point of view. The main motive of the novel is to show the darkness in human character. This is shown mainly through the narrative of Igor who is ready to murder to prove himself right. He is deeply religious but suffers from war trauma and deep insecurity which leads him to have a God-like complex. The commentary on the human nature and the illusion like environment of Cannes is what makes this book different from all other novels written by Coelho.
