PAULO COELLO

ONE WINNER REMAINS

And he said to his disciples: Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, nor about your body, what you will wear:

Is the soul greater than food, and the body greater than clothing?

Look at the ravens: they neither sow nor reap; They have neither storehouses nor granaries; and God feeds them; How much better are you than the birds? And which of you, by caring, can add even one cubit to his height?

So, if you can’t do even the slightest thing, why worry about the rest?

Look at the lilies, how they grow: they do not toil, they do not spin; but I tell you that Solomon in all his glory did not dress like any of them.

Gospel of Luke 12; 22-27

Whoever you are holding me in your arms

I honestly warn you that you won't get anything from me,

If you don't take one thing into account:

I'm not what you think I am, I'm completely different.

Who is the one who will become my follower?

Who will condemn himself to covet my love?

The road is dangerous, the goal is unclear, perhaps disastrous,

You will have to leave everything and everyone and me alone as your measure of things,

And even then your trial will be long and exhausting,

You will have to forget the former idea of ​​your life and its correspondence with the lives of your neighbors,

So let me go and don’t bother yourself with me, take your hand off my shoulders,

Put me down and go on your way.

Walt Whitman. Sweet calamus. Translation by A. Sergeev

Dedicated to N.D.P., which happened on Earth to indicate the path of the Good Feat

PREFACE

One of the cross-cutting themes of my books is the ability to pay for your dreams in full measure. But the question arises: to what extent are our dreams imposed on us? For several decades we have been living in a civilization that values ​​fame, money, power above all else, and has managed to convince very, very many that these are the true values ​​that we should strive to possess.

We, however, do not know that those who manipulate us remain behind the scenes and do not advertise themselves. They clearly understand that the most effective power is the one that is not noticeable to anyone until it is too late to notice it - the trap has slammed shut. My book is about this trap.

In The Winner Stands Alone, three of the four main characters allow their dreams to be manipulated.

Igor, a Russian millionaire who is convinced that he has the right to kill if he has a good reason to do so - for example, to put someone out of suffering or to attract the attention of his beloved again.

Hamid, one of the pillars of the “fashion industry”, who began his career with the best intentions until he was captured by the very system he wanted to use.

Gabriela, who, like most of our contemporaries, is sure that fame is an end in itself and the highest reward in this world that deifies success and fame.

This is not a thriller, but our reality, depicted without embellishment.

PAULO COELLO

The Beretta px4 pistol is slightly larger in size than a cell phone, weighs about seven hundred grams, and the clip holds ten rounds. Compact and lightweight, it is almost invisible in your pocket, and the small caliber has one undeniable advantage: the bullet does not go straight through, but breaks the victim’s bones, shreds the insides, tears muscles, and dissects blood vessels.

Of course, someone who receives a bullet of this caliber has a greater chance of survival: there are thousands of cases where the bullet did not hit a large artery, and the victim had time to react and disarm the attacker. However, if he has the slightest bit of experience, he can give her either instant death - by shooting in the forehead, bridge of the nose or heart, or slow death: in this case, the barrel should be pointed at a certain angle under the rib and the trigger pulled. The person struck by a bullet does not immediately realize that he is mortally wounded, and still tries to fight off the attack, run away, and call for help. This is the main advantage of the second option: the victim manages to see his killer, she gradually loses strength and finally falls to the ground, not even bleeding at all and not quite clearly understanding what happened.

Of course, this weapon is not for professionals. “It is more suitable for women than for spies,” I remember someone from the British Secret Service said, handing James Bond an improved model of a pistol to replace the outdated one. But he doesn’t pretend to be considered a professional, and nothing better than a Beretta has yet been invented to fulfill his intentions.

And it was bought on the black market, so it will be impossible to identify the barrel. There are five cartridges in the clip, but he is going to use only one, using a nail file to make a cross-shaped cut on the head of the bullet. If it hits anything more or less solid, it will break into four parts.

However, the pistol is reserved for the most extreme cases. There are other ways to make someone's world go out, someone's universe to perish, and there is no doubt - she will understand what we are talking about as soon as the first victim is discovered. She finds out that this was done in the name of love, that there is not a drop of resentment or annoyance in his soul, and that if she returns, he will accept her without asking how she lived for the last two years.

He hopes that six months of careful preparation will yield results, but he can only be sure of this the next morning. Yes, this is his plan - to make the furies from ancient Greek myths spread their black wings over this azure-white world of diamonds, Botox, two-seater sports cars developing monstrous speed. Dreams of power, success, fame and money - all this can be interrupted at any moment thanks to those little things that he has with him.

He could have gone up to his room now, because at 11:11 pm the expected happened, although he was ready to wait longer - as long as necessary. A man walked into the hall, accompanied by a beautiful woman, both of them dressed as one would expect to attend one of the gala parties that follow dinner parties and are more crowded than any festival film.

Igor pretended not to notice her. With one hand he raised the French newspaper higher (a Russian one might have aroused suspicion) so that the woman who came in would not see his face. However, the precaution was unnecessary: ​​the woman - in full accordance with the way people behave when they are indisputably confident in their birthright - did not look around. Such women come here to shine and try not to pay attention to how and what others are wearing, because the number of other people’s diamonds and extravagance of toilets can seriously spoil the mood, cause despondency, and even awaken an inferiority complex - even if their own clothes and all other accessories cost incredible amounts of money.

Her companion - an elegant, gray-haired gentleman - approached the bar and asked for champagne, without which you cannot, of course, begin this night, which involves many new acquaintances, excellent music and a magical view of the sea and anchored yachts.

Igor saw that he behaved politely with the waitress: having received two glasses, he thanked her and left a good tip.

Igor experienced a feeling of jubilation - it was adrenaline splashing into his blood. Tomorrow he will try to make sure that she I found out that he was here. And the moment will come when they will meet.

But only God knows how this meeting will end. Igor, a zealous believer, made a vow in one Moscow church, in front of the relics of St. Mary Magdalene (they were brought to the Russian capital for several days so that believers could venerate them). He stood in a long line for almost five hours, and when he finally approached the ark, he was completely convinced that all this was nothing more than an invention of the priests. Nevertheless, he still asked the holy protection and prayed to achieve his goal without making great sacrifices. And he made a vow: when it was all over and he set foot on his native land again, he would order an image in a gold setting from the famous icon painter who lived in a monastery near Novosibirsk.

At three o'clock in the morning the bar of the Martinez Hotel smells of tobacco smoke and sweat. Although the pianist Jimmy (who has a shoe of one color on his left foot and another on his right) has already lowered the lid of the piano, and the waitress is completely exhausted, the visitors do not even think about leaving, intending to spend, if not the whole night, then at least the last at least another hour - what if something remarkable happens?!

Moreover, the Cannes Film Festival opened four days ago, and nothing has happened yet. Different people are sitting at tables, but they have the same thought in their heads, they are consumed by one desire - to meet with the Power. Beautiful women are hoping to meet a producer who will suddenly fall in love and give a prominent role in a new film. And several actors drink, laugh and chat with each other, pretending that all this has nothing to do with them, but from time to time they glance at the doors.

“The Winner Stands Alone” is a work by Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho.

The author is known primarily for his parable novel “The Alchemist,” which is of a mystical and philosophical nature, written in the genre of magical realism. And therefore it is unexpected and new for the reader to see his detective thriller with elements of glamor. On the site you can download the free e-book “The Winner Stands Alone” in fb2, epub, pdf, txt, doc and rtf - by Paulo Coelho.

But this is still the same Coelho, a talented person familiar to everyone. And a talented person can be talented in everything. The writer immerses himself in the world of glamor, show business, and cinema, which he is well aware of as a public person. It conveys not only the impressions that these worlds make on their consumer or connoisseur, but also their organizational structure from the inside, the mechanism of action, and the notes of the atmosphere reigning in them.

His heroes are the bohemians of their time: famous directors, actors, designers, models, businessmen.

Events develop during the Cannes Film Festival. On it, every public person shows what he is capable of. If he gets to Cannes, it means he is at the peak of his creative career. You can listen to an audiobook in mp3, read online or download the e-book “The Winner Stands Alone” in fb2, epub, pdf, txt - by Paulo Coelho for free on the website.

Coelho shows the other side of life at the cream of society. Few of its representatives have the opportunity to enjoy it. Most are in a hurry to prove something to others and to themselves, overcoming the boundaries of the possible. In addition, they are captive of the situation created by their position, and in it there are certain rules from which they cannot retreat one step in order to stay afloat.

Russian businessman Igor bursts into this world of art. He is looking for his ex-wife here, who is spending time with a popular modern clothing designer. At first, he appears as a self-sufficient, freedom-loving, and accomplished person who commands respect. His life path indicates that he is a strong and purposeful person with an analytical mindset. His constancy and poise contrasts with the mood of the glamorous party. Igor brings chaos into it, like a foreign element.

But then he succumbs to the general mood of excitement, pretense, and a storm of passions, and turns into a “Cannes maniac killer”, obsessed with the idea of ​​​​bringing back his wife in any way, without retreating to anything. Jasmine is his opposite, this successful model. Despite the fact that she moves in the fashion world, which relies on human stupidity and weaknesses, the girl tries to follow “true values.” This girl is capable of giving up a lot for the sake of love and saving her soul. She does not believe in false ideals, and becomes an exception to the rules for her world.

Coelho himself believes that his novel is about a trap. Someone is always manipulating a person, and going unnoticed. The most effective power is the one that does not advertise itself. When it becomes too late to fix something, to return control of the situation to your own hands, we can say that the trap has slammed shut. The society of success, luxury, and glamor creates the ground for creating a trap into which vanity and obsession with fame lead.. Also read the summary of the book (abbreviated retelling) and the best reviews about the book.

Paulo Coelho's novel “The Winner Stands Alone” is dedicated to one very important topic - finding your own path. It’s just that here she is presented in a unique way, not the way we are used to seeing her in other works. The writer in the book expresses his attitude, at the same time trying to say that you still have to pay for your dreams.

The events of the novel take place over the course of 24 hours at the Cannes Film Festival. All famous personalities gathered here: actors and actresses, designers, businessmen, photographers. They all wanted fame, and they got it. Many people and their thoughts, many destinies. Someone came into the world of show business with good intentions, and then he was sucked into this cycle, and he no longer knows who he is. Some people openly longed for success and recognition of the masses, while others no longer know what they want. The mask comes off from each of them, revealing a sad reality hidden from prying eyes. This whole world of fame, glitz, luxury cars and mansions, jewelry, beautiful clothes and sculpted figures turns out to be disgusting up close. And among all these people is Russian businessman Igor, who is ready to kill to attract the attention of his ex-wife.

On our website you can download the book “The Winner Stands Alone” by Paulo Coelho for free and without registration in fb2, rtf, epub, pdf, txt format, read the book online or buy the book in the online store.

There is only one winner Paulo Coelho

(No ratings yet)

Title: There is only one winner

About the book “The Winner Stands Alone” by Paulo Coelho

In The Winner Stands Alone, Paulo Coelho returns to the important themes raised in Eleven Minutes and Zaire. This novel is a mirror of our world, in which the pursuit of luxury and success prevents us from understanding what our hearts truly strive for.

The book takes place at the Cannes Film Festival, where a select few enjoy everything that most people are willing to pay any price for...

On our website about books lifeinbooks.net you can download for free without registration or read online the book “The Winner Stands Alone” by Paulo Coelho in epub, fb2, txt, rtf, pdf formats for iPad, iPhone, Android and Kindle. The book will give you a lot of pleasant moments and real pleasure from reading. You can buy the full version from our partner. Also, here you will find the latest news from the literary world, learn the biography of your favorite authors. For beginning writers, there is a separate section with useful tips and tricks, interesting articles, thanks to which you yourself can try your hand at literary crafts.

“The Winner Stands Alone” is a new novel by Paulo Coelho, where the main theme of the writer’s work - man’s search for his destiny - receives unexpected, sharply dramatic and modern coverage. Events develop at the Cannes Film Festival within 24 hours. Heroes, intoxicated by their dreams, from aspiring actresses and models to famous couturiers, directors and producers, like butterflies, stumble upon the cutting edge of the ruthless personal will of the “winner”, armed with the idea of ​​love, but bringing with it chaos and death. Thus, according to the author’s plan, the modern and the timeless come together in the novel.

Copyright holders! The presented fragment of the book is posted in agreement with the distributor of legal content, LitRes LLC (no more than 20% of the original text). If you believe that the posting of material violates your or someone else's rights, please let us know.

The Freshest! Book receipts for today

• 
  

  Swiss. A better world
  Zlotnikov Roman Valerievich
  Science Fiction, Alternative History, Popadantsy
  

  First, Alex Straub moved in space. From the former USSR to Western Europe. And then he had to travel through time from 21st century Europe to the pre-war USSR. He repeatedly tried to make the future better. However, "Alex's Law of Destructive Touch" is inexorable. The hero could not prevent either the Great Patriotic War or perestroika. But most importantly, he failed to save his own family. In the third book of the series, Alex again goes back in time, this time with a grandiose plan - to make a “knight’s move” and take Comrade Stalin himself into the future. Maybe this will help reverse the stubborn course of history?..

• 

  Greta and the Goblin King
  Jacobs Chloe
  Romance novels, Romance-fantasy novels
  

  Trying to save her brother from a witch's fire four years ago, Greta was left alone, falling through a portal into Milena - a dangerous world where humans are the enemy, and every orc, ghoul and goblin has a dark side that reveals itself with the onset of an eclipse. To survive, Greta hides her humanity and takes up work as a bounty hunter - and she's good at her job. So good that she has attracted the attention of Milena's young goblin king, the mysteriously seductive Isaac, who invades her dreams and weakens her desire to escape. But Greta is not the only one who wants to get out of Milena. An ancient evil knows she is the key to the portal, and during the next eclipse, which is just days away, every bloodthirsty creature in the world is after her, including Isaac. If Greta fails, she and Milena's lost boys will die. If she succeeds, no world will be safe from what follows...

• 

  Probation
  Patrick Laura
  Romance Novels, Short Romance Novels
  

  In her youth, Beth Manson was in love with Dunk Hummel, although he hardly knew it. The son of a millionaire, handsome, he was in completely different companies. Fourteen years later, Beth has turned from a cute teenager into a successful businesswoman who has forgotten about her childhood hobby. However, it is not for nothing that they say that you cannot escape fate. By force of circumstances, Beth was forced to return to her hometown, and after some time she realized that almost forgotten youthful love was still alive in her heart...

• 

  Collection "Selected Novels". Compilation. Books 1-17
  Van Vogt Alfred Elton
  Science Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction
  

  This author's collection of Alfred Van Vogt is made up of his scattered science fiction novels that were not included in any of his cycles. It is difficult to find a topic that this classic of American science fiction would not in one way or another touch upon in his work: other forms of life, labyrinths of time, dizzying adventures in interstellar distances, “superman” and “superknowledge”, the turbulent life of the Intergalactic Empire, God as the hero of the story, a most interesting interpretation of many problems of the universe, the evolution of society, certain specific sciences or systems of knowledge of the world. As an artist, he has an excellent command of the technology of writing, large and small forms, and is always focused on action, and not on describing the environment or the emotional experiences of the characters.

  1. Alfred Elton Van Vogt: Bible Ptah

  2. Alfred Elton Van Vogt: Shine of the future (Translation: Vladimir Marchenko)

  3. Alfred Van Vogt: And eternal battle...

  4. Alfred Elton Van Vogt: Eternal Home (Translation: Yu Semenychev)

  5. Alfred Van Vogt: Lords of Time (Translation: V. Antonov)

  6. Alfred Van Vogt: Monster

  7. Alfred Van Vogt: Galaxy M-33

  8. Alfred Elton Van Vogt: There is ecstasy in battle... (Translation: A Shatalov)

  9. Alfred Van Vogt: And eternal battle...

  10. Vogt Alfred Wang: Cage for the mind

  11. Alfred Elton Van Vogt: Rogue Ship (Translation: Irina Oganesova, Vladimir Goldich)

  12. Alfred Elton Van Vogt: Journey on the Space Hound (Translation: Ivan Loginov)

  13. Alfred Elton Van Vogt: Abode of Eternity (Translation: N Borisov)

  14. Alfred Elton Van Vogt: Search for the Future

  15. Alfred Van Vogt: Slan

  16. Alfred Elton Van Vogt: Creator of the Universe

  17. Alfred Elton Van Vogt: Darkness over Diamondiana

  18. Alfred Elton Van Vogt: The Man of a Thousand Names

  19. Alfred Elton Van Vogt: Silkies (Translation: Yu Semenychev)

  
  

• 
• 

  Ivan the Terrible
  Platonov Sergey Fedorovich
  Science, Education, History, Nonfiction, Biographies and Memoirs
  

  “Ivan the Terrible” - notes by the outstanding Russian historian Sergei Fedorovich Platonov (1860–1933).

  The troubled times that occurred during the era of Ivan the Terrible make it almost impossible to conduct a detailed study of that period, however, according to the information available to historians, it can be assumed that the figure of Ivan the Terrible is one of the most controversial among all Russian tsars. According to eyewitnesses, he was supportive of his favorites and intolerant of his enemies, and war was one of the main interests of his life...

Set "Week" - top new products - leaders for the week!

• 

  Chosen One of the Emerald Throne
  Minaeva Anna
  Romance novels, Romance-fantasy novels,
  

  I got it, I got it. And to another world too! The sorcerer, who calls himself the Protector, insists that I killed the witch. The one who could help me. Proving your innocence is not so bad; getting a return ticket home is more difficult. But who to trust? The protector who almost killed me the first time we met, or the king whose actions surprise me?

• 

  His insufferable witch
  Gordova Valentina
  Romance novels, Romance-fantasy novels,
  

  If your sister is in trouble, she cannot be left to fend for herself!

  If, through simple manipulations, you find yourself in her place, you shouldn’t give up!

  If you only have a month to make her fiancé cancel the wedding, use it wisely!

  And both.

  
  

  Everything you need to know about this book: “Suddenly, out of nowhere, I appeared, deal with it.”

  
  

  The promised story about the rector from the Majesty and his witch :)

  Independent story

  
  

  Thanks to my beloved Gabriella Ricci for the crazy cover.

  
  

  I love everyone

•