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Gold
Book is in Like New Clean Solid Condition, Ex-Library Book . best offer, bx19**
535 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
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13550 people want to read
About the author
Chris Cleave
28 books3,313 followersDr Chris Cleave is a New York Times #1 bestselling novelist, a chartered psychologist and a psychotherapist. He writes a weekly piece on humanity and healing at http://chriscleave.substack.com
Chris was born in London and spent his early years in Cameroon. His novels are:
INCENDIARY
LITTLE BEE
(THE OTHER HAND)
GOLD
EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN
He lives in London with his wife and some of their three adult children.
Website at http://www.chriscleave.com
Chris was born in London and spent his early years in Cameroon. His novels are:
INCENDIARY
LITTLE BEE
(THE OTHER HAND)
GOLD
EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN
He lives in London with his wife and some of their three adult children.
Website at http://www.chriscleave.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,608 reviews
January 21, 2020
When my husband, Will, did his guest stint on What Should I Read Next, he named this as his favorite book possibly ever—and so I made it a winter break priority. I LOVED it and read it in two days.
The story centers around two velodrome cyclists who are best friends and arch-rivals, training under the same coach for their last remaining shot at the London Olympics, while respectively navigating personal crises and the life-threatening sickness of a child (note that content warning, please). I was riveted as Cleave set out the complicated history between the two women and kept raising the stakes in the present. The story is told from multiple points of view to great effect; the coach's point of view made the book for me.
The story centers around two velodrome cyclists who are best friends and arch-rivals, training under the same coach for their last remaining shot at the London Olympics, while respectively navigating personal crises and the life-threatening sickness of a child (note that content warning, please). I was riveted as Cleave set out the complicated history between the two women and kept raising the stakes in the present. The story is told from multiple points of view to great effect; the coach's point of view made the book for me.
September 21, 2013
Reviewers who have read LITTLE BEE will feel compelled to compare the two books, not in subject matter, but in caliber or merit. LITTLE BEE was a powerful, keen, fresh, and original story that remains one of my most esteemed of 2009. GOLD has a similar architectural structure and captive writing style (but is in third person rather than first). The breaks within chapters headed in bold font are familiar, the soaring, poetic, exquisite metaphors and fluent writing resonates, and a young girl engrossed in Star Wars in order to cope (vs a young boy immersed in Batman in LITTLE BEE). However, GOLD's story, while thematically ripe, is prosaic, as well as so implausible at its heart that I lamented at the reductive and ultimately predictable turns of events.
Kate and Zoe have been best friends for 15 years--they met when they were 19, as Olympic contenders in cycling, and now they are 32, both going for the Gold again, although Zoe has several from previous Olympics in Athens and Beijing, as well as National victories. Kate is married to Jack, same age, same historical introduction (all three met simultaneously), another Gold champ, and they have a daughter, Sophie, who is 8, and has leukemia. She was first diagnosed four years ago, but after the first treatment, had been in remission until now.
****WARNING: MAJOR SPOILER(S) ALERT.***** This is my first review that requires a spoiler alert, but it felt necessary. So, here goes. For those who have already read the book, or don't plan to, here are the reasons I can't believe the thrust of the narrative:
Cleave attempts to tacitly portray Zoe with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) due to the sudden, accidental death of her brother, Adam, when they were bicycling as kids. She feels responsible, and has buried her emotions. All her disturbing character traits are supposed to stem from there. She has betrayed Kate and Jack numerous times over the years, including an attempt to win Jack over when they first met, only because she knew Kate wanted him. She sabotaged Kate in a race by sending a text to herself from Jack's phone, and she slept with Jack (before Kate and Jack were married, but still...), and other invidious acts. Cleave inadvertently portrayed her with Borderline Personality Disorder--she fits a textbook case (I am also a psychiatric nurse)--a dangerous person to be involved with. She also has some Narcissistic Personality Disorder Traits.
So, when Zoe gets pregnant from her one time sex with Jack (groan right there), she decides to go through with the pregnancy, at the advice of her coach, Tom, the almost-straw character inserted as much to telegraph platitudes as to coach the women. And then gives up the baby to Jack and Kate. Kate becomes the legal mother. However, Zoe is unstable and disturbed. In this case, Kate should have felt threatened from day one. Moreover, Zoe, in her present psychic state and track record--the behaviors she regularly displays, and the competition and envy she has over Jack and Kate's lives--would have played all sorts of mind games with Kate and Jack through the years regarding Sophie. What a fierce weapon for an unbalanced woman who tends to play dirty.
So, Kate and Jack take the baby--oh, and the press believes that Zoe had a stillborn, and that somehow Kate and Jack gave birth. So, Kate and Zoe continue their "friendship," no tension there about Sophie? The only tension seems to be when they race each other. Cleave, in what I consider a mistake, chose to save this fact about Zoe being Sophie's bio mother until near the end, in the penultimate chapters. That handicapped the narrative from any conversation that would steer toward this fact, all throughout the book, with all three of them. (But, ironically, this supposed secret from the reader was painfully obvious early on.) Yet, Zoe is present to support Sophie and the parents through these trying times with Sophie's leukemia. It feels false, renders the story as disingenuous. This doesn't affect Zoe emotionally, we are told, as Cleave gave her an out, which is Adam's death.
Zoe has nothing to live for, so to speak, except her triumphs at the velodromes. Yet, the narrative starts being an apologist for Zoe, as the pages turn, softening her at convenient times. In 2012, as the two women cycle for the chance at a spot in London's Olympics, and Kate's last chance to finally win the Gold, Kate falls from her bike at the deciding race, and yet Zoe slowed down to let her catch up! And then Kate wins by 1/1000th of a second! So, now Zoe gets bitter and vengeful and decides she is going to battle for custody of Sophie and tell Sophie she is her real mother, while Sophie is hanging on for dear life at hospital? The only thing that stops her is she passes out when she sees how sick Sophie is.
All of this--and, yet, not only does everyone live happily ever after, but Zoe, Kate, and Jack remain dear friends. Zoe is cured by dealing with her brother's death, and years later (2015), when Sophie is 11, Zoe is coaching the healthy Sophie at the velodrome to be a competitive cyclist. This is too velodramatic to believe.*****END OF SPOILER ALERT ******************************************
Due to the contrivances and conveniences of character and story, the incredulous twists and turns that are telegraphed and predictable, it was largely unsuccessful to me as a story. Yet, I read every page! Cleave is a lovely writer of prose (although the dialogue was self-conscious and seemed aimed at the cinema), and his metaphors about time undulate elegantly throughout. His themes of success, loss, and the sacrifices we make for love are poignant, and at times emerge radiantly from the melodramatic soap opera. His writing (style) is as assured as ever, and his heart is in the right place.
Kate and Zoe have been best friends for 15 years--they met when they were 19, as Olympic contenders in cycling, and now they are 32, both going for the Gold again, although Zoe has several from previous Olympics in Athens and Beijing, as well as National victories. Kate is married to Jack, same age, same historical introduction (all three met simultaneously), another Gold champ, and they have a daughter, Sophie, who is 8, and has leukemia. She was first diagnosed four years ago, but after the first treatment, had been in remission until now.
****WARNING: MAJOR SPOILER(S) ALERT.***** This is my first review that requires a spoiler alert, but it felt necessary. So, here goes. For those who have already read the book, or don't plan to, here are the reasons I can't believe the thrust of the narrative:
Cleave attempts to tacitly portray Zoe with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) due to the sudden, accidental death of her brother, Adam, when they were bicycling as kids. She feels responsible, and has buried her emotions. All her disturbing character traits are supposed to stem from there. She has betrayed Kate and Jack numerous times over the years, including an attempt to win Jack over when they first met, only because she knew Kate wanted him. She sabotaged Kate in a race by sending a text to herself from Jack's phone, and she slept with Jack (before Kate and Jack were married, but still...), and other invidious acts. Cleave inadvertently portrayed her with Borderline Personality Disorder--she fits a textbook case (I am also a psychiatric nurse)--a dangerous person to be involved with. She also has some Narcissistic Personality Disorder Traits.
So, when Zoe gets pregnant from her one time sex with Jack (groan right there), she decides to go through with the pregnancy, at the advice of her coach, Tom, the almost-straw character inserted as much to telegraph platitudes as to coach the women. And then gives up the baby to Jack and Kate. Kate becomes the legal mother. However, Zoe is unstable and disturbed. In this case, Kate should have felt threatened from day one. Moreover, Zoe, in her present psychic state and track record--the behaviors she regularly displays, and the competition and envy she has over Jack and Kate's lives--would have played all sorts of mind games with Kate and Jack through the years regarding Sophie. What a fierce weapon for an unbalanced woman who tends to play dirty.
So, Kate and Jack take the baby--oh, and the press believes that Zoe had a stillborn, and that somehow Kate and Jack gave birth. So, Kate and Zoe continue their "friendship," no tension there about Sophie? The only tension seems to be when they race each other. Cleave, in what I consider a mistake, chose to save this fact about Zoe being Sophie's bio mother until near the end, in the penultimate chapters. That handicapped the narrative from any conversation that would steer toward this fact, all throughout the book, with all three of them. (But, ironically, this supposed secret from the reader was painfully obvious early on.) Yet, Zoe is present to support Sophie and the parents through these trying times with Sophie's leukemia. It feels false, renders the story as disingenuous. This doesn't affect Zoe emotionally, we are told, as Cleave gave her an out, which is Adam's death.
Zoe has nothing to live for, so to speak, except her triumphs at the velodromes. Yet, the narrative starts being an apologist for Zoe, as the pages turn, softening her at convenient times. In 2012, as the two women cycle for the chance at a spot in London's Olympics, and Kate's last chance to finally win the Gold, Kate falls from her bike at the deciding race, and yet Zoe slowed down to let her catch up! And then Kate wins by 1/1000th of a second! So, now Zoe gets bitter and vengeful and decides she is going to battle for custody of Sophie and tell Sophie she is her real mother, while Sophie is hanging on for dear life at hospital? The only thing that stops her is she passes out when she sees how sick Sophie is.
All of this--and, yet, not only does everyone live happily ever after, but Zoe, Kate, and Jack remain dear friends. Zoe is cured by dealing with her brother's death, and years later (2015), when Sophie is 11, Zoe is coaching the healthy Sophie at the velodrome to be a competitive cyclist. This is too velodramatic to believe.*****END OF SPOILER ALERT ******************************************
Due to the contrivances and conveniences of character and story, the incredulous twists and turns that are telegraphed and predictable, it was largely unsuccessful to me as a story. Yet, I read every page! Cleave is a lovely writer of prose (although the dialogue was self-conscious and seemed aimed at the cinema), and his metaphors about time undulate elegantly throughout. His themes of success, loss, and the sacrifices we make for love are poignant, and at times emerge radiantly from the melodramatic soap opera. His writing (style) is as assured as ever, and his heart is in the right place.
June 3, 2013
An alchemist is needed to make this gold!
Such a disappointment
The race was on! For me it was a race between throwing it across the room or getting to the finish. Only the fact that it was on my Kindle saved it being thrown. And only the hope that it would improve got me to the finish.
I had been so eagerly awaiting this. I had read pre-release review and interviews, so I knew that it was a change of pace to The Other Hand (aka Little Bee) and Incendiary. But I did expect the depth, the empathy, the sharp observations, the bittersweet storytelling that I found in both of them. But that was not to be.
The storyline followed the rivalries of Olympic cyclists. It gives backgrounds of the main protagonists via flashbacks. But the storyline itself is predictable and saccharine, and the dilemma seems so contrived. The language was often cliched and clumsy. Characterisation is set out at the beginning and doesn't get any development.
Where the child in The Other Hand had cute characteristics, the child in Gold is cloying. I was amazed in both of the previous books at how well Cleave writes female voice, but in Gold I didn't quite believe in Kate. As a highly competitive athlete, she lacked verisimilitude. Pollyanna in lycra.
Such a disappointment
The race was on! For me it was a race between throwing it across the room or getting to the finish. Only the fact that it was on my Kindle saved it being thrown. And only the hope that it would improve got me to the finish.
I had been so eagerly awaiting this. I had read pre-release review and interviews, so I knew that it was a change of pace to The Other Hand (aka Little Bee) and Incendiary. But I did expect the depth, the empathy, the sharp observations, the bittersweet storytelling that I found in both of them. But that was not to be.
The storyline followed the rivalries of Olympic cyclists. It gives backgrounds of the main protagonists via flashbacks. But the storyline itself is predictable and saccharine, and the dilemma seems so contrived. The language was often cliched and clumsy. Characterisation is set out at the beginning and doesn't get any development.
Where the child in The Other Hand had cute characteristics, the child in Gold is cloying. I was amazed in both of the previous books at how well Cleave writes female voice, but in Gold I didn't quite believe in Kate. As a highly competitive athlete, she lacked verisimilitude. Pollyanna in lycra.
June 1, 2020
The trouble with a Chris Cleave book is that you can't put it down, they are so readable! I didn't think this book would be for me as I avoid sports at all costs but how wrong was I. This is more than a book on athletes, this is a book that has you on the edge, that makes you want to scream at the pages, that makes you cry and gives you hope. I loved it.
May 14, 2012
My screenwriter boyfriend tells me there is a certain way that stories are supposed to go, a certain formula of events, if you will. Read enough books, see enough movies, and one begins to really believe that. The trick to good story telling is to have stories go in the way that they are supposed to go without giving away, too obviously, where it is going. Gold reads in exactly the way the story is supposed to go. I could have told you from the first 50 pages where the story line should go, and away it went.
Kate, Jack, and Zoe aren't cookie-cutter characters by any means and the plot isn't necessarily a cookie-cutter plot. However, the twists and turns that the story takes on it's track to the Gold, are like the strategic moves made by racers. The tone is set from the starting line, and it can only go a limited number of ways with the choices made by the cyclists on their quests for the Gold Medal.
Don't let the predictability of the story sell it short, however. One cannot help but fall in love with eight-year-old, Star Wars obsessed, Sophie, who fights leukemia and tries with all her little might to keep her parents happy. One cannot help feeling for (and as a fairly bashful woman, also relating to) Kate, her mother, who chooses to miss both the Athens Olympics and the Beijing Olympics for Sophie's health. Zoe's harshness and betrayals, while terrible traits somehow make her a character that you simply want to hug and then slap; her fight to receive a Gold Medal overcomes even her humanity. Jack, Sophie's father, deserved a good shake - I think.
In a lot of ways I felt as though I were reading a Jodi Piccoult novels. The way the story went is very reminiscent of her style; in some ways I was surprised - in a good way - that this was written by a man. Neither she nor Chris Cleave are fabulous authors but the can write a story well, with characters that you can believe and love. It's good book junk food: quick, easy, flowing, happy, "correct."
I received this ARC from Goodreads First Reads Giveaways.
Kate, Jack, and Zoe aren't cookie-cutter characters by any means and the plot isn't necessarily a cookie-cutter plot. However, the twists and turns that the story takes on it's track to the Gold, are like the strategic moves made by racers. The tone is set from the starting line, and it can only go a limited number of ways with the choices made by the cyclists on their quests for the Gold Medal.
Don't let the predictability of the story sell it short, however. One cannot help but fall in love with eight-year-old, Star Wars obsessed, Sophie, who fights leukemia and tries with all her little might to keep her parents happy. One cannot help feeling for (and as a fairly bashful woman, also relating to) Kate, her mother, who chooses to miss both the Athens Olympics and the Beijing Olympics for Sophie's health. Zoe's harshness and betrayals, while terrible traits somehow make her a character that you simply want to hug and then slap; her fight to receive a Gold Medal overcomes even her humanity. Jack, Sophie's father, deserved a good shake - I think.
In a lot of ways I felt as though I were reading a Jodi Piccoult novels. The way the story went is very reminiscent of her style; in some ways I was surprised - in a good way - that this was written by a man. Neither she nor Chris Cleave are fabulous authors but the can write a story well, with characters that you can believe and love. It's good book junk food: quick, easy, flowing, happy, "correct."
I received this ARC from Goodreads First Reads Giveaways.
January 18, 2016
I really give this book *6* stars ----(its sooooooooooooooooo GOOD)!!!!!
I love the characters --the story itself-- and the writing.
I personally have not had an athletic 'rush' with the 2012 Olympics yet ---(but I had a huge 'rush' reading *GOLD*). On-the-edge-engaging-reading!!!!
Zoe-Kate-Jack-Tom-Sophie are each characters you'll feel you know well. The author does an outstanding job with 'character-development'. (these guys become part of your own blood).
*Biking* is great sport to write about ---the author writes some scenes in this book you'll never forget --[the visuals become so very alive in your mind...very exciting]--
---This is a 'curl-up-and-get-cozy'-delicious novel!!!!
---I also like the different perspectives on the making of a TOP ATHLETE -- (is their 'past' driving them--- or are they seeking a 'future' goal?) ----*Both* are powerful tools (as the 'coach' in the story has learned in his many years of experience) ---but its sure important to know which one 'your' student most operates from....(to be a master coach).
This is Body-mind-spiritual roller coaster ride ---NOT to miss. GREAT STORY!!!!
Also: anyone who has enjoyed sports --participated in any type of competition will appreciate this story. (my gymnast years are behind me--but it was 'awesome' to read about the inner-athlete: remember & relate --and allow myself to fall into the lives of the people in *GOLD*. --
There are family challenges, sickness, friendships, fear of aging and purpose, love, family, and the pure drive for living on the edge of perfection).
A GREAT READ!!!
I love the characters --the story itself-- and the writing.
I personally have not had an athletic 'rush' with the 2012 Olympics yet ---(but I had a huge 'rush' reading *GOLD*). On-the-edge-engaging-reading!!!!
Zoe-Kate-Jack-Tom-Sophie are each characters you'll feel you know well. The author does an outstanding job with 'character-development'. (these guys become part of your own blood).
*Biking* is great sport to write about ---the author writes some scenes in this book you'll never forget --[the visuals become so very alive in your mind...very exciting]--
---This is a 'curl-up-and-get-cozy'-delicious novel!!!!
---I also like the different perspectives on the making of a TOP ATHLETE -- (is their 'past' driving them--- or are they seeking a 'future' goal?) ----*Both* are powerful tools (as the 'coach' in the story has learned in his many years of experience) ---but its sure important to know which one 'your' student most operates from....(to be a master coach).
This is Body-mind-spiritual roller coaster ride ---NOT to miss. GREAT STORY!!!!
Also: anyone who has enjoyed sports --participated in any type of competition will appreciate this story. (my gymnast years are behind me--but it was 'awesome' to read about the inner-athlete: remember & relate --and allow myself to fall into the lives of the people in *GOLD*. --
There are family challenges, sickness, friendships, fear of aging and purpose, love, family, and the pure drive for living on the edge of perfection).
A GREAT READ!!!
July 17, 2012
This is the story to three top athletes, bike racers on the Olympic level, and what drives them. This isn't really a sports story, though you do learn a great deal about the grueling training that these folks willingly endure. It's about team mates who are sometimes friends and other times not, with a complicated past and an even more complicated present. It's about parenthood, relationships, priorities and the sacrifices that are made for love, or fear. It's about celebrity and intimacy, of the trials of competition on your head and heart, and about figuring out who you are and remaining true to that. As the story unfolds the reader is slowly given access to these three people's
histories and mysteries and has a front row seat for their fight for the future that runs through a gauntlet of emotions that will not leave that reader untouched. More simply, this is a marvelous and enveloping read.
histories and mysteries and has a front row seat for their fight for the future that runs through a gauntlet of emotions that will not leave that reader untouched. More simply, this is a marvelous and enveloping read.
May 13, 2012
I put off reading this book – it was hearing it was about cycling at the Olympics that did it. I really wasn’t expecting to enjoy it, but I really should have known better – I’ve read Chris Cleave’s other two books. And I didn’t just enjoy it, I absolutely loved it and didn’t want it to end. I don’t have a sporty competitive bone in my body, but this book really isn’t about sport – it’s about love and the things human beings do to each other. I thought the characters were wonderfully drawn – Sophie and her Star Wars obsession is an absolute tour de force, but so is damaged Zoe, Jack the consummate father, and Tom the trainer. The only one I struggled with a little was Kate – for a number of reasons, but mainly because she just seemed too “nice” to be involved in the competitive world. Others have told the story in their reviews but I’d urge everyone to read this book and defy your expectations. Images will stay with me a long time – Sophie’s experience with the conveniently placed Millenium Falcon had me in tears, as did Tom in the bath, and some of the musical moments were magic. Emotional rollercoaster doesn’t do it full justice, and the writing is absolutely superb. One of my books of the year.
January 2, 2025
I think Zoe Castle might be my least favorite character in my history of reading. She was the most selfish, awful cow that I found myself so angry and fantasizing about just shaking her to come down to earth.
This book has been on my physical bookshelf for ages, and like most of the books I'm choosing to read and let go of that fit this same demographic, this one held up over time and was better than I had hoped for. I loved the way Cleave tells us this story of two women cyclists and their coach trying to qualify for and participate in the Olympics.
Kate & Zoe become friends (although how Kate was constantly forgiving of Zoe was beyond me!) and adversaries as they compete for a spot to win the Olympic gold medal. Then there was the perspective of sweet 8 year old Sophie, who is battling Leukemia, her chapters were the most gut wrenching. Cleave weaved all the threads together, complete with crystal clear every day type scenes (their older coach struggling to get out of the bathtub - then forgetting his dentures were on the bathroom counter- and the crazy position he finds himself in to get those teeth in before his "girls" come over).
This book has been on my physical bookshelf for ages, and like most of the books I'm choosing to read and let go of that fit this same demographic, this one held up over time and was better than I had hoped for. I loved the way Cleave tells us this story of two women cyclists and their coach trying to qualify for and participate in the Olympics.
Kate & Zoe become friends (although how Kate was constantly forgiving of Zoe was beyond me!) and adversaries as they compete for a spot to win the Olympic gold medal. Then there was the perspective of sweet 8 year old Sophie, who is battling Leukemia, her chapters were the most gut wrenching. Cleave weaved all the threads together, complete with crystal clear every day type scenes (their older coach struggling to get out of the bathtub - then forgetting his dentures were on the bathroom counter- and the crazy position he finds himself in to get those teeth in before his "girls" come over).
May 27, 2025
„Злато“ , Крис Клийв, превод Невена Дишлиева, Велин Кръстев, изд. ICU.
„Злато“ е история за колоездене. За Олимпиади, спринтове, падания, победи, но всъщност далеч не е единствено това. Бях с нагласата да чета за спорт, но прочетох изключително човешка книга, в която спорта е фон на живота.
Това е книга за избора. За човешките решения – да обичаш или да се отдръпнеш. Да бъдеш до някого в най-трудния му момент, или да избягаш. Да дадеш ли всичко от себе си, когато вече нямаш какво да даваш?
Зоуи и Кейт са две жени, две състезателки, две съдби. Толкова различни – едната устремена, дива, обсебена от победата, другата – внимателна, топла, отдадена на семейството си. И между тях – напрежение, но и грижа, болка, вярност, съревнование, но и любов.
Ако се занимаваш със спорт, в „Злато“ ще откриеш много. Крис Клийв успява да влезе в главата на спортиста – онази обсесия, онзи въпрос „Защо го правим?“ Защо жертваме толкова много? Какво е това нещо в нас, което ни кара да тренираме до припадък, да не се отказваме, дори когато тялото крещи? Победата ли е целта, или нещо по-дълбоко – нуждата да докажеш нещо, на себе си, на света, на миналото си?
Но дори и да не се интересуваш от спорт – тази книга ще те хване. Ще те въвлече с човешките си теми – майчинството, болестта, вината, приятелството, страховете.
Животът в „Злато“ прилича на състезателна писта – въртиш обиколки, мислиш, че напредваш, но се оказва, че се връщаш отново и отново на същото място. Единственото, което не спира и не можеш да надбягаш, е времето. То е и съдия, и съперник. Измерва успехите ти, но също така и загубите. Кара те да се питаш – достатъчно ли дадох? Твърде късно ли е? Има ли още време да се върна, да започна отначало, да избера отново?
Безкрайният кръг на пистата прилича на безкрайния кръговрат на живота – стартът и финалът често са на едно и също място. Могат да започнат от всеки метър по трасето, дори и след като си пресекъл финалната линия. Защото във вътрешните ни битки няма окончателно спечелени медали – има само още една обиколка, още едно усилие, още един избор. И дори когато изглежда, че всичко е приключило, животът пак продължава да се върти – в същата посока, с нови скорости.
В тази книга има и много за родителството – за онази тиха, невидима борба да дадеш на детето си сигурност, любов и присъствие. Виждаме как дете, което има безрезервната подкрепа на родител, пораства с емпатия към света. И как дете, израснало в мълчание и липса, се затваря – в себе си, в страха, в тялото си. Да обичаш и отглеждаш с отдадеността на родител е толкова трудна задача, колкото и да спечелиш олимпийски медал – и героите в „Злато“ го доказват с всяка своя постъпка. Състезанието не е само на пистата, а във всеки избор, който правиш за и със друг човек.
Не можех да я оставя. Поглъщах страниците. Имах чувството, че всяко изречение тежи, че всеки избор е мой, разбирах всяка от тези жени – и Зоуи, и Кейт. Силно препоръчвам "Злато" на всички читатели, тъй като за мен е почти универсална книга, която подхожда на много и различни вкусове.
„Злато“ е история за колоездене. За Олимпиади, спринтове, падания, победи, но всъщност далеч не е единствено това. Бях с нагласата да чета за спорт, но прочетох изключително човешка книга, в която спорта е фон на живота.
Това е книга за избора. За човешките решения – да обичаш или да се отдръпнеш. Да бъдеш до някого в най-трудния му момент, или да избягаш. Да дадеш ли всичко от себе си, когато вече нямаш какво да даваш?
Зоуи и Кейт са две жени, две състезателки, две съдби. Толкова различни – едната устремена, дива, обсебена от победата, другата – внимателна, топла, отдадена на семейството си. И между тях – напрежение, но и грижа, болка, вярност, съревнование, но и любов.
Ако се занимаваш със спорт, в „Злато“ ще откриеш много. Крис Клийв успява да влезе в главата на спортиста – онази обсесия, онзи въпрос „Защо го правим?“ Защо жертваме толкова много? Какво е това нещо в нас, което ни кара да тренираме до припадък, да не се отказваме, дори когато тялото крещи? Победата ли е целта, или нещо по-дълбоко – нуждата да докажеш нещо, на себе си, на света, на миналото си?
Но дори и да не се интересуваш от спорт – тази книга ще те хване. Ще те въвлече с човешките си теми – майчинството, болестта, вината, приятелството, страховете.
Животът в „Злато“ прилича на състезателна писта – въртиш обиколки, мислиш, че напредваш, но се оказва, че се връщаш отново и отново на същото място. Единственото, което не спира и не можеш да надбягаш, е времето. То е и съдия, и съперник. Измерва успехите ти, но също така и загубите. Кара те да се питаш – достатъчно ли дадох? Твърде късно ли е? Има ли още време да се върна, да започна отначало, да избера отново?
Безкрайният кръг на пистата прилича на безкрайния кръговрат на живота – стартът и финалът често са на едно и също място. Могат да започнат от всеки метър по трасето, дори и след като си пресекъл финалната линия. Защото във вътрешните ни битки няма окончателно спечелени медали – има само още една обиколка, още едно усилие, още един избор. И дори когато изглежда, че всичко е приключило, животът пак продължава да се върти – в същата посока, с нови скорости.
В тази книга има и много за родителството – за онази тиха, невидима борба да дадеш на детето си сигурност, любов и присъствие. Виждаме как дете, което има безрезервната подкрепа на родител, пораства с емпатия към света. И как дете, израснало в мълчание и липса, се затваря – в себе си, в страха, в тялото си. Да обичаш и отглеждаш с отдадеността на родител е толкова трудна задача, колкото и да спечелиш олимпийски медал – и героите в „Злато“ го доказват с всяка своя постъпка. Състезанието не е само на пистата, а във всеки избор, който правиш за и със друг човек.
Не можех да я оставя. Поглъщах страниците. Имах чувството, че всяко изречение тежи, че всеки избор е мой, разбирах всяка от тези жени – и Зоуи, и Кейт. Силно препоръчвам "Злато" на всички читатели, тъй като за мен е почти универсална книга, която подхожда на много и различни вкусове.
March 13, 2013
In 2012 we had a Republican Senate Candidate make the claim that women who had been raped would not get pregnant because their bodies would emotionally shut down and reject the sperm. Here in this story we have the same argument in reverse. Zoe has everything wrong with her potential to get pregnant. Yet because of her deep unadmitted emotional feeling for Jack she becomes pregnant. So her emotional attachment could influence her body to become pregnant. The argument did not work for the Republican and it did not work here for me.
I could not suspend my disbelief that Jack and Kate would take the baby.
I could not suspend my disbelief that the Sophie would become critically ill at all the wrong times. Right before the Olympics and right before the big race.
I could not suspend my disbelief when Zoe wins the second race after Kate had beat her in the first, nor that Zoe would demand that Kate get back in the race in the third race.
This was just too much "deus ex machina" and contrived story line for me. I did skim through to the end and Sophie riding for Zoe as coach with Jack and Kate holding hands was too perfect. I like happy endings but this was ridiculous.
This is the first book that I have given this low a rating to and I think it richly deserves it.
I could not suspend my disbelief that Jack and Kate would take the baby.
I could not suspend my disbelief that the Sophie would become critically ill at all the wrong times. Right before the Olympics and right before the big race.
I could not suspend my disbelief when Zoe wins the second race after Kate had beat her in the first, nor that Zoe would demand that Kate get back in the race in the third race.
This was just too much "deus ex machina" and contrived story line for me. I did skim through to the end and Sophie riding for Zoe as coach with Jack and Kate holding hands was too perfect. I like happy endings but this was ridiculous.
This is the first book that I have given this low a rating to and I think it richly deserves it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 12, 2013
Ninety pages in, I found this embarrassment of a sentence: "Sex was cheap money that you could print on demand and use to buy a reprieve from loneliness till morning." Deep. Those words were so cheesy, so ham-fisted, so cliched that I would have simply returned the book to the library were I not working toward my 2013 reading goal. What was another 200 pages or so?
After that, the really bad metaphors appeared about once every thirty pages. I don't understand how the editors didn't prevent words like this from being published: "...this new breed of men with cyclonic souls that sucked like Dysons and never needed their bag changed in order to keep on and on sucking."
I used to have I rule about not reading novels with women protagonists that are written by men. I relaxed that rule for a time, but this book is an argument for reinstating it.
After that, the really bad metaphors appeared about once every thirty pages. I don't understand how the editors didn't prevent words like this from being published: "...this new breed of men with cyclonic souls that sucked like Dysons and never needed their bag changed in order to keep on and on sucking."
I used to have I rule about not reading novels with women protagonists that are written by men. I relaxed that rule for a time, but this book is an argument for reinstating it.
February 2, 2021
Well, amazing read. I was not that interested in it at first, due to the Olympic Cycling aspect being of little to no interest to me. However, the fact that I soon was fully engaged and even enamored by the character and inside lives of such individuals is a testament to Cleave's writing skills.
This book is about a lot of things. On the surface, it is about Olympic Cycling, friendships, decision making, parenting, and Leukemia. Under the surface, it is about trainer-athlete relationships, competition, choosing priorities in life & living with the consequences of your decision, knowing when to draw the line in all different situations, a child's coping mechanisms through role-play, transitioning from the prime of your life to the more subtle, post-prime era, complex friendships, career over love, hope, regret, love, loss... and so much more.
The book spokes out from five central characters, which is symbolized by the recurring motif of the five interlacing Olympic rings. Zoe, a girl who is sometimes hard to understand and love (but so much like me that I can only identify with), Catherine, the poster girl for sweet, kind-hearted, does everything for her family young woman, Jack, the shared love interest of these two women, Sophie, the "sick" child bravely battling Leukemia in Star Wars fashion (I say "sick" because she makes it look easy), and Tom, the coach for the two women, who is "closer" to Zoe, mostly because she needs him more, although he loves and cares for his two best pupils equally.
Well-written, smooth transitioning (from the present to the vignettes that paint the portrait of how ingrained the attachment of the five characters' lives are), many lessons to be gleaned, and a redemptive ending, Cleave is on my favorites list.
This book is about a lot of things. On the surface, it is about Olympic Cycling, friendships, decision making, parenting, and Leukemia. Under the surface, it is about trainer-athlete relationships, competition, choosing priorities in life & living with the consequences of your decision, knowing when to draw the line in all different situations, a child's coping mechanisms through role-play, transitioning from the prime of your life to the more subtle, post-prime era, complex friendships, career over love, hope, regret, love, loss... and so much more.
The book spokes out from five central characters, which is symbolized by the recurring motif of the five interlacing Olympic rings. Zoe, a girl who is sometimes hard to understand and love (but so much like me that I can only identify with), Catherine, the poster girl for sweet, kind-hearted, does everything for her family young woman, Jack, the shared love interest of these two women, Sophie, the "sick" child bravely battling Leukemia in Star Wars fashion (I say "sick" because she makes it look easy), and Tom, the coach for the two women, who is "closer" to Zoe, mostly because she needs him more, although he loves and cares for his two best pupils equally.
Well-written, smooth transitioning (from the present to the vignettes that paint the portrait of how ingrained the attachment of the five characters' lives are), many lessons to be gleaned, and a redemptive ending, Cleave is on my favorites list.
July 31, 2012
There are quite a few very negative comments on this book. It just proves once again how different we are as readers and what our expectations are of a "good read". I gave GOLD 5 stars. I thought it was an excellent read that kept my interest level high all the way through.
It is the story of 3 world class cyclists, training for the 2012 Olympics. The 2 females, Kate & Zoe are best friends and best rivals, competing on the same team for the Gold medal. The 3rd cyclist is Jack, who ends up marrying Kate. All 3 of these friends lives become so intertwined. Even though this is not a "sports" novel, per se, it does give insight into the life of an athlete, showing the intense focus, blinding exertion and uncompromising committment to the sport. It allowed me to feel some of that extreme nerve wracking tension and physical exertion without leaving my reading chair.
Kate & Zoe are both 32 years of age now and are both training for their last and biggest race - the 2012 Olympics in London. Each of them wants to win the Gold, desperately. Kate has a very ill daughter, going through treatment for Leukemia. Does she give up her Olympic dream to put her daughter's health ahead of anything else? Zoe is a strange woman in the sense that she is aloof, has no real human companionship of any sort and is extremely intense. She will win the Gold regardless of the cost. She is completely obssessed.
What happens to athletes after the Big Race and they are too old to continue? What is life like after sports when all you know is training to be the best?
I recommend this book, even if others don't!
It is the story of 3 world class cyclists, training for the 2012 Olympics. The 2 females, Kate & Zoe are best friends and best rivals, competing on the same team for the Gold medal. The 3rd cyclist is Jack, who ends up marrying Kate. All 3 of these friends lives become so intertwined. Even though this is not a "sports" novel, per se, it does give insight into the life of an athlete, showing the intense focus, blinding exertion and uncompromising committment to the sport. It allowed me to feel some of that extreme nerve wracking tension and physical exertion without leaving my reading chair.
Kate & Zoe are both 32 years of age now and are both training for their last and biggest race - the 2012 Olympics in London. Each of them wants to win the Gold, desperately. Kate has a very ill daughter, going through treatment for Leukemia. Does she give up her Olympic dream to put her daughter's health ahead of anything else? Zoe is a strange woman in the sense that she is aloof, has no real human companionship of any sort and is extremely intense. She will win the Gold regardless of the cost. She is completely obssessed.
What happens to athletes after the Big Race and they are too old to continue? What is life like after sports when all you know is training to be the best?
I recommend this book, even if others don't!
April 29, 2015
Sh*t happens.
Sometimes it's your fault. You make bad decisions. You decide to push when you shouldn't. You sleep with the wrong person. You have unprotected sex when you should have used a condom. You say hurtful things to someone when you should have kept your mouth shut.
Other times, the sh*t is just the universe's random happenings. Your child gets cancer. Your mom commits suicide. A car runs over the only person who ever really loved and understood you.
This story of Chris Cleave's is personal. I like personal. His first two books: INCENDIARY and LITTLE BEE used personal stories but had an overarching message. In INCENDIARY it was: Terrorism is bad, mmmkay? And in LITTLE BEE it was: refugees and immigrants are humans who deserve the same chances as natural citizens...mmmmkay? But this book had no message, and that made it better.
Kate and Zoe have been rivals and (?)friends(?) in their quest for gold medal after gold medal in the Olympics. They race bikes. Kate is married to another racer and the "third" in their little triangle, Jack - another gold medalist.
What's more important? Family or winning? Ah - not so fast. Sometimes winning and being a champion is the only thing that keeps a person going - keeps a person sane. Kate and Jack are watching their daughter, Sophie, die slowly of leukemia. Zoe is battling demons from her past. She either is crazy or is just a hairsbreadth away from crazy. Her tenuous and touching almost-friendship with Kate and Jack is frightening and realistic.
Racing takes these people away from real life. Away from their problems. It's a release, an escape. It's a godsend.
But new Olympic rulings have stated that only one of the women can compete in this year's Olympics. Who needs to win more, Kate or Zoe? And which woman, if she loses, will fall apart, or explode - bringing herself down and everyone around her down as well?
Cleave thankfully changes it up in this novel by giving us some male narrators to go along with his usual female ones. Like always, he writes great women and I really had no problem believing what they were thinking and doing.
One of the best aspects of this novel is the narration from Sophie, the cancer-riddled 8-year-old. The heartbreaking thing, the concept that shatters you is not that she's dying. It's not that she suffers, is sick, vomits, undergoes chemo, and faints. No. What wrenches your heart out is that she struggles so hard to be strong and brave for her parents. She feels like she always has to smile and say she's fine even though she feels like hell, because her parents are fragile and she has to protect them. In asking her to be "brave" and "defiant", in asking her to battle the cancer and never give in to the death that is consuming her - her parents are placing a horrible burden on the child. She sees their faces clench when she's in pain - so she makes sure to hide her pain from them at all costs. She knows they lose sleep with worry when she vomits - so she tries her damnedest to do it in secret when no one can hear. Instead of buoying her up with their constant encouragement, Kate and Jack have created an environment in which their child is afraid to express even her most basic fears and needs.
But you, the reader, understand why they are doing this. You understand that they are trying their best - that they love Sophie beyond belief. They are such great people. Brave, flawed, and tired.
This is the best aspect of GOLD. Even characters that are making questionable choices - you understand why they are making these choices. You understand their thoughts, their decision-making processes, their doubts, their hopes. Even when pleading with a character not to do something, you understand exactly why she or he is doing it.
That is Cleave's biggest gift in this book - you like an understand everybody. There is no evil. There is no villain. Just messed-up people in messed-up lives trying to survive. Sometimes they do the right thing and you cheer for them. Sometimes they do the wrong thing, and your heart breaks for them. But either way, you understand them and care for them.
Sometimes it's your fault. You make bad decisions. You decide to push when you shouldn't. You sleep with the wrong person. You have unprotected sex when you should have used a condom. You say hurtful things to someone when you should have kept your mouth shut.
Other times, the sh*t is just the universe's random happenings. Your child gets cancer. Your mom commits suicide. A car runs over the only person who ever really loved and understood you.
This story of Chris Cleave's is personal. I like personal. His first two books: INCENDIARY and LITTLE BEE used personal stories but had an overarching message. In INCENDIARY it was: Terrorism is bad, mmmkay? And in LITTLE BEE it was: refugees and immigrants are humans who deserve the same chances as natural citizens...mmmmkay? But this book had no message, and that made it better.
Kate and Zoe have been rivals and (?)friends(?) in their quest for gold medal after gold medal in the Olympics. They race bikes. Kate is married to another racer and the "third" in their little triangle, Jack - another gold medalist.
What's more important? Family or winning? Ah - not so fast. Sometimes winning and being a champion is the only thing that keeps a person going - keeps a person sane. Kate and Jack are watching their daughter, Sophie, die slowly of leukemia. Zoe is battling demons from her past. She either is crazy or is just a hairsbreadth away from crazy. Her tenuous and touching almost-friendship with Kate and Jack is frightening and realistic.
Racing takes these people away from real life. Away from their problems. It's a release, an escape. It's a godsend.
But new Olympic rulings have stated that only one of the women can compete in this year's Olympics. Who needs to win more, Kate or Zoe? And which woman, if she loses, will fall apart, or explode - bringing herself down and everyone around her down as well?
Cleave thankfully changes it up in this novel by giving us some male narrators to go along with his usual female ones. Like always, he writes great women and I really had no problem believing what they were thinking and doing.
One of the best aspects of this novel is the narration from Sophie, the cancer-riddled 8-year-old. The heartbreaking thing, the concept that shatters you is not that she's dying. It's not that she suffers, is sick, vomits, undergoes chemo, and faints. No. What wrenches your heart out is that she struggles so hard to be strong and brave for her parents. She feels like she always has to smile and say she's fine even though she feels like hell, because her parents are fragile and she has to protect them. In asking her to be "brave" and "defiant", in asking her to battle the cancer and never give in to the death that is consuming her - her parents are placing a horrible burden on the child. She sees their faces clench when she's in pain - so she makes sure to hide her pain from them at all costs. She knows they lose sleep with worry when she vomits - so she tries her damnedest to do it in secret when no one can hear. Instead of buoying her up with their constant encouragement, Kate and Jack have created an environment in which their child is afraid to express even her most basic fears and needs.
But you, the reader, understand why they are doing this. You understand that they are trying their best - that they love Sophie beyond belief. They are such great people. Brave, flawed, and tired.
This is the best aspect of GOLD. Even characters that are making questionable choices - you understand why they are making these choices. You understand their thoughts, their decision-making processes, their doubts, their hopes. Even when pleading with a character not to do something, you understand exactly why she or he is doing it.
That is Cleave's biggest gift in this book - you like an understand everybody. There is no evil. There is no villain. Just messed-up people in messed-up lives trying to survive. Sometimes they do the right thing and you cheer for them. Sometimes they do the wrong thing, and your heart breaks for them. But either way, you understand them and care for them.
May 8, 2024
Поредният развълнувал ме роман на Крис Клийв! Привидно това е една история за спорта, за надпреварата между две приятелки за златния олимпийски медал в колоезденето, за печеленето и губенето. Както може да се предположи обаче, с вече познатото ни от предишните му романи майсторство, Клийв навлиза дълбоко в характера и поведението на персонажите си, така че тази история надхвърля чистата спортна фабула.
Докато четях за Зоуи и Кейт, си мислех за моето късно открито приятелство със спорта.
Дълго време съзнателно странях от него като нещо, което не е за мен, но и някак не ми е нужно, докато в една сравнително зряла възраст не осъзнах колко много дава той и как може да спасява.
Защото спортът е дестилирана философия на живеенето, която умело укротява трескавостта и тревожността. (Във все повече психологически статии се посочва, че болестта на нашето време е тревожността и умението да намираме радост в несигурността.)
Наред с добре познатите ни клишета за дисциплината, мотивираността, умението за сътрудничество, спортът прави много и за удържане на егото. А с него си имаме работа постоянно.
Та, много неща си открих в тази книга. За трудния избор да си майка в професионалния спорт, за победата като заместител, за детската травма, която така и не си тръгва от нас. И, разбира се, за това, че въпреки чупливостта и наранеността си, успяваме да намерим сила за правилния избор. А той тежи повече от злато.
Докато четях за Зоуи и Кейт, си мислех за моето късно открито приятелство със спорта.
Дълго време съзнателно странях от него като нещо, което не е за мен, но и някак не ми е нужно, докато в една сравнително зряла възраст не осъзнах колко много дава той и как може да спасява.
Защото спортът е дестилирана философия на живеенето, която умело укротява трескавостта и тревожността. (Във все повече психологически статии се посочва, че болестта на нашето време е тревожността и умението да намираме радост в несигурността.)
Наред с добре познатите ни клишета за дисциплината, мотивираността, умението за сътрудничество, спортът прави много и за удържане на егото. А с него си имаме работа постоянно.
Та, много неща си открих в тази книга. За трудния избор да си майка в професионалния спорт, за победата като заместител, за детската травма, която така и не си тръгва от нас. И, разбира се, за това, че въпреки чупливостта и наранеността си, успяваме да намерим сила за правилния избор. А той тежи повече от злато.
December 14, 2015
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.
May 31, 2012
I feel bad about this. I know people are really excited for this book. And I expect most people will give this book 4 or 5 stars. But it had problems I could not get past.
Gold is about 2 world-class cyclists who are training partners and friends in addition to being rivals. Zoe is cold and focused, Kate is warm and willing to sacrifice her sport for her family. Kate's sacrifices happen an awful lot as her daughter, Sophie, has leukemia.
Cleave has in the past shown some pretty impressive plotting, and he uses a lot of flashbacks to tell his story here. The way he unfolds his story is quite good. It's the story itself that made me crazy. The characters are all focused on Olympic gold, and it just so happens that every single plot point along the way happens exactly at the time of the Olympics. The 4 years in between are just filler. As more of the story was revealed, I found myself more frustrated and feeling like I was being manipulated instead of watching a story unfold.
(There's also a decent amount of suspension of disbelief required. I've never heard the names of any Olympic-caliber cyclists. I've never heard of them being on billboards. And the idea that the two best in the world would be so far above their competition that their only competition is each other and they happen to live in the same country and they happen to have the same coach and they happen to train together every day... well, it gets difficult.)
Character was a problem as well. The Saintly Sick Child is an easy way to turn me against you. Young Sophie is completely selfless, cares only for her parents' wellbeing, and has an obsession with Star Wars that goes beyond obsession into just plain silly.
And Sophie is just one example of the characters here who act more as cliches than people. Kate and her husband Jack are kind, caring, perfect parents. Zoe is troubled by her past and seems to have no redeeming qualities.
And it's all a real shame because there are moments in the book that are quite good and the potential in a plot about two friends who are rivals is significant.
Still, I don't suspect any of this will prevent it from becoming just as popular as Little Bee, if not more. I expect to be one of the few naysayers.
Gold is about 2 world-class cyclists who are training partners and friends in addition to being rivals. Zoe is cold and focused, Kate is warm and willing to sacrifice her sport for her family. Kate's sacrifices happen an awful lot as her daughter, Sophie, has leukemia.
Cleave has in the past shown some pretty impressive plotting, and he uses a lot of flashbacks to tell his story here. The way he unfolds his story is quite good. It's the story itself that made me crazy. The characters are all focused on Olympic gold, and it just so happens that every single plot point along the way happens exactly at the time of the Olympics. The 4 years in between are just filler. As more of the story was revealed, I found myself more frustrated and feeling like I was being manipulated instead of watching a story unfold.
(There's also a decent amount of suspension of disbelief required. I've never heard the names of any Olympic-caliber cyclists. I've never heard of them being on billboards. And the idea that the two best in the world would be so far above their competition that their only competition is each other and they happen to live in the same country and they happen to have the same coach and they happen to train together every day... well, it gets difficult.)
Character was a problem as well. The Saintly Sick Child is an easy way to turn me against you. Young Sophie is completely selfless, cares only for her parents' wellbeing, and has an obsession with Star Wars that goes beyond obsession into just plain silly.
And Sophie is just one example of the characters here who act more as cliches than people. Kate and her husband Jack are kind, caring, perfect parents. Zoe is troubled by her past and seems to have no redeeming qualities.
And it's all a real shame because there are moments in the book that are quite good and the potential in a plot about two friends who are rivals is significant.
Still, I don't suspect any of this will prevent it from becoming just as popular as Little Bee, if not more. I expect to be one of the few naysayers.
May 24, 2014
Zoe and Kate are cyclist at the very top of their game, with almost nothing to choose between them in their chosen discipline of the sprint. They have been rivals and friends ever since they were on the elite training scheme together.
Kate is married to Jack, another British cycling star who has been a gold medal holder in the past. With Kate they have a daughter Sophie, who is a Star Wars nut, but she is tragically suffering from Leukaemia. Kate and jack are flat out with her care and training and the strain is beginning to tell.
All three of these athletes have a complex personal relationship with each other. Jack is physically and mentally strong, Kate is a top performing cyclist who has missed medal opportunities because of Sophie's health, and Zoe is strong and uses psychological intimidation on her rivals to beat them before turning a pedal.
With the rule changes from the IOC it means that only Zoe or Kate can be selected for the Olympic sprint. As Sophie's health deteriorates, the personal pressure builds and the tension between them increases to almost breaking point in the race off they have to hold.
Cleave has written a completely believable story based around three athletes in the velodrome. He has managed to capture the thrills, tactics and brutal speed that the sprint competition has. The complicated relationships between the thee characters means that the plot has the same slow moments of a race, along with awesome speed at certain points. Parts of the story are where he looks back at past events in the characters lives, filling in the detail for the narrative that is unfolding. It is very nicely done, as these sometime don't work well.
Overall all it reads like the sprint race that the book is centred around; slow at times, moments of tension, and a truly breathing finale.
Kate is married to Jack, another British cycling star who has been a gold medal holder in the past. With Kate they have a daughter Sophie, who is a Star Wars nut, but she is tragically suffering from Leukaemia. Kate and jack are flat out with her care and training and the strain is beginning to tell.
All three of these athletes have a complex personal relationship with each other. Jack is physically and mentally strong, Kate is a top performing cyclist who has missed medal opportunities because of Sophie's health, and Zoe is strong and uses psychological intimidation on her rivals to beat them before turning a pedal.
With the rule changes from the IOC it means that only Zoe or Kate can be selected for the Olympic sprint. As Sophie's health deteriorates, the personal pressure builds and the tension between them increases to almost breaking point in the race off they have to hold.
Cleave has written a completely believable story based around three athletes in the velodrome. He has managed to capture the thrills, tactics and brutal speed that the sprint competition has. The complicated relationships between the thee characters means that the plot has the same slow moments of a race, along with awesome speed at certain points. Parts of the story are where he looks back at past events in the characters lives, filling in the detail for the narrative that is unfolding. It is very nicely done, as these sometime don't work well.
Overall all it reads like the sprint race that the book is centred around; slow at times, moments of tension, and a truly breathing finale.
July 26, 2012
I read this because it was Newsweek's book club's summer pick. "Gold" follows three track cycling athletes as they prepare for the 2012 Olympics, flashing back to past competitions and personal conflicts. I could tell that the book was well-researched; it was interesting to get a glimpse of the dedication and single-mindedness it takes to train for a sport at this elite level. (Side recommendation: a far superior book about professional dedication and training is Tom Wolfe's The Right Stuff )
The part that lagged was the exposition of the main characters' personal lives. Cleave took a page out of the Nicholas Sparks playbook with an overwrought, schmaltzy kid-with-cancer subplot. The sickness trumped any character development, and, of course, conveniently got worse at critical plot points. The central love triangle relied on tired character tropes, as well. The characters even spoke in cliches when arguing, joking, and communicating their feelings. I'd get it if Cleave was just trying to relay that these are single-minded athletes, not especially clever, eloquent people, but overall, it just felt like lazy writing.
The part that lagged was the exposition of the main characters' personal lives. Cleave took a page out of the Nicholas Sparks playbook with an overwrought, schmaltzy kid-with-cancer subplot. The sickness trumped any character development, and, of course, conveniently got worse at critical plot points. The central love triangle relied on tired character tropes, as well. The characters even spoke in cliches when arguing, joking, and communicating their feelings. I'd get it if Cleave was just trying to relay that these are single-minded athletes, not especially clever, eloquent people, but overall, it just felt like lazy writing.
February 10, 2025
На какво си готов за победата? Кое е по-важно и същевременно трудно - златният медал и желанието винаги да си първи или успешното преодоляване на житейските трудности?
Авторът прави психологически портрет на две жени, които са добри и успешни колоездачки. Двете са много различни, но едната надделява с интриги и психологически игри над другата. Зоуи е объркана млада жена, готова на всичко за победата. Кейт е с благороден характер и не е така агресивна. Едната е нахъсана, другата - иска победата, но мекият характер и състрадателното ѝ сърце я извеждат на житейската писта, която е не по-лесна от олимпийската. Противопоставянето на двата характера ни кара да симпатизираме на Кейт, но може би Зоуи има нужда само от приятелска ръка и подкрепа да се пребори с демоните си.
Романът е тежък, но авторът пише увлекателно и е успял да балансира сюжета. Описал е изключителното преживяване при въртенето на педалите, предела на силите, изопването на мускулите и усещанията при бързото каране на колело. Много емоционални са моментите със Софи и нейното заболяване. С навлизането в историята, разбираме тайните и действията на героите. Краят ми допадна и ме остави с хубави чувства.
Авторът прави психологически портрет на две жени, които са добри и успешни колоездачки. Двете са много различни, но едната надделява с интриги и психологически игри над другата. Зоуи е объркана млада жена, готова на всичко за победата. Кейт е с благороден характер и не е така агресивна. Едната е нахъсана, другата - иска победата, но мекият характер и състрадателното ѝ сърце я извеждат на житейската писта, която е не по-лесна от олимпийската. Противопоставянето на двата характера ни кара да симпатизираме на Кейт, но може би Зоуи има нужда само от приятелска ръка и подкрепа да се пребори с демоните си.
Романът е тежък, но авторът пише увлекателно и е успял да балансира сюжета. Описал е изключителното преживяване при въртенето на педалите, предела на силите, изопването на мускулите и усещанията при бързото каране на колело. Много емоционални са моментите със Софи и нейното заболяване. С навлизането в историята, разбираме тайните и действията на героите. Краят ми допадна и ме остави с хубави чувства.
June 12, 2012
What an emotionally intense and powerful read I found this to be, who knew? When I first started reading this novel I thought "Super, a book about Olympic caliber cyclists" which was for me of interest in and of itself. Yet this book was so much more, Cleave has an unusual talent in developing characters that are easy to identify with. Yes it is about the athletes conditioning, dieting and training, which I found to be absolutely amazing, but it is about friendship and sacrifice as well. Loved the character of little Sophie and her total love of all things Star Wars, but my favorite character was the old trainer Tom. Loved his private musings and his crusty old knowledge. This is a novel that slowly sucks you in and I found myself almost holding my breath at the end. Another wonderful novel by Cleave. ARC by NetGalley.
December 15, 2020
What happens when two people compete for number one?? When they put their hearts out there and work so hard to win, but one of them must lose?
Chris Cleave yet again takes us through the emotional rollercoaster ride of what it takes to be number one... the implications behind it, and what it entails in giving up. This was indeed an emotional book, another great storytelling by Cleave, which leaves no room for slow pace. It keeps you engaged through, and them BAM... the twist at the end!
Highly recommended, especially for sports fanatics.
Chris Cleave yet again takes us through the emotional rollercoaster ride of what it takes to be number one... the implications behind it, and what it entails in giving up. This was indeed an emotional book, another great storytelling by Cleave, which leaves no room for slow pace. It keeps you engaged through, and them BAM... the twist at the end!
Highly recommended, especially for sports fanatics.
July 19, 2012
The first half of the novel was disappointing - I just kept looking for the Chris Cleave of Incendiary and Little Bee and could not find it. Once the real tension surfaced, the author I remembered did as well. Patience is the key, and the last 1/3 will reward the reader for the build up time. Perhaps I was not as enamored with the beginning because I have some connections to the competitive spirits and dilemmas described. The novel undoubtedly connects on a different level for anyone who participates or defines herself in the context of a competitive world.
February 25, 2016
Este livro, o primeiro do autor Chris Cleave que li, surpreendeu-me bastante.
Mal comecei as primeiras páginas, deixei-me levar pelas ondas literárias, absolutamente deslumbrado com a arte da escrita. E não só a escrita também a história em si que achei muito interessante: os treinos intensivos do ciclismo para os Jogos Olímpicos, a intensidade das emoções quando se vence ou se perde numa corrida, a relação entre as duas ciclistas rivais que pedalavam lado a lado como amantes precisando uma da outra, e tudo o resto.
Neste livro, conhecemos os três ciclistas: a Zoe, a Kate e o Jack. O autor tem uma habilidade especial para recuar ao passado. Estamos no presente e recuamos quando eles recordam o seu passado. À medida que lemos sob a musicalidade da prosa poética e no vaivém temporal, vamos nos sentindo mais próximos dos três heróis, mais eles se tornam transparentes aos nossos olhos, com as suas fraquezas e segredos expostos. Temos a Sophie, uma menina especial de 8 anos, com leucemia. Uma menina com uma imaginação fabulosa e força interior. Mas, acima de tudo, é a força do AMOR que vencerá; Jack e Kate são um casal exemplar que farão tudo por ela.
No fundo da história, dorme um segredo bombástico. Só lendo, descortinando as frases, mergulhando na profundidade dos três ciclistas ao longo dos anos, desde os seus 19 anos aos 32 anos, este segredo emergirá ao de cima para nos surpreender.
Adorei o final e senti-me bastante tocado!
Este livro é como uma homenagem aos ciclistas olimpíadas, às crianças com leucemia e aos pais destas crianças.
Não conhecia bem o ciclismo no Velódromo e agora tenho uma elevada consideração pelos ciclistas, o tormento por que eles passam para vencer e as recaídas nas desilusões por uma fração de segundo…
« O ciclismo é duro. Os treinos são brutais e implacáveis, as corridas desesperadas e perigosas. (…) Existem barreiras de dor física e emocional que eles conseguem ultrapassar (…) São pessoas extremamente corajosas (…).»
Aqui deixo o vídeo sobre o "sprint feminino" realizado nos Jogos Olimpicos 2012 em Londres, tal como a Zoe e a Kate competiram no livro.
Link do video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CkmmXSs-ooQ&feature=player_embedded
«Que as suas vitórias sejam recordadas, e as suas personalidades celebradas, para sempre.»
September 5, 2012
There is a lot more wrong with this book than there is right, which is to say that while there are some touching scenes, it is overall really really bad.
Chris Cleave, whose Little Bee struck me as rather overrated and overly cute, takes on the Olympics and kids with cancer. I am making a new rule: stop writing about kids with cancer. It is the new Holocaust. What a nifty way to ensure that your readers will care about your characters without you having to, say, create characters. As to the Olympics, yet another cop out - hmmmm let's see, I will make a very driven character, and have all this tension built in as to whether or not she will win - voila! Sheer laziness.
This book read like a soap opera - two women vying for a gold medal, AND the same man, and even the same daughter! Meanwhile Kate is the sweet girl who just doesn't want it bad enough while Zoe is the appallingly obnoxious stereotypical stop at nothing witch who somehow manages to be all cozy with Kate and her near perfect husband Jake. This was written largely in summary form with a lot of silly flashbacks that were written so self consciously I kept cringing.
I give this two stars begrudgingly because at some suspenseful moments I cared enough to see what would happen, so that's something, I guess. But overall? This was one big gimmick.
Chris Cleave, whose Little Bee struck me as rather overrated and overly cute, takes on the Olympics and kids with cancer. I am making a new rule: stop writing about kids with cancer. It is the new Holocaust. What a nifty way to ensure that your readers will care about your characters without you having to, say, create characters. As to the Olympics, yet another cop out - hmmmm let's see, I will make a very driven character, and have all this tension built in as to whether or not she will win - voila! Sheer laziness.
This book read like a soap opera - two women vying for a gold medal, AND the same man, and even the same daughter! Meanwhile Kate is the sweet girl who just doesn't want it bad enough while Zoe is the appallingly obnoxious stereotypical stop at nothing witch who somehow manages to be all cozy with Kate and her near perfect husband Jake. This was written largely in summary form with a lot of silly flashbacks that were written so self consciously I kept cringing.
I give this two stars begrudgingly because at some suspenseful moments I cared enough to see what would happen, so that's something, I guess. But overall? This was one big gimmick.
August 11, 2012
I thought I'd be clever and read this during the Olympics and then write up a little review, saying that I'd been clever and read it during the Olympics, and be done with it. But I'm scalded. Scorched. Drained. Breathless. Crossing the finish line won't be that simple.
This book quite literally explodes with metaphor, narrative, and fascinating, technical information. There isn't a reason in the world not to read this, unless you are (a) have ever been a parent; or (b) you are currently under the care of a cardiologist .
What the hell. Take a chance. Push yourself. Read it.
This book quite literally explodes with metaphor, narrative, and fascinating, technical information. There isn't a reason in the world not to read this, unless you are (a) have ever been a parent; or (b) you are currently under the care of a cardiologist .
What the hell. Take a chance. Push yourself. Read it.
July 29, 2012
I try to avoid reading other reviews of books I’m reviewing until after I’ve turned my review into my editor. The only exception to this is when I want to double check that my reading of a murky plot point was correct. Gold was the first novel by Chris Cleave I’d read, and I knew that he had a reputation for writing literate and popular books, so I was surprised when I found the opening pages of it so off-putting.
Often my first impression of a book is the one that I carry through to the end of it, but there have been a few times when my initial impression of a book is overturned by what comes later. One other example of this is Joyce Carol Oates’ “The Gravedigger’s Daughter,” which was tedious at the beginning but became riveting about a hundred pages in. Likewise, Gold grew on me. The plot became exciting and the characters better developed. After I turned in my review, I read some other reviews of it, such as the one in the New York Times, and although I didn’t write this in my review, I agree with what they said that the sections about the cancer-stricken child feel manipulative. It’s hard to write about sick kids with the appropriate touch that Lorrie Moore managed, for example, in “People Like That Are the Only People Here.”
Anyway, here’s my review that ran in the Dallas Morning News:
Gold by Chris Cleave Takes Readers On a Spin
By JENNY SHANK Special Contributor
Published: 27 July 2012 12:18 PM
Chris Cleave’s new novel, Gold, which tells the story of three friends involved in a love triangle competing to make the British cycling team for the 2012 London Olympics, recovers from its wobbly start.
Gold opens with some flat descriptions, such as this of Zoe as she prepares to win the 2004 Olympic gold medal in sprint cycling: “Magazines loved her. She looked good in clothes. She was beautiful.” Cleave uses unnecessary words that adverb referees Mark Twain and Stephen King would blow the whistle on, and he inflicts several strained metaphors and clichés, often involving the heart. Zoe’s cardiac system is busy — “her heart surged,” and a few pages later, her “heart was still snagged on the wire of the fence her friend had put up between them.”
But you can’t keep a pro like the international best-selling author of Little Bee down for long. Cleave writes of the physical experience of cycling at top speed with clarity and vigor. After the warm-up chapters, Gold takes off and develops into a gripping tale with many surprising turns on the way to its photo-finish climax.
As the book opens, Zoe is in Athens, racing for gold, while her training partner Kate is home in Manchester. “She had shared a coach with Zoe and trained with her and beaten her in the Nationals and the Worlds,” Cleave writes. “And then, in the final year of preparation for Athens, baby Sophie had arrived.” Adding to the sting of missing the Olympics is the fact that Kate’s fiancé, Jack Argall, is also in Athens racing for gold, and we soon learn that there is some tortured romantic history between Zoe and Jack, and that Zoe, a psychological train- wreck, can never be trusted.
The narrative skips ahead to 2012, when Sophie is 8 and suffering from leukemia. Zoe and Jack, now married, divide their days into four-hour chunks, trading off training for the Olympics and caring for Sophie. Cleave writes several chapters from the perspective of Sophie, who is obsessed with Star Wars and sees her fight against leukemia as the effort to fire “the Death Star’s destructor beam into the limitless constellations of space and hit exactly the right target.” The Sophie chapters are full of convincing details that prove Zoe’s eventual realization that “looking after a very sick child was the Olympics of parenting.”
Cleave ratchets up the suspense as the British Olympic committee announces only one cyclist can compete in the 2012 Olympics. The mystery of the three cyclists deepens as Cleave reveals their pasts, detailing the grief that drove Zoe to become a Machiavellian competitor who uses clever tricks to destabilize her opponents, such as sending a text message from Jack’s phone to hers that she knows Kate will see.
As Zoe and Kate race to determine who will represent Britain at the Olympics and Sophie struggles through a health scare, the pages of Gold fly by, leaving the reader’s pulse as quickened as those of the athletes.
Jenny Shank’s first novel, The Ringer, is a finalist for the High Plains Book Award in fiction.
Gold
Chris Cleave
(Simon & Schuster, $27)
Often my first impression of a book is the one that I carry through to the end of it, but there have been a few times when my initial impression of a book is overturned by what comes later. One other example of this is Joyce Carol Oates’ “The Gravedigger’s Daughter,” which was tedious at the beginning but became riveting about a hundred pages in. Likewise, Gold grew on me. The plot became exciting and the characters better developed. After I turned in my review, I read some other reviews of it, such as the one in the New York Times, and although I didn’t write this in my review, I agree with what they said that the sections about the cancer-stricken child feel manipulative. It’s hard to write about sick kids with the appropriate touch that Lorrie Moore managed, for example, in “People Like That Are the Only People Here.”
Anyway, here’s my review that ran in the Dallas Morning News:
Gold by Chris Cleave Takes Readers On a Spin
By JENNY SHANK Special Contributor
Published: 27 July 2012 12:18 PM
Chris Cleave’s new novel, Gold, which tells the story of three friends involved in a love triangle competing to make the British cycling team for the 2012 London Olympics, recovers from its wobbly start.
Gold opens with some flat descriptions, such as this of Zoe as she prepares to win the 2004 Olympic gold medal in sprint cycling: “Magazines loved her. She looked good in clothes. She was beautiful.” Cleave uses unnecessary words that adverb referees Mark Twain and Stephen King would blow the whistle on, and he inflicts several strained metaphors and clichés, often involving the heart. Zoe’s cardiac system is busy — “her heart surged,” and a few pages later, her “heart was still snagged on the wire of the fence her friend had put up between them.”
But you can’t keep a pro like the international best-selling author of Little Bee down for long. Cleave writes of the physical experience of cycling at top speed with clarity and vigor. After the warm-up chapters, Gold takes off and develops into a gripping tale with many surprising turns on the way to its photo-finish climax.
As the book opens, Zoe is in Athens, racing for gold, while her training partner Kate is home in Manchester. “She had shared a coach with Zoe and trained with her and beaten her in the Nationals and the Worlds,” Cleave writes. “And then, in the final year of preparation for Athens, baby Sophie had arrived.” Adding to the sting of missing the Olympics is the fact that Kate’s fiancé, Jack Argall, is also in Athens racing for gold, and we soon learn that there is some tortured romantic history between Zoe and Jack, and that Zoe, a psychological train- wreck, can never be trusted.
The narrative skips ahead to 2012, when Sophie is 8 and suffering from leukemia. Zoe and Jack, now married, divide their days into four-hour chunks, trading off training for the Olympics and caring for Sophie. Cleave writes several chapters from the perspective of Sophie, who is obsessed with Star Wars and sees her fight against leukemia as the effort to fire “the Death Star’s destructor beam into the limitless constellations of space and hit exactly the right target.” The Sophie chapters are full of convincing details that prove Zoe’s eventual realization that “looking after a very sick child was the Olympics of parenting.”
Cleave ratchets up the suspense as the British Olympic committee announces only one cyclist can compete in the 2012 Olympics. The mystery of the three cyclists deepens as Cleave reveals their pasts, detailing the grief that drove Zoe to become a Machiavellian competitor who uses clever tricks to destabilize her opponents, such as sending a text message from Jack’s phone to hers that she knows Kate will see.
As Zoe and Kate race to determine who will represent Britain at the Olympics and Sophie struggles through a health scare, the pages of Gold fly by, leaving the reader’s pulse as quickened as those of the athletes.
Jenny Shank’s first novel, The Ringer, is a finalist for the High Plains Book Award in fiction.
Gold
Chris Cleave
(Simon & Schuster, $27)
July 15, 2018
I know it is hard to not compare an author's previous work their current work but it worked out well for me because I read "Little Bee" at least ten years ago so I've had time to separate Cleave's work.
I thoroughly enjoyed "Gold" and I know I did because I could not put it down. I was thrown into the cycling world with Kate and Zoe, both are world class cyclist vying for their last shot of Olympic gold... get this, they are also long time friends.
I loved how fast paced the book was, my only draw back was how devoid of character development in the book was. I really wished Cleave spent another 50-60 pages developing the characters. I cannot say I cared for Zoe and Kate on a personal level but I did enjoy plot.
A thrilling read.
I thoroughly enjoyed "Gold" and I know I did because I could not put it down. I was thrown into the cycling world with Kate and Zoe, both are world class cyclist vying for their last shot of Olympic gold... get this, they are also long time friends.
I loved how fast paced the book was, my only draw back was how devoid of character development in the book was. I really wished Cleave spent another 50-60 pages developing the characters. I cannot say I cared for Zoe and Kate on a personal level but I did enjoy plot.
A thrilling read.
April 1, 2012
I am not particularly interested in sport, neither as participant nor spectator so if I hadn't been swept away by Chris Cleave's previous writing, it is doubtful that I'd have picked up a novel with 3 Olympic cyclists as key characters. Anyone who passes over Gold for this reason is passing up on the chance of a whirlwind of a reading experience so don't let those miserable memories of despotic PE teachers put you off and give your brain a gentle work out in the process.
So, let's set the (Olympic..) record straight, this is not a novel about sporting superhumans, even though they are pretty impressive...we dig deep and discover what makes real people tick when faced with adversary, when illness of a loved one brings you to your knees and you're powerless to do anything but hope that your child is one of the 9 in 10 who survive.
Gold focuses on the experiences of five main characters - 8 year old Sophie who is fighting leukaemia, her parents Jack and Kate, Olympic cyclists preparing for the London games alongside their friend/rival Zoe and trainer Tom. All of the adults are nearing the end of their current careers and have one last shot at Olympic Gold whilst Sophie has the hardest fight of all, the battle to stay alive whilst undergoing aggressive treatment which lowers your defences even further. She uses her imagination and love of Star Wars to harness the Jedi force - anything which encourages a fighting spirit and a positive attitude is going to aid her in the ultimate battle - to stay alive.
From the opening pages, I was fully engaged and committed to this story. Cleave doesn't pull on our heartstrings by thrusting sugary-sweet, put upon characters on the reader, they're all flawed, fully fleshed and make the same mistakes as the rest of us mere mortals. Sophie's story is presented in gritty technicolour - there's no soft focus when she experiences the side effects of chemo or as her last hair falls out. Kate and Zoe have diametrically opposed public personas when it comes to the media - Kate is the people's princess, Zoe, the wicked witch with a touch of glam. I loved how we are drip-fed snippets of their back stories to explain how they are what they are in the present day. Tom the trainer has made these cyclists his focus and his family for so many years but now he has to acknowledge the ravages of time and take another path, one which will put less stress on his dodgy knees. Jack seems to be slightly at a loss, a bit piggy in the middle at times.
I was most pleasantly surprised by Gold - my only criticism is to do with the marketing of the novel rather than the novel itself. The whole device in the blurb about how this is where we normally tell you what the book is about but we're not going to tell you because you don't really need to know. For goodness sake, tell them what it's about and stop the superior self-importance.
Gold is probably the closest I'm going to get to the Olympics but, more importantly, if we all had an ounce of the fighting spirit displayed by young cancer patients like Sophie, we'd all be winners. Thank you Mr Cleave for a story well told.
So, let's set the (Olympic..) record straight, this is not a novel about sporting superhumans, even though they are pretty impressive...we dig deep and discover what makes real people tick when faced with adversary, when illness of a loved one brings you to your knees and you're powerless to do anything but hope that your child is one of the 9 in 10 who survive.
Gold focuses on the experiences of five main characters - 8 year old Sophie who is fighting leukaemia, her parents Jack and Kate, Olympic cyclists preparing for the London games alongside their friend/rival Zoe and trainer Tom. All of the adults are nearing the end of their current careers and have one last shot at Olympic Gold whilst Sophie has the hardest fight of all, the battle to stay alive whilst undergoing aggressive treatment which lowers your defences even further. She uses her imagination and love of Star Wars to harness the Jedi force - anything which encourages a fighting spirit and a positive attitude is going to aid her in the ultimate battle - to stay alive.
From the opening pages, I was fully engaged and committed to this story. Cleave doesn't pull on our heartstrings by thrusting sugary-sweet, put upon characters on the reader, they're all flawed, fully fleshed and make the same mistakes as the rest of us mere mortals. Sophie's story is presented in gritty technicolour - there's no soft focus when she experiences the side effects of chemo or as her last hair falls out. Kate and Zoe have diametrically opposed public personas when it comes to the media - Kate is the people's princess, Zoe, the wicked witch with a touch of glam. I loved how we are drip-fed snippets of their back stories to explain how they are what they are in the present day. Tom the trainer has made these cyclists his focus and his family for so many years but now he has to acknowledge the ravages of time and take another path, one which will put less stress on his dodgy knees. Jack seems to be slightly at a loss, a bit piggy in the middle at times.
I was most pleasantly surprised by Gold - my only criticism is to do with the marketing of the novel rather than the novel itself. The whole device in the blurb about how this is where we normally tell you what the book is about but we're not going to tell you because you don't really need to know. For goodness sake, tell them what it's about and stop the superior self-importance.
Gold is probably the closest I'm going to get to the Olympics but, more importantly, if we all had an ounce of the fighting spirit displayed by young cancer patients like Sophie, we'd all be winners. Thank you Mr Cleave for a story well told.
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