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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
I really enjoyed this book. [b:Little Bee|6948436|Little Bee|Chris Cleave|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344401905s/6948436.jpg|4126074] remains one of the most haunting books I've ever read, and this was not that impactful, but the story was really compelling and I looked forward to my commute when I could continue reading it.
The story is about two friends who are both olympic-caliber cyclists. They have a long and complicated friendship while competing with each other over many years, and the book alternates between present time and history to build the story. One is married, with a daughter who becomes very sick, and this impacts her dedication to racing. The other is a lifetime loner whose entire life is about cycling. As the book goes on, the relationship between the women, as well as with the married one's husband and daughter, and their coach becomes more complex.
What I really liked about this book was how Cleave unfurled the story - similar to Little Bee, there were secrets and twists and things that weren't revealed right away, which built characters across multiple dimensions.
The story is about two friends who are both olympic-caliber cyclists. They have a long and complicated friendship while competing with each other over many years, and the book alternates between present time and history to build the story. One is married, with a daughter who becomes very sick, and this impacts her dedication to racing. The other is a lifetime loner whose entire life is about cycling. As the book goes on, the relationship between the women, as well as with the married one's husband and daughter, and their coach becomes more complex.
What I really liked about this book was how Cleave unfurled the story - similar to Little Bee, there were secrets and twists and things that weren't revealed right away, which built characters across multiple dimensions.
Loved this book. As a person who is somewhat familiar with the world of track cycling, although not at the Olympic level, I liked the way the author wove the intensity of training and competing into the book.
This was certainly compelling--I couldn't put it down--but I felt kind of gross afterwards. I thought it was cheap and manipulative (they're Olympic Athletes! their Daughter has Cancer!) and when I read in the author's note that he did research that included being in the room with the oncologist when parents were being told their child's diagnosis? Well, I was disgusted, frankly.
Olympic Melodrama Doesn't Even Make the Podium
I can't with this one. I just can't.
I'm going to be honest with you: I didn't finish this book. Don't think I ever will. The plot is nothing but ham-fisted emotional manipulation with poor writing, and it's insulting.
You have Kate and Zoe, two female cyclists getting ready for their final Olympics. Zoe inexplicably has rock-star athlete status and a tabloid lifestyle thanks to her previous gold medals. This is inexplicable because, really, put Lance Armstrong to the side and name one other cyclist--current or retired. Can't do it, can you? Thought so. Anyway, Zoe has dedicated everything to her craft. She's succeeded and wants one last gold medal before saying goodbye to the sport that has defined her life.
Then there's Kate. Despite the fact that she's naturally talented (probably even better than Zoe), Kate has no gold medals and no fame. While Zoe sacrificed her life for her career, Kate has repeatedly had to give up her career for her life. She has a husband and a daughter with leukemia (more on that later). Her daughter Sophie has indirectly kept her from the Olympics twice (first by being born, then by having her first bout of leukemia). Now Kate has her last shot at Olympic glory and what do you know, Sophie's leukemia is having a recurrence. Will she once again have to put her dream to the side? I choose to ignore her husband as much as possible, because his wooden presence and connection to both Zoe and Kate (which is not as shocking or as revelatory as the author seems to think it is) was nothing short of a snoozefest.
There's something going on between Kate, Zoe, and Jack (probably relating to an affair), but it's really too bothersome to care.
I might have accepted the cliched set-up, the stock characters, the mediocre writing, the reliance on cheap gimmicks to get the reader emotionally involved instead of actual character development--but the Sophie angle was my breaking point. It's a bridge too far to use a dying child to wring tears out of your readers. Emotional manipulation never sits well with me anyway, but this was particularly egregious. One could argue that Sophie raises the stakes for Kate, but in the end this character doesn't exist to teach you a life lesson or to further the plot; she exists to make you feel sad. There are real sick kids in the world, and they deserve better than to be reduced to a clumsily cloying presence in trifle like this. Sophie vomiting into her beloved Millennium Falcon toy to try to hide her sickness from her parents was the moment I broke up with Gold. It's a horrifying moment, to be sure, but it exemplifies what's terribly wrong with this book: it's an emotional reaction Cleave is exploiting, not earning. And, to me at least, it's beyond grotesque.
Grade: D-
I can't with this one. I just can't.
I'm going to be honest with you: I didn't finish this book. Don't think I ever will. The plot is nothing but ham-fisted emotional manipulation with poor writing, and it's insulting.
You have Kate and Zoe, two female cyclists getting ready for their final Olympics. Zoe inexplicably has rock-star athlete status and a tabloid lifestyle thanks to her previous gold medals. This is inexplicable because, really, put Lance Armstrong to the side and name one other cyclist--current or retired. Can't do it, can you? Thought so. Anyway, Zoe has dedicated everything to her craft. She's succeeded and wants one last gold medal before saying goodbye to the sport that has defined her life.
Then there's Kate. Despite the fact that she's naturally talented (probably even better than Zoe), Kate has no gold medals and no fame. While Zoe sacrificed her life for her career, Kate has repeatedly had to give up her career for her life. She has a husband and a daughter with leukemia (more on that later). Her daughter Sophie has indirectly kept her from the Olympics twice (first by being born, then by having her first bout of leukemia). Now Kate has her last shot at Olympic glory and what do you know, Sophie's leukemia is having a recurrence. Will she once again have to put her dream to the side? I choose to ignore her husband as much as possible, because his wooden presence and connection to both Zoe and Kate (which is not as shocking or as revelatory as the author seems to think it is) was nothing short of a snoozefest.
There's something going on between Kate, Zoe, and Jack (probably relating to an affair), but it's really too bothersome to care.
I might have accepted the cliched set-up, the stock characters, the mediocre writing, the reliance on cheap gimmicks to get the reader emotionally involved instead of actual character development--but the Sophie angle was my breaking point. It's a bridge too far to use a dying child to wring tears out of your readers. Emotional manipulation never sits well with me anyway, but this was particularly egregious. One could argue that Sophie raises the stakes for Kate, but in the end this character doesn't exist to teach you a life lesson or to further the plot; she exists to make you feel sad. There are real sick kids in the world, and they deserve better than to be reduced to a clumsily cloying presence in trifle like this. Sophie vomiting into her beloved Millennium Falcon toy to try to hide her sickness from her parents was the moment I broke up with Gold. It's a horrifying moment, to be sure, but it exemplifies what's terribly wrong with this book: it's an emotional reaction Cleave is exploiting, not earning. And, to me at least, it's beyond grotesque.
Grade: D-
just couldn't get into the novel as it moved around timewise but felt wasn't as good as the other hand though
I do enjoy this author's books. Incendiary was on of my best book ever so I had high hopes. I am glad that I read this following the Olympics because I knew a bit about cycling and was also still full of the enthusiasm that would drive people to strive as the protagonists in this book did. What I like about Cleave is the way in which he makes his characters in whatever plot make decisions that appear to be flawed but make sense in the context of the novel. This is the same in Gold. Ultimately uplifting and a real study of determination and effort.
Zoe and Kate are world-class athletes; they have been rivals on the track from the very start but they are also friends. Gold follows the story of these two cyclists life leading up the 2012 London Olympics. Both women will be tested on and off the track, being pushed to their physical and emotional limits. The book follows the two through most of their professional career, starting at 19 all the way up to training for their final Olympic event.
This is a strong character driven book, Kate is the nice one, she is a mother first and an athlete second who is always Zoe’s heels. Zoe on the other hand is driven purely by the need to win and will stop at nothing to gain the advantage. Even the support characters are wonderful; from the bitter coach Tom, Kate’s husband Jack who also is an Olympic cyclist and can be very cocky about his constant lack of competition. Not forgetting Jake and Kate’s daughter Sophie, who while is suffering from leukaemia is constantly trying to remain strong to stop her parents worrying about her so much.
Chris Cleave writes a wonderful book, this is a story full of passion, humour and tragedy. I was excited to read this book, I’ve been eyeing it for a few weeks and when my local book club decided to read it, I finally had an excuse. I really love exploring the characters; Zoe was a real stand out for me, her flaws made her a character I wanted to read more about. To offset the dense nature of this book, Cleave did a wonderful job at lightening the mood, from Sophie’s obsession with Star Wars to the humour with lines like; “The boys sat around and talked about Keats and fine bone China, or whatever they talk about before they are about to spend 8 hours racing each other”.
Gold is a deep bittersweet story that full of empathy, sharp observations and strong characters. Chris Cleave did a great job of balancing the novel out so it never felt heavy or too light. I think I even surprised myself with how much I enjoyed this book; it was such a joy to read. I’ve even heard the Chris Cleave’s other books are worth checking out and if Gold is anything to go by, then I’m excited to read more.
This is a strong character driven book, Kate is the nice one, she is a mother first and an athlete second who is always Zoe’s heels. Zoe on the other hand is driven purely by the need to win and will stop at nothing to gain the advantage. Even the support characters are wonderful; from the bitter coach Tom, Kate’s husband Jack who also is an Olympic cyclist and can be very cocky about his constant lack of competition. Not forgetting Jake and Kate’s daughter Sophie, who while is suffering from leukaemia is constantly trying to remain strong to stop her parents worrying about her so much.
Chris Cleave writes a wonderful book, this is a story full of passion, humour and tragedy. I was excited to read this book, I’ve been eyeing it for a few weeks and when my local book club decided to read it, I finally had an excuse. I really love exploring the characters; Zoe was a real stand out for me, her flaws made her a character I wanted to read more about. To offset the dense nature of this book, Cleave did a wonderful job at lightening the mood, from Sophie’s obsession with Star Wars to the humour with lines like; “The boys sat around and talked about Keats and fine bone China, or whatever they talk about before they are about to spend 8 hours racing each other”.
Gold is a deep bittersweet story that full of empathy, sharp observations and strong characters. Chris Cleave did a great job of balancing the novel out so it never felt heavy or too light. I think I even surprised myself with how much I enjoyed this book; it was such a joy to read. I’ve even heard the Chris Cleave’s other books are worth checking out and if Gold is anything to go by, then I’m excited to read more.
This novel is as close as I'm getting to anything related to the Olympics. It's about Kate and Zoe who are best friends and competitors. They are two of the best Olympic-caliber cyclists in the world and 2012 is their last shot at it. (They're getting older and this is basically the last time they will be at their physical best.) This is complicated by several factors, one of which is that Kate's daughter Sophie has leukemia and is getting worse.
This is such an interesting book. I'm not a sports person at all, although I love sports movies. I enjoyed this one too, probably because (like sports movies and unlike actual sports) it's about more than just the Olympics and bicycling. There are all these questions about competition and ethical dilemmas, all of which I find completely fascinating.
Chris Cleave's biggest book to date is Little Bee (which I borrowed from my aunt and have yet to read) and after reading this, I definitely want to read more of his work.
I've read some complaints that the narrative is pretty blatant (as in, "Of COURSE the daughter will get worse before the Olympics...") and while that is a pretty fair complaint, it's not like Gold is a Lifetime movie. It's not like "I'd Kill to Win: The Kate and Zoe Story."
I think my favorite character was probably Sophie (Kate's daughter). She's this little girl who's facing something people shouldn't have to face, but she's so smart and strong and funny. She's also completely Star Wars-obsessed, which I think a lot of people can relate to. While the Star Wars movies aren't my personal favorite, I can absolutely relate because I, too, believe in the church of movies. They make things better, even if they can't really.
Recommended.
This is such an interesting book. I'm not a sports person at all, although I love sports movies. I enjoyed this one too, probably because (like sports movies and unlike actual sports) it's about more than just the Olympics and bicycling. There are all these questions about competition and ethical dilemmas, all of which I find completely fascinating.
Chris Cleave's biggest book to date is Little Bee (which I borrowed from my aunt and have yet to read) and after reading this, I definitely want to read more of his work.
I've read some complaints that the narrative is pretty blatant (as in, "Of COURSE the daughter will get worse before the Olympics...") and while that is a pretty fair complaint, it's not like Gold is a Lifetime movie. It's not like "I'd Kill to Win: The Kate and Zoe Story."
I think my favorite character was probably Sophie (Kate's daughter). She's this little girl who's facing something people shouldn't have to face, but she's so smart and strong and funny. She's also completely Star Wars-obsessed, which I think a lot of people can relate to. While the Star Wars movies aren't my personal favorite, I can absolutely relate because I, too, believe in the church of movies. They make things better, even if they can't really.
Recommended.