The tone of Paolo Coelho's novel, The Winner Stands Alone, is not much different from his other hit, The Alchemist. The novel follows the story of Igor as he goes to the Cannes Film Festival to reclaim the love of his life, Ewa, and the fortunes and misfortunes of several characters like Maureen, a filmmaker who thought she would finally get her big break; Jasmine a new model; and Gabriella who just got her first major role in a potential blockbuster movie.
Though the characters are interesting and the setting offers a lot of potential for exciting action, the narrative is monotonous and boring. Coelho narrates what the world of glits and glamor is like and blabber about all the evil there is in such a world. Though finding more about "this evil" would be very interesting for the readers, he failed to translate this interest from his own to the page. It sounded like a report of how people get their big breaks and what kind of difficulties they face in this world.
Again, this novel is full of Christian metaphors and allusions that are not necessarily a turn off, but can make you feel bored, when hammered to you repeatedly. And yes, it's full of cliches. Instead of making us sympathize with the characters, it tires me to hear about all the rants that we already know. The main character, Igor, is a russian millionnaire who used to work as a soldier for the Russian cause and he knows several ways of killing someone using Russian martial arts, he knows where to get Curare a deadly poison from South America, and he knows the anatomy of person and knows exactly where to hit someone with a knife to kill her and he is capable of acquiring a deadly powdery poison that is sealed in a special envelope... What else do I need to say?
If you want an easy, quick read on a plane or in a coffee shop, this book is good for one sitting. But there's nothing in it that would make you feel excited either.
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