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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
While I choose this book for ATY reading challenge (periodic element) - it was such a beautifully written book and so powerful that I hated for it to end. Even though I didn't know anything about Sprint Cycling, the book gives you enough information. The three main characters (Jack, Kate, Zoe - and Sophie) leave you cheering, tearing up and holding your breath through every plot twist.
NYT reviewer called it "Beaches" (the movie) on bikes which I thought was a little harsh. Cleave managed to capture the kind of commitment and sacrifice that many Olympic-level athletes have to make to compete in their chosen sport. That said, his two women characters were both unlikable. I rooted for neither of them. Cleave had me for most of the novel but the [spoiler] mother switching [/spoiler] was the kind of artificial drama that cheapens the rest of the novel. What could have been a great examination of competition between women athletes turns into just a good one.
Really nicely paced story, with no boring bits and plenty of interesting turns. Zoe and Kate are rival athletes, world class cyclists with the same coach, who have very different motivations, backstories and methods of winning but both with the same goals. As teenagers they are also competing for the love and attention of Jake, a fellow cyclist, who has a complicated relationship with each of them but ends up marrying Kate, mainly because she is less mentally unhinged than Zoe, whose win at all costs mentality stems from unresolved trauma in her past. Kate is willing to prioritise family, including her daughter Sophie who suffers from leukaemia, over her racing career but this leads to tension and some additional unexpected twists. Really good exploration of below the surface motivations for winning and success and what that truly means.
I was really excited to receive an advance copy of this book as I'm a big fan of Chris Cleave's earlier work. In Gold, Cleave tells a compelling, if somewhat far-fetched story, employing many of the same tricks and pyrotechnics he uses in Little Bee. His writing is gorgeous in places and the twists and turns of the plot kept my interest. Overall, Gold didn't move or challenge me as much as Cleave's earlier work, but it's definitely worth a read. The specificity of his descriptions of the psyches and training of Olympic cyclists wowed me at times, as did some of his more subtle observations about time and mortality.
I gave this three stars because it is quick read and I like Cleave's style. What kept it from being 4 stars was my ambivalence about the two main characters. Kate is a bit too much of a milquetoast to be a believable star athlete, too forgiving of the outrages that Zoe heaps on her, even after they're supposedly 'friends.' She worries too much, cries too much, and is far too insecure. Still, I found myself rooting for her because she was so unlike Zoe.
Zoe is thoroughly unlikeable. Even her backstory didn't serve to change my opinion. She was a little too much a female version of Lance Armstrong, without the performance-enhancing drugs. Zoe hurts people, literally, to get ahead. In particular, she hurts Kate. To be fair, so does Jack, Kate's husband, another driven, immature, self-involved cyclist. The difference between him and Zoe is that many of Jack's mistakes are just that - errors in judgement rather than calculated attempts to undermine someone.
The only really likable characters: the women's coach, Tom, a former Olympian who has his own less-than-stellar past and Sophie, Kate and Jack's daughter, who copes with her reoccurring leukemia by building her Star Wars fantasy world.
Zoe is thoroughly unlikeable. Even her backstory didn't serve to change my opinion. She was a little too much a female version of Lance Armstrong, without the performance-enhancing drugs. Zoe hurts people, literally, to get ahead. In particular, she hurts Kate. To be fair, so does Jack, Kate's husband, another driven, immature, self-involved cyclist. The difference between him and Zoe is that many of Jack's mistakes are just that - errors in judgement rather than calculated attempts to undermine someone.
The only really likable characters: the women's coach, Tom, a former Olympian who has his own less-than-stellar past and Sophie, Kate and Jack's daughter, who copes with her reoccurring leukemia by building her Star Wars fantasy world.
It doesn't matter what Chris Cleave writes about, it's guaranteed to be engrossing. Usually if you presented me with a book and told me it was about Olympic cyclists and a sick Star Wars obsessed kid I'd smile politely, hide it behind the sofa and run to the bookshelves to look for something else. But as ever, Chris Cleave wove his story-telling magic, and within a few pages I was ready to kill anyone who tried to stop me reading. Pure alchemy.
Audio: Don't expect another Little Bee. It was a good, easy listen, but doesn't hold a candle to Little Bee.
I finished the book but I was so disappointed with the quick wrap-up of the story at the ending. I did not like the transition between present and past... I found that it did not flow well. It was hard to get into the characters, other than Sophie. Finally the story started to pick up and you were starting to understand why the characters were they way they were... but alas this was only to jump ahead into the future and wrap it up in a last chapter tidy bow. I hated the abrupt ending so much I am not sure if I would try this author again because of it.
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes