Dear Readers,
As you know throughout the month of June we shall be discussing my new book “The Winner Stands Alone”.
Throughout the week, I will be accessing this page 2-3 times a day in order to answer your questions until June 30th. I want also for you discuss among yourselves – since I’m very curious to see your reactions to the book.
As you know one of the recurrent themes of my books is the importance of paying the price of your dreams. But to what extent can our dreams be manipulated? For the past decades, we lived in a culture that privileged fame, money, power – and most of the people were led to believe that these were the real values that we should pursue.
We all should be a “winner”. Not in the sense of someone who finally wins what is important to his/her life. Not in the sense that happiness is the most valuable gift on Earth – and it can be attained here and now, when your work fulfills your heart. We should be a winner in the sense that the system portraits a successful person: celebrity, influence, photos in glossy magazines, behaving like the masters of the universe.
Yes, you may reach the goal society has fed you – but will you be satisfied? Will you be whole? Will you be in peace? This cycle of possession never ends – because the moment that you think that you have reached your goal another desire creeps in.
Soon after I finished writing “The Winner Stands Alone”, the financial market collapsed. Will this lead us again to the real values? I really don’t know. What I do know is that we cannot continue to allow our dreams to be manipulated like they are as for some of the characters in the book.
So please join me in this monthly workshop into a world that is coming to an end. We will be talking about the characters of the book as well as the main themes that run through it.
I thought of writing a small introduction about each character but prefer to list them below – so that you may comment on them. I’m really eager to see how you feel in regards to each one of them, so leave – under each character – our opinions and questions. As you can see there’s also a section dedicated to the themes that are dealt in the book as well as a section to the writing style.
CHARACTERS
IGOR
EWA
HAMID
GABRIELA
JASMINE
THEMES
SUPERCLASS
GLITTER AND GLAMOUR
THE CELEBRITY SYNDROME
BROKEN DREAMS
THE BOOK
YOUR OPINION ON THE NARRATIVE STRUCTURE
In the month of July, another workshop will be organized, this time around “The Alchemist”.
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la verdad muy bueno su libro. desde ya le agradesco porque sus libros me han ayudado mucho a darme cuenta que valiosa que es la vida, y todas las cosas que uno tiene a su alrededor. me han enseñado a pedir perdon y me han enseñado a llevar mis problemas adelante sin hacerme tanta mala sangre. se que hay un dios y usted se ha ganado el cielo lo felicito y lo admiro de todo corazon.
Es la primera noticia que tengo de este libro. Por supuesto correré a buscarlo en cuanto pueda, estoy seguro de que no me defraudará, como no lo han hecho ninguno de los anteriores.
Espero poder comentarle más adelante mis impresiones.
Un saludo y suerte.
Hola, primeramente quiero expresarle mis muestras de gran admiración y cariño,pues sus libros me han dejado mucha enseñanza. Este último libro no he tenido la oportunidad de leerlo, pero en cuanto llegue a mi país me lo voy a obsequiar, estoy segura que me va a apacionar igual que todos los libros anteriores. (brida, once minutos, a orillas del rio piedra, veronika decide morir, el manual del guerrero de la luz)Bueno solo me resta decirle que merece mis respetos por ser un escrito tan integral. Muchas Bendiciones ♥♥♥
Atentamente
MARILYN HERNANDEZ ( El Salvador)
Tenho lido tudo o que o paulo coelho publicou. Todos os seus livros.
Li-os quase todos há cerca de 4 anos, tiveram uma importancia muito grande na minha vida e na maneira como ultrapassei problemas que julguei inultrapassáveis. Principalmente o Monte Cinco, que elegi, por isso, o livro da minha vida..
Desde entao, tenho defendido o paulo coelho com unhas e dentes, junto daqueles que se deixam levar apenas plo que ouvem, e o apelidam de escritor em massa sem interesse.
Nao permito criticas levianas a seu respeito, admiro a mensagem dos seus livros com um respeito solene.
Sinto-me por isso na obrigaçao de deixar aqui a minha critica e a minha desilusao em relaçao ao seu ultimo livro, “O vencedor está só”.
Nao me pareceu, sinceramente, um livro escrito por aquele que costumo devorar..!!!!
Para alem de uma imagem critica de certo estrato social, nao lhe vi qualquer interesse ou mensagem!
Pareceu-me uma descriçao cansativa dessa superclasse, a ponto de me fazer pôr o livro de lado..Uma quase liçao escolar constante, um pôr “à força” no livro tudo o que se conseguiu pesquisar sobre um assunto cujo interesse nem sequer o justifica..!
Cansativo!
E mensagem..?
Nao tirei qualquer mensagem proveitosa.. nao tem mensagem!!
Nem me parece que a tenham tirado nenhum dos protagonistas do livro.. Igor vai mudando as razoes das suas acçoes, mas nada que o ou nos ajude a melhorar como seres humanos, nada..!
Um louco..
Dei por mim a pensar que se tivesse de tirar alguns trechos ou frases deste livro para os pôr numa das agendas anuais do paulo coelho, agendas que adoro, onde vou lendo verdades que nao posso esquecer, que adorei ler em cada um dos seus livros, se tivesse de tirar alguma coisa com mensagem ou sentido suficientes, nao conseguia retirar nada deste livro, nada..
Que me perdoe o paulo coelho, mas mando-lhe esta critica com muito amor e muito respeito pelo que tem feito até agora.
Um grande beijo
filipa
Paulo da de beber a los sedientos, pues encontró la fórmula necesaria para producir la calma a todos aquellos que buscan refugio en parábolas y testimonios que se esconden tras un libro. Espero que la traducción al portugués de este comentario sea buena, y que el asesor o la asesora de Paulo comprenda la idea a la hora de responder. Muchas personas se mostrarán encantadas con este nuevo logro que el autor quiere compartir, sin saber la búsqueda de este hombre que sigue tras su leyenda personal, tal vez no en ganar más y más dinero, sino en crecer sabiendo que está dando esperanzas de vida y valores que se pierden por vivir tan rápido. Espero paciente a que tú, Paulo, escribas lo que quieres y sientes, más allá de lo que a la gente y a las editoriales les gusta, pues será sinónimo de que estás creciendo, te vuelves viejo y rico en sabiduría espiritual, y haces lo que quieres. Como te he dicho hace un par de años, se que tu puedes, y que llegará el momento en que te desnudes para que tu camino o leyenda personal sea aun más valedero, pues lo que estás haciendo es para compartir parte de lo espiritual que tienes. No creo en lo que dices, sino en lo que haces. Y como haces tanto, no se si tendrás tiempo para responderme tú, o una secretaria. Saludos y muchos años más de éxitos.
Buenas tardes,
Tuve la oportunidad de verle en persona en Toulouse en la firma de libros de “Once Minutos” y me gustaría saber si tiene previsto venir a Barcelona proximamente para una nueva firma de libros ahora que ha salido al mercado el nuevo “El vencedor está solo” ya que me encantaría asistir :-)
Gracias por estos libros, ¡cada vez que sale uno nuevo me falta tiempo para ir corriendo a comprarlo! :-)
un caluroso saludo,
Anna.
hi,
i read this book about 2weeks ago, normally i get all ur books as soon as possible but it took a while for me to get this one cause i was in africa somewhere… i have to say though, i love every one of ur books and they always seem to have a personal meaning to me and my world in general but this book was quite different.
i felt it didnt have the same sound or feel as all your other books, you seemed really angry or irritated about the current situation of the art/movie/modeling/hollywood industry at the moment and it came out in the book. is this true? not that i blame you, it is a deploring situation at the moment where enphasis is placed on good looks rather than skill and magazines promote all sorts of degrading antics especially the female artists.
i like the way the book ended though and Igor got away, it reflects our world today, generally people (especially the rich) get away with “murder”. but like i said all ur books give meaning to me and this one was no different, for me it re-iterated the fact that all actions have consequences (like the ripple effect)that affect other peoples lives even if we dont know about it.
thank you, kudos!!! :)
Soy fan suya, pero no he tenido la oportunidad de leerlo, aun así sé que será tan bueno como todos los que ha escrito, será muy bueno, también soy escritora y aprecio un buen libro, como el suyo, espero que pueda volver y discutirlo aqui, bueno me despido. Hasta luego.
Hola, aun no he leido el libro nuevo, ya lei todos los libros suyos, realmente me encantan, soy de Nicaragua asi que no se si podre conseguir el nuevo libro, otra cosa, me da coraje saber que no pude descargar el libro el dia de su cumpleaños, la verdad lei el periódico ya en la noche y me lo perdi hasta hoy supe que solo era por un dia que pena voy a estar mas pendiente del blog, espero que pronto pueda leer esta nueva obra, tengo un pequeño ensayo que espero publicar
Hola a todos!
Me he comprado el libro hace un par de horas y lo he empezado en el autobús. Llevo muy poco pero cuando lo acabe… ya os contaré :-)
en verdad admiro su profesionalismo y lo buen escritor que es y coincido con los comentarios de jose luis valderama asi es, todos en algun momento somos un Ingor m identifique mucho con este libro libro tdo el drama wua otro libro super interensente es el zahir el cual tambien te deja mucho mensaje y sobre todo que uno reflexione espero algun dia tener la dicha de poder estar presente en alguna firma de libros…………….. cuando usted visite monterrey
Deseo por este medio desearle un Felíz Cumpleaños. Que el señor le deuna larga vida para que asì nosotros podamos seguir leyendo y extasiándonos con sus libros. Me encantan.
Bendiciones Milagro Costa Rica.
hola sr.coelho noe tenido la oportunidad de leer este libro
pero quiero decirle q lo admiro mucho
y le deseo lo mejor siga escribiendo asi
oi paulo, sou sua fã e desde os meus 13 anos, tenho 15 agora, tenho professores que acham você um copiador de histórias de outros autores, mas acredito em você, continue a escrever e ser o cara brilhante e sincero que és!
Obrigada por ler fran
Esse foi um de seus melhores livros
book is illuminating, i have read all of your books, every one is unique in its own ways.
since the first one that is “the alchemist” i have always waited for the next one. Let me tell you in our school there is a great demand for your books, they are never on the shelves.
keep writing you are great inspiration for all of us .
archana
Li o livro e não tem o mesmo toque do Paulo Coelho. Mostrar um retrato do seu tempo….Um mundo de aparencias ok, mas acho que para os fãs de Paulo Coelho sempre se espera que o personagem aprenda alguma coisa ( e o leitor também).Claro que fica subentendido, a não sei, queria que algum personagem aprendesse algo que conseguisse mostrar para as Celebridades o que é importante.
En una parte del libro se habla sobre los algoritmos 0 y 1. Eso es un error conceptual. 0 y 1 no pueden ser algoritmos, ya que un algoritmo es una secuencia de pasos.
He says Algarisms not algorithms.
Hola! soy de Panama mama me regalo la novela el dia de mi cumpleaños (9 agosto) puesto q el libro llego 2 dias antes aca… no sabia cuan inmersa estaba en la cultura del consumismo y demas hasta q lei el libro… me siento totalmente otra persona, aunque mis sueños de ser una cantante reconocida no han cesado… gracias por los libros que escribes Paulo, son realmente espectaculares. Espero verte algun dia por la feria internacional del libro que hacen aca en Panama, este año es del 19 al 23 de agosto, aunque se que tienes la agenda ocupada con un año de anticipacion :) jeje
Bendiciones y muchos mas exitos
Lexy
I loved the book. The incredible weight emotions carry on a personal level and also on a global level, the sort of world we live in. Igor with his attachment to Ewa allowed his emotions to take hold and his burning rage turned into his personal hell. Ewa lacked inner strength and indulged herself in attaching to men, relinquishing her strength and true self and causing damage around her. Although Igor appeared to be free at the end, this freedom was illusionary, masking the imprisonment of his spirit and his loneliness. An imbalance of materialism with spirituality.
I just finished reading the book the other day and haven’t had the time to let it settle. I wasn’t aware that this book was about the Canne film festival, that you had written a book that took place there. I wrote something on the blog site after having read 11 Minutes, which I told my Canne film festival story. I’m not sure where I wrote it on the blog, have searched the site, because it belongs in this section too. I had said I was going to tell my niece the story, but after reading your book, maybe it’s best she not pursue her love of musical theatre, acting. A question that comes to mind, why do artists struggle, are taken advantage of, made to feel insignificant, unless they’re well known. We don’t respect those that keep the flame alive, we, society! Yet that society that chose to pursue a life of monetary ease, when they retire, choose to become painters and writers. I often tell people that only a small percentage of people who pursue an artistic path, make a living at that, are, “successful”, but if the other 95% weren’t “crazy” enough to believe in themselves, to perfect their art, if we all were practical, what a bland world we’d live in, no art to hang on the walls, no music to listen to, no films to watch, no books to read, just oxen plowing the fields! When I have some more time, I’ll rewrite my story, but you made me realize that I made the right decision, after reading your book. What came to mind was celebrities as caged animals in a zoo.
I just finished the book, I found it illuminating. While I have read and generally like all of your books, I have to confess that sometimes I get frustrated with them. All the pressure for following the path is placed on the individual. And rightly so. Yet the society around you can make that hard as hell. I felt that this book had a harder edge to it but I liked the fact that the critical eye was directed outward towards society rather than inward towards the individual.
I grew up around people who made my life a misery because of my faith and strength. Inevitably despite the fact that my faith remained intact my heart hardened in the process. I felt that the book was more honest, and perhaps it’s better to portray the world as it is rather than to pretend that we work in an ideal world where all is love, joy and triumph.
I like your interpretation Rmoni.
Is is not true, that we are products of our environment. Of course every person ultimately has control over themselves, but we are shaped by our surroundings.
Hope you are comfortably following your path.
love and light,
C.
Wow! I have not yet read this book, and after reading this blog will be reading it. I do wish I could read spanish better and have promised myself to learn the language better and know I know why. I have read all of Mr. Coeho’s books. Each and every one leaves me questioning my values and beliefs which I believe is healthy and important. He is able to do this in such a way as to allow me to feel comfortable as opposed to threatened in questioning, which is a true gift. I look forward to reading this latest book and am wondering what it is I will question and learn about myself and the world. Thank you before I even read it I think it will be amazing.
Hi Jo-Anne,
I am curious why do you wish to know Spanish if Mr. Coelho’s native language is Portuguese? I believe that he writes in Portuguese, which also happens to be my native language. Portuguese is an amazing language!
I actually read all his books in English and I believe that the translation to English once it was published was great.
I am very positive with respect to your books it is almost in the border of -message from god. I loved the title and many of the hard experience but it was so much unlike your true self. The hallmark of your books is simplicity and straightforward. This book needs too much mental effort. It did not have the flow and inner energy which catches with our inner most being.I was thinking that now that you have evolved so much and at the same time you are amidst hard core world and you are reflecting that aspect in the writing .
well I still don’t know what to make out of this book. It’s too complicated as I am trying to understand what this book has to do with Coelho’s previous books. I will continue reading and should be able to understand more as everybody has a different conception and comprehention of one book. Cada uno platica como le fue en el circo.
Hi,
I have read your last book ‘The Winner Stands Alone’. The book is awesome. The story and the way things unfold, the book is successful in holding the interest of the reader.
At the same time, I also want to know whtais your next book dealing with.
Regards,
Mansha
I have just finished reading this book a couple of days ago. I must say I really loved it. Mr. Coelho says this would be the book that people love or hate. I totally agree. The information as well as story line is very dark, and I had difficulty digesting them, had hard time staying as an observer as I read. But, in the end the message behind this book became clear to me. This is a kind of book that you have to read between lines. This book gives the readers a choice where you direct your focus in your life and let you choose to live a kind of life you (your soul) has chosen to live, just like all the charactors in the book. It shows Mr. Coelho’s deep understanding of human beings and how each charactor in the story connect with each other is very interesting and truly divine. Must read book! And hope we could all choose to live a kind of life we want to live no matter what circumstance we are in:)
The interesting thing is that Igor considers himself to be a spiritual being. Perhaps he is as an emissary of the angel of death, perhaps he’s merely delusional. I’m not sure that the plot is as simple as darkness and light in opposition. Do serial killers who “hear G_d” telling them to kill actually hear a divine voice, a numinous one, or merely a distortion of faulty brain chemistry. It begs the question, is G_d(dess) good(as in nice)?
EL VENCEDOR ESTA SOLO
Al adentrarse en la lectura de este nuevo libro de Paulo Coelho uno espera encontrarse dentro de un viaje hacia lo esencial de cada ser humano, donde éste busca cuáles son sus tesoros más preciados, y esta novela no desentona con todos sus libros anteriores.
Pero el viaje de Igor se desarrolla desde otro camino, aquel por el cual todo ser humano intenta controlar y reprimir, es el camino de la destrucción. La destrucción de otros Universos, como a él mismo le gusta llamar, para llevar un mensaje a su amada, Ewa. Un periplo cuidadosamente planeado en todos sus detalles, salvo uno, no sabe quién o qué Universo va a destruir.
En esta novela conoceremos y hasta nos involucraremos con esos Universos: Hamid, Gabriela, Jazmíne, Olivia, Savoy y otros más, quienes nos revelaran sus anhelos, sueños y hasta sus miedos más profundos y de cómo Igor, se encargara de ejercer la poderosa fuerza de salvarles el alma, tarea que solo estaba reservada a Dios.
Ambientada en la ciudad de Cannes, en menos de 24 horas de una semana donde el glamour, el poder y la vanidad se manifiestan en un festival de cine, Coelho nos enseñara que si bien el crimen perfecto no existe, ya que siempre tenemos el cadáver, si podemos encontrarnos con el asesino perfecto, en una trama cuidadosamente llena de detalles propios de un thriller policial, esta novela va mas allá, y el mensaje de Igor nos llega a los lectores, mostrándonos que cualquiera de nosotros es Igor en algún rincón de su alma y que a pesar de haber vencido se encuentra solo. Solo de amor.
Jose Luis Valderrama
Was this book intended to show us how people live, and can behave without the basic love of spiritualism in their lives. Was it showing us the difference between having some belief in the unknown is better than having complete belief in self interest love and materialism? I guess this was the idea, it showed me what i dont want to believe in and if i had any doubts about needing materialism to be happier this book blew them away. Kirstie
Amazing book. Different from the other books, but like the yin and the yang, it’s hard to explore the light without allowing yourself to understand the darkness. Funny how afraid people seem to be to look at darkness, perhaps in fear that they may see some of themselves in it. They are two sides of the same coin, and as always Paulo Coelho does an amazing job as exposing the details that make all the difference. The list “Are you normal” is brilliant. A must read, like always.
Hi, I think I’ve read every book published by you in English. Just listened to this book via library loan… very disturbing. Shadow material? your own disillusionment w/the world? Recently met a Brazilian Geographer who called you controversial in Brazil, never defined why.JR
I’ve yet to finish reading but I must say,Igor scares & ,makes me wish,hopefully there be not such characters in the real world out there.So far it’s been pretty intriguing.Kudos.
Paulo:
Al igual que otros lectores en éste blog, no he tenido el honor de leer este nuevo libro ya que aquí en Guatemala -según me cuentan en las librerías- el libro vendrá a mediados del mes de agosto, esperon con muchas ansias leer esta nueva obra de su autoría.
no dudo en que será como sus otras obras UNA OBRA MAESTRA!.
gracias, mucha vida!
Me encantan todos sus libros, digame…. cuando llega este libro a Perú y donde lo puedo ubicar?.
Buenas noches!!!
Estimado Sr, Paulo Coelho sinceramente no he leido este ultimo libro que ha escrito debido a que creo que aún no llega a México y sinceramente estoy anciosa por leerlo todos y cada uno de ssu libros los he leido 3 veces desde el peregrino hasta Ser como el Río que Fluye, siempre me ha dejado un mensaje positivo el cual agradesco muchisimo me ha ayudado a levantarme en las situaciones más dificiles de mis escasos 19 años.
Nuevamente gracias por su tiempo y nunca deje de escribir.
Con aprecio Zyanya B. García
Dear Paulo, i am reading your new best seller and i have reached in the middle of the book…I think that it is very different from your previous books! I have read “The warrior of light” and the “Portobello’s witch” and i spot that in these books there is more magic and myth! I mean that the “winner stands alone” is more realistic! Maybe its crazy but i love Igor he’s my favorite character though he is a little bit crazy! But love is a madness! He can destroy whole worlds for his love! Fantastic quote!
So thats it, i onlu wanted to tell my little opinion about your book!
Love from Greece
(you have to know that i talk about u every day with my best friend and we have a dream to meet u someday cause we believe you are a big philosopher of our days)
I just luv dis buk yaar..i mean its amazin..
I am still reading this book. It’s a little different from what i expected it to be… it make me think about many things, that i wouldn’t if i wasn’t reading it…
I’m almost ending it… Let’s see what’s next!
it is a book that people either love or hate. I am very glad that I wrote it. It is the expression of my soul.
dear sir,
if any body wants to see themselves one has to read your books.Dreams on this topic i wandered all over my world finally i ended my journey at THE ALCHEMIST now i got struck with your new epic
winner stands alone confusion is what is the difference between “illusion and DREAM”
I was just reading these comments in order to decide whether or not I want to read this book next, to find out a little bit about it. Having just read Eleven Minutes, perhaps I should read towards the light.
I enjoyed the book despite the intense analysis into the psychosis of man’s intentions. We are fragile and easily swayed to do things in the moment according to what our past and future experiences, both real and mostly imagined, are. The ending surprised me with the ‘good guys always win’ mentality clearly turned on its head. But your work, as always is very satisfying to the soul. Thank you. Also, putting the first few chapters online was great!
Dear Sir,
This is the first time I write to you, after reading some of your books. Let me tell you that when I found the way to write to you I was so rushed and motivated that maybe you could read my words and think about it in your beautiful mind. I apologize for my bad English but I am sure you will forgive for that.
I am from Palestine – Bethlehem, people here care about reading western and famous books along with reading the books that have a revolution and free ideas. Here many of my friends, neighbors classmates (when I was at collage) and work mates as well are so familiar with your writings, we exchange books and trying hard to have your recent writings and to be connected to what you write and invent.
Your last “invention” Winner Stands Alone I cant understand how do al these dark dreams could make people be its followers, where as people like to follow the light and the wisdom, you represent the darkness as a glory thing to others where as even evil people don’t see darkness as glory ,,,
Me and other of my friends, didn’t like the darkness side of the human being which u focus on, and even the violence and ugliness of humans.
Fabulous Book, Lovely Strong Words,, but we seek faith and justice in your writings.
Thank you,
Mohammed
definitely will read this book…
tenho uma historia a contar..
Dear Sir,
This is the first time I’m writing to you.
I read two of your books, The Zahir and The Winner Stands alone and looking forward to read more. Both are exceptionally exceptional in its own way.
When I read The Zahir, the message of universl flow of love and its meaning touched my soul and when I closed my book I had a positive feeling about it. Digged my heart and soul to discover my love again and again. It was a radical transformation I went through and I must thank you for that.
But when I finished ‘The winner stands lone’ I felt very different and lost. Through the characters you showed the real world, a world which isn’t confined only to the cells of fashion or film fraternity but the desire to reach the unreachable sometimes takes us too far to come back and that wild desire wipes out the actual meaning of our happiness. And I’m sure most us in their life, has experienced this at some point.
Sir, I’m not criticizing you (I can’t even think of doing that) but I somehow couldn’t accept the end of this story. The way innocent people were washed away from their shores of destiny. The man who did it fought between his conscience and his dark side and every time his obscure part won.And something that is hitting me again and again is that he wasn’t made to realize or to understand or got punished for killing those blameless souls! I feel every word that you write has a huge social impact and somehow the end of the book didnt convice me.
I’m an engineer, worked for four years and now planning to persue my MBA from this August. I really cant write well and I’m very poor in expressing myself but somehow wanted to convey my thoughts to you.
God bless you and your family.
Please do keep changing this world for its own good.
Best Regards,
Debdatta (India, Chennai)
OK, so when i think about dying, it’s really not the worst thing.
I don’t agree to the way you’re expressing what happened to Ewa and Hamid! It’s their fate, Hamid ddin’t see Ewa dying which is good for him, he would have had much pain. and Ewa was actually living in Hell and [in my opinion] if Ewa told Hamid about what she knew Igor was doing, Hamid would tell the police, Igor would think Ewa did it, he would go kill her before they catch him. Then, Hamid would see his Love die infront of his eyes, and may even he won’t be killed and he will live suffering.
I may sound mean, but what happened to them is maybe the best thing that would happen, any other ending would be either too painful or unrealistic.
Thank You Paulo for Your Piece of Art!
Love, Amy
Hi. Mr. Paulo – I liked your book it was good. Just answer one question pl,
Is it ok to be evil as we all know that good / evil are both of the same awarenes? The awareness is what we call force.
I have some questions JUST WAITING TO MEET the person who can answer them
I read the book few weeks ago I want to leave some comments about the ending – it’s wonderful! Not because of the death of the innocent people but because it helped me realize how stupid achieving your goals could be. Sometimes we set aims that we want to accomplish and start pursuing them. Then we come to the point of no coming back – you’ve made so much efforts to reach where you are that you won’t leave your aim under no circumstances, even if you realize how wrong you are! [edited here because you tell the end!] the only thing that could release Igor from his obsessive thoughts; without it his story wouldn’t have an ending.
I liked the end of the book because it provoked feelings of accomplishment and relieve – and that always feels good; on the other hand it made me think that sometimes it’s better to drop everything and let your good sense guide you, not your passionate feelings.
It seems so difficult to leave your past and start anew; getting older makes you live in the past, miss the present and project your past again in the future! It’s a vicious cycle. Yet, I believe that common sense and our emotional guide system, could work hand by hand so that we can make our lives better!
I don’t know, but I think that is your better book…I liked the other, but that book made me think how much people are small, and the same time, how much big they are…
I liked the reality…no dissimulation.
That book showed a beginning of truth more than any other.
I really liked the book! But, just one question:
Do you made this book in a different way ’cause you recently joined the Brazilian Academy of Letters?
Into this book there is a reality of the great typical Brazilian books of literature.
Now you’re a member of the academy of letters… I thought it fantastic.
Dear Paulo,
I used to call each book you wrote “a project”, this is what I used to tell my friends about, maybe this is due to my work nature as a project manager :)
Why I call it “a project”? Simply because (beside the touched talent in each word) I don’t feel it as just a simple novel, but a great product that you manage in a very professional way.
I am sure you have an idea about project management process which gave me this conclusion.
I can imagine you as a maestro leading a big orchestra or an experienced project manager wearing his safety shoes and helmet standing on scaffolding directing his team members but not a simple writer jailing himself in his room just to write.
This conclusion started by my first reading of “Alchemist” and became more solid to me by reading more till it was very clear to me when I read The Winner Stands Alone …
My question is: Can you describe how you write in simple steps? (I need to compare it with Project Management process :)))
Quoting Warren Buffet: if you need greek letters to understand maths, you are far from reality
First I read all of your’s book in Bulgarian.
I like the way you write and how explain everything. All the time search my answers of all question I found in all books.
WSA book was a little bit strange for me. It was not expected to read thriller from Paolo Coelho. But I really like the book and different story you explain. For me is interest how easy is to take somebody’s life but what will be the prize. What is real life of celebrity and film industry.
At all just can say brilliant.
Thank for all your books and works.
Hope soon will read something new.
All the BEST.
hi, as “breda” here, this book was difficult for me to read,the violence,this scary dark side of the sunlights and glory,and because it’s one part of the reality.how many people follow those kinds of dreams as glory and power,and get golden jails,fear,solitude,destruction of their love,and others dreams.how and why their dreams become nightmares for them and many others.i hope some winners read this book.
I see 1111, 111, 911, all the time do you know what is it?
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