The God of Skiing

by Peter Kray

The God of Skiing, a breakthrough novel by award-winning journalist Peter Kray, is being celebrated as the most accurate, action-packed, soul-stirring book ever written about the sport of skiing. Reveling in the exploits of the legendary Tack Strau, an iconic East Coast racer whose stunning wins and spectacular crashes made him an instant celebrity on the NCAA race circuit, the book reads like a love letter to a sport built on gravity, speed, and the heartbreaking thrill of cold acceleration. When Strau suffers a potentially fatal fall after being signed by the U.S. Ski Team, then disappears, the book takes off on a whirlwind tour of the sport’s most storied slopes in an effort to find him. “Peter Kray is one of those special authors who pulls you into a story with every sentence, description and chapter,” said Porter Fox, author of Deep; the Story of Skiing and the Future of Snow. “Only a lifelong skier and writer like Kray could pull off the greatest ski novel of all time.” “A journal full of love, loss, and laughter…clearly conveying a deep love of skiing” – Mike Rogge, Powder Magazine “Kray captures this culture like no one has before. And yes, others have tried.” – Derek Taylor, Grind TV “This book speaks to the soul of the skier.” – Grayson Schaffer, Outside Magazine “The God of Skiing is good crazy—a mix of autobiography and fantasy that’ll have you both nodding your head and asking, ‘did that really happen?’” Lou Dawson, WildSnow “Kray’s delicious description of skiing, the addictive pull of gravity, and the fear we all face, is poetic and powerful.” – Heather Burke, Boston.com “Kray captures the essence of those blissful moments in between turns, face shots and fleeting glimpses of perfect nature—and delivers it to the reader as only he can.” – Mike Horn, Stokelab

Genres: Adventure

179 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2014

Reviews

[Cooper Denny · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe 2.5. I enjoyed the scenes depicting ski bum life sleeping on couches drinking beer and then going to the mountain all over again the next day. The descriptions of random women in every other chapter were a bit over the top and reminded me of Bukowski in a bad way. Everything was a bit too over romanticized for me. Good read while you are snowed in waiting to ski somewhere i suppose.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

From the first paragraph of the introduction, I was happy. I mean the following sentence in the most positive sense: Kray writes like a 1790s gothic novelist describing late 20th century ski culture, muddling and swirling metaphors in a short, fat glass, then garnishing with the sweetest cocktail cherry you’ve ever tasted. Sometimes the plot seems like an afterthought, but that doesn’t matter in the least; the plot does indeed run through the whole thing, and the pages drip with atmosphere. I didn’t intend to spend my whole afternoon reading this, but that’s what happened. I started it after lunch and didn’t make dinner until it was finished.

If you want to read this—and you should—good luck finding a copy, either at a bookstore or a library. I eventually had to resort to interlibrary loan, only to be told they couldn’t get it. I gave up. Then the library called me a few weeks later to tell me it had come in. If your local library gives you the runaround, tell them to check with the Salt Lake City library system, and you can probably get the same copy I just read.

[Jason Bernstein · Rating 2 out of 5]

Growing up skiing in the same generation with Kray, his settings, scenes, characters and vibe resonated with me. But the writing is that of a middling high school student -- endless nonsensical metaphors and similes attempting to sounds profound or poetic or both.

[Lauren Bergen · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Every day that you don’t ski, you never get back again.” - Klaus Obermeyer

Less a novel, and more a skiing fever dream.

[John Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The essence of a skiers anticipation in fall. What's real, what's legend?

[Colin Clancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the best ski writing I've ever read. Peter Kray gets it.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

“Every day that you don’t ski, you never get back again.”

Quite discordant narrative style reminiscent of an ADHD Richard Brautigan. Each 2ish page chapter can almost be consumed independently and even within the “chapter” there isn’t much cohesion.

“To see the day from beginning to end and run while your legs are strong.”

Up to 3 stars for this sentence alone.
“The rapture I feel skimming through the glades on Robertson Bowl - gravity, conveyance, exhilaration - like whatever god is, it’s in me, too.”

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful little book. If you don't like it, it's probably because you can't ski, or have never had sex.

[Austin Fuller · Rating 3 out of 5]

🤙🏻⛷️🤷🏼‍♂️ A pure vibes book written by someone whose answer to "There’s no bad day on the mountain" is an enthusiastic "Hell yeah".