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davidareyzaga 's review for:
Gold
by Chris Cleave
Do you like bicycles? Do you like Star Wars? Do you like complex characters? Well if you answered yes and you enjoy suffering, then you are in for a treat. This is the story of Kate, Zoe, Jack, Sophie and Tom. Yes, that's a rather large number of characters that get way too much attention throughout the novel—it's one of my problems with the novel—. Kate and Zoe want to go to the 2012 London Olympics but only one can compete thanks to a new rule. They have been friends (and I mean real-world friendship with a lot of betrayal, backstabbing, and selfishness) for ten years and their stories are so entangled that it is hard to figure out who deserves the victory. One is like Obi-Wan Kenobi and the other one is Darth Vader (I'll let you figure out that part). In the end, only one can win, and losing is not an option for either of them.
That's the gist of the story, well, unless we focus on Sophie, a girl with leukemia who loves Star Wars and wants her mother to win. Jack and Kate have made a lot of sacrifices (Kate in particular) to keep her healthy. Zoe on the other hand, has always been a nearly psychopathic winner. She is willing to do anything to obtain a freaking medal. Meanwhile, Tom, their trainer, is dealing with health issues and trying to orchestrate everything to maintain his athletes winning, alive and popular at the same time.
It's a mess. And, someone should fire the idiot who was in charge of printing the novel because it is an eyesore. Whoever did this hates margins. I was suffering enough already with the plot and just looking at how badly printed this book was made me even angrier.
But that doesn't mean the novel is bad. There are a lot of good things here. The writing is often clever and pulls a lot of heartstrings. My allegiance shifted several times throughout the novel but it made me reflect about my own life choices. What are we willing to lose for victory? Is it worth it? Are we a Kate or a Zoe? Is either of those choices good or bad?
Read this novel if you want to figure it out. I believe I am a natural Zoe that puts a lot of effort into being a Kate because it's not already in me. You'll see what I'm talking about once you meet these characters.
That's the gist of the story, well, unless we focus on Sophie, a girl with leukemia who loves Star Wars and wants her mother to win. Jack and Kate have made a lot of sacrifices (Kate in particular) to keep her healthy. Zoe on the other hand, has always been a nearly psychopathic winner. She is willing to do anything to obtain a freaking medal. Meanwhile, Tom, their trainer, is dealing with health issues and trying to orchestrate everything to maintain his athletes winning, alive and popular at the same time.
It's a mess. And, someone should fire the idiot who was in charge of printing the novel because it is an eyesore. Whoever did this hates margins. I was suffering enough already with the plot and just looking at how badly printed this book was made me even angrier.
But that doesn't mean the novel is bad. There are a lot of good things here. The writing is often clever and pulls a lot of heartstrings. My allegiance shifted several times throughout the novel but it made me reflect about my own life choices. What are we willing to lose for victory? Is it worth it? Are we a Kate or a Zoe? Is either of those choices good or bad?
Read this novel if you want to figure it out. I believe I am a natural Zoe that puts a lot of effort into being a Kate because it's not already in me. You'll see what I'm talking about once you meet these characters.