A review by ronanmcd
The Invisible Mile by David Coventry

adventurous dark medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

What a strange book. I bought it thinking it was the story of the first English speaking Tour de France team. But it isn't. It's set in that team in 1928. An unnamed rider, imagined by the author rides the tour like a fever dream, a drug haze. He is making amends. Amends for his brother's war, for their broken relationship, for his sister's death. 
Celia is interesting. She turns out to be his cousin. Or his guilty conscience personified. Or is she just a representation of the drugs he increasingly relies on?

Ultimately, although the rider's life is revealed, nothing is ever clear. Even when the riders are talking, they never make sense. It's a struggle. 
But oddly rewarding.
It also, very strangely, a century after WW1 repeats anti German tropes about war crimes.
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