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We Begin Our Ascent
“A dazzling debut by an exciting and essential new talent: fast, harrowing, compelling, masterfully structured, genuinely moving. Reed is a true stylist.” —George Saunders
“Joe Mungo Reed’s unforgettable debut novel introduces us to a powerful new literary voice, as riveting as DeLillo’s or Morrison’s. I read it cover to cover in a gulp.” —Mary Karr
Sol and Liz are a couple on the cusp. He’s a professional cyclist in the Tour de France, a workhorse but not yet a star. She’s a geneticist on the brink of a major discovery, either that or a loss of funding. They’ve just welcomed their first child into the world, and their bright future lies just before them—if only they can reach out and grab it.
But as Liz’s research slows, as Sol starts doping, their dreams grow murkier and the risks graver. Over the whirlwind course of the Tour, they enter the orbit of an extraordinary cast of conmen and aspirants, who draw the young family ineluctably into the depths of an illegal drug smuggling operation. As Liz and Sol flounder to discern right from wrong, up from down, they are forced to decide: What is it we’re striving for? And what is it worth?
We Begin Our Ascent dances nimbly between tragic and comic, exploring the cost of ambition and the question of what gives our lives meaning. Reed melds the powerful themes of great marital dramas like Revolutionary Road with the humor, character, and heart of a George Saunders collection. Throughout, we’re drawn inside the cycling world and treated to the brilliant literary sports-writing of modern classics like The Art of Fielding or End Zone.
“Joe Mungo Reed’s unforgettable debut novel introduces us to a powerful new literary voice, as riveting as DeLillo’s or Morrison’s. I read it cover to cover in a gulp.” —Mary Karr
Sol and Liz are a couple on the cusp. He’s a professional cyclist in the Tour de France, a workhorse but not yet a star. She’s a geneticist on the brink of a major discovery, either that or a loss of funding. They’ve just welcomed their first child into the world, and their bright future lies just before them—if only they can reach out and grab it.
But as Liz’s research slows, as Sol starts doping, their dreams grow murkier and the risks graver. Over the whirlwind course of the Tour, they enter the orbit of an extraordinary cast of conmen and aspirants, who draw the young family ineluctably into the depths of an illegal drug smuggling operation. As Liz and Sol flounder to discern right from wrong, up from down, they are forced to decide: What is it we’re striving for? And what is it worth?
We Begin Our Ascent dances nimbly between tragic and comic, exploring the cost of ambition and the question of what gives our lives meaning. Reed melds the powerful themes of great marital dramas like Revolutionary Road with the humor, character, and heart of a George Saunders collection. Throughout, we’re drawn inside the cycling world and treated to the brilliant literary sports-writing of modern classics like The Art of Fielding or End Zone.
245 pages, Hardcover
First published June 18, 2018
85 people are currently reading
3391 people want to read
About the author
Joe Mungo Reed
5 books128 followersJoe Mungo Reed was born in London and raised in Gloucestershire, England. He has a master’s in philosophy and politics at the University of Edinburgh and an MFA in creative writing at Syracuse University, where he won the Joyce Carol Oates Award in Fiction. He is the author of the novel, We Begin Our Ascent, and his short stories have appeared in VQR and Gigantic and anthologized in Best of Gigantic. He is currently living in Edinburgh, UK.
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June 21, 2018
“You’re a beast”, I said. “You’re a monster”.
“What?”
“Riding like that after a week of training camp”.
“Oh”.
“ I love it”, he said. “ I love all of it”.
“I like the smell of grease”
“That’s not it”, he said...
“I like feeling strong in a race”....
“The sense that you have more strength than others”...
“No, he said. “That’s not it. The thing itself”.
“The riding”.
“You love riding? I said. “Every minute of if? All of it?”
“There is only all of it”.
“I’m good at it, I said, “I like parts of it”.
“I love all of it”, he said
Solomon, ( narrator), likes ‘parts’ of riding. He is a professional cyclist. The average person has no idea of what ‘parts’ means.
He’s driven - ambitious— don’t get me wrong... but where he took the day off to be with his wife, Liz, after their son was born, to celebrate & enjoy the day...some cyclist would have gone for a ride.
This is a phenomenal *novel*!!!! Soooooooo fricken good!!! One of my FAVORITES BOOKS I’ve read this year....with so many real emotions....
I FRICKEN CRIED!!!
Book clubs... if you want to great book to talk about -choose this book. Don’t assume to know ‘all’ what this book is about...or predict how you’ll feel!!
HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!
My only problem now... I have to buy another book..
My husband - high ranking biking guy in his prime- ( who loved me first and biking 2nd)....was jealous that I was reading this book...it wasn’t enough for him that I read parts of it to him while we were in bed together. He wants his own copy.....a physical book.
HUGE THANKS to my friend Bonnie Brody for her review on this book - it’s great - read it- I knew I had to read this the minute I read her review... and this book ‘still’ exceeded my expectations.
GREAT STORYTELLING!!
Kudos to author Joe Mungo Reed!!!!
“What?”
“Riding like that after a week of training camp”.
“Oh”.
“ I love it”, he said. “ I love all of it”.
“I like the smell of grease”
“That’s not it”, he said...
“I like feeling strong in a race”....
“The sense that you have more strength than others”...
“No, he said. “That’s not it. The thing itself”.
“The riding”.
“You love riding? I said. “Every minute of if? All of it?”
“There is only all of it”.
“I’m good at it, I said, “I like parts of it”.
“I love all of it”, he said
Solomon, ( narrator), likes ‘parts’ of riding. He is a professional cyclist. The average person has no idea of what ‘parts’ means.
He’s driven - ambitious— don’t get me wrong... but where he took the day off to be with his wife, Liz, after their son was born, to celebrate & enjoy the day...some cyclist would have gone for a ride.
This is a phenomenal *novel*!!!! Soooooooo fricken good!!! One of my FAVORITES BOOKS I’ve read this year....with so many real emotions....
I FRICKEN CRIED!!!
Book clubs... if you want to great book to talk about -choose this book. Don’t assume to know ‘all’ what this book is about...or predict how you’ll feel!!
HIGHLY HIGHLY HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!!!
My only problem now... I have to buy another book..
My husband - high ranking biking guy in his prime- ( who loved me first and biking 2nd)....was jealous that I was reading this book...it wasn’t enough for him that I read parts of it to him while we were in bed together. He wants his own copy.....a physical book.
HUGE THANKS to my friend Bonnie Brody for her review on this book - it’s great - read it- I knew I had to read this the minute I read her review... and this book ‘still’ exceeded my expectations.
GREAT STORYTELLING!!
Kudos to author Joe Mungo Reed!!!!
September 11, 2018
This is excellent! Really, really good debut novel about a professional cyclist on the Tour de France. Sol is married to a geneticist, Liz, who is working on an important research project. They have an infant son, Barry, who they call “B.” Both Sol and Liz are high achievers; driven, confident, almost smug in their little cocoon of ambition.
In the midst of the Tour, Sol’s Tour team manager, Rafael, introduces doping and blood transfusions to deliver oxygenated blood to depleted racers. Liz is unexpectedly drawn into the equation and everything becomes tricky and perilous.
The author does an excellent job of pulling you into the Tour de France and describing how team racing works. The characters are wonderfully fleshed out - the smarmy and manipulative Rafael, the team superstar Fabrice who interprets dreams and starts each race with a cycling joke, Sol’s exacting and authoritative mother-in-law - EVERYONE is a character worthy of attention.
The writing is stellar, absolutely first rate. I always get so excited when I find a new author that can deliver the goods on both writing and story. Better still, I love to learn something new - race cycling is something I knew nothing about.
Definitely pick this one up - it’s an effortless read and will suck you right in. I may come back and change my rating to a 5; I need to think on it a bit. For now, a very strong 4.5.
In the midst of the Tour, Sol’s Tour team manager, Rafael, introduces doping and blood transfusions to deliver oxygenated blood to depleted racers. Liz is unexpectedly drawn into the equation and everything becomes tricky and perilous.
The author does an excellent job of pulling you into the Tour de France and describing how team racing works. The characters are wonderfully fleshed out - the smarmy and manipulative Rafael, the team superstar Fabrice who interprets dreams and starts each race with a cycling joke, Sol’s exacting and authoritative mother-in-law - EVERYONE is a character worthy of attention.
The writing is stellar, absolutely first rate. I always get so excited when I find a new author that can deliver the goods on both writing and story. Better still, I love to learn something new - race cycling is something I knew nothing about.
Definitely pick this one up - it’s an effortless read and will suck you right in. I may come back and change my rating to a 5; I need to think on it a bit. For now, a very strong 4.5.
April 25, 2018
Years ago, according to one character in this fine book, a doctor wrote about a man riding three horses at a circus. “He said it was important not because of what the man was doing but because it increased our sense of human capabilities.”
For Sol, a professional cyclist racing in the Tour de France, the sport is not about individual winning. His duty is to “get our team leader, Fabrice, across the twenty-one stages of this tour in as little time as possible.” Sol views his job as a type of performance theatre – applying deducation, logic and attention, enacting a struggle, “from which conclusions about character and the tendencies of our age can be drawn.”
He is married to Liz, a geneticist, who, just like Sol, has small, specific goals and a resolve “to apprehend infinity not be a cowering submission at all that lies beyond us, but through meticulous reexamination of single things.”
As the suspenseful drama of the book unfolds, the costs and rewards of this singular focus will play out in unexpected ways. There is an existential question behind all of this: what is the purpose of our ascent? What is it that we are really striving for? What happens when those things begin to lose their meaning as they clash against a ruthless reality?
I’m not a huge fan of sports based books (Netherland and The Art of Fielding come to mind), but this book worked, because the cycling is, in ways, a metaphor for how we keep moving forward, continually spinning our wheels in the pursuit of…something. The mundaneness of this prestigious race – the need to shave off millimeters of weight, the near-hermetic practices, and yes, the doping—are expertly woven in.
My only quibble is that Liz was not as dimensional as I wished she had been. I felt as if I knew her only by what she did for a living and never fully understood her motivations. Still, this tale of ambitions and miscalculations is intriguing. 4.5 stars.
For Sol, a professional cyclist racing in the Tour de France, the sport is not about individual winning. His duty is to “get our team leader, Fabrice, across the twenty-one stages of this tour in as little time as possible.” Sol views his job as a type of performance theatre – applying deducation, logic and attention, enacting a struggle, “from which conclusions about character and the tendencies of our age can be drawn.”
He is married to Liz, a geneticist, who, just like Sol, has small, specific goals and a resolve “to apprehend infinity not be a cowering submission at all that lies beyond us, but through meticulous reexamination of single things.”
As the suspenseful drama of the book unfolds, the costs and rewards of this singular focus will play out in unexpected ways. There is an existential question behind all of this: what is the purpose of our ascent? What is it that we are really striving for? What happens when those things begin to lose their meaning as they clash against a ruthless reality?
I’m not a huge fan of sports based books (Netherland and The Art of Fielding come to mind), but this book worked, because the cycling is, in ways, a metaphor for how we keep moving forward, continually spinning our wheels in the pursuit of…something. The mundaneness of this prestigious race – the need to shave off millimeters of weight, the near-hermetic practices, and yes, the doping—are expertly woven in.
My only quibble is that Liz was not as dimensional as I wished she had been. I felt as if I knew her only by what she did for a living and never fully understood her motivations. Still, this tale of ambitions and miscalculations is intriguing. 4.5 stars.
July 12, 2018
I have done speeches at sporting events .... Whoever introduces me always says that I the Tour is the hardest sporting contest in the world. I am just an artifact, proof that it is done by men. I am something it has happened to, like a blot from a disintegrating spacecraft and recovered from a cornfield after the event, to prove that all that motion and brutality really existed. I accept this perspective, because this nobles this activity, dignifies the fact that I am aging and breaking myself in doing it.
There are two areas of significant interest to me and where I consider myself to have a reasonable knowledge – literary fiction (regular Goodreads reviewer, judge on a recent Book prize) and professional cycling racing (having watched most major races in person over the years and in fact watching the Tour de France on my ipad as I write this review on my laptop).
The areas however rarely overlap – perhaps Tim Krabbé’s The Rider being one of the few examples with merit (although even that book I think has more merit in literary terms than in cycling terms); while I have read a few other fictional treatments of professional cycling, with shall we say less literary merit – for example Freya North’s Cat.
I was therefore surprised when browsing in an airport bookshop for a book to read on a long haul flight home, to find a book about a professional rider, set over a Tour de France and with a front page recommendation from George Saunders.
I bought it immediately and started it with some trepidation but was in fact delightedly surprised to find a book which was simultaneously enjoyable, with considerable literary merit and which gave a very realistic portrayal of the Tour de France.
Sol(omon) is a mountain-domestique for his team leader – Fabrice. Fabrice is an enigmatic but driven climber and past top-10 finisher but struggling to live up to his early promise and popularity – to add to his complexity he is also the peleton’s interpreter of dreams and a regular teller of cycling jokes. The team is lead by the ex-pro Rafael who bases his team leadership on a mix of old-fashioned continental style traditionalism, Sky-style marginal gains and Armstong-esque Christmas-day training.
Sol is married to Liz – a geneticist working to identify the function of genes using zebra fish but also something of a polymath – she “would always have an opinion on the books which had made the Booker short list.” and after meeting people from different fields at parties, stays up all night researching their fields on Wikipedia to grow her knowledge, something which challenges Sol who has the typical blinkered worldview of a professional athlete. However the two bond over the precision, specialism and solitary nature of their chosen professions:
I felt heartened to hear that she saw elements of her own work in mine, pleased by the sense it drew us together. We were partners in our sense of isolation, in our preoccupations incomprehensible to so many. We both had our routines, our slogs, in service of single moments, possibilities. It felt noble, all this putting off.
Rafael’s team has a naïve official doctor and an unofficial chiropractor/doctor who administers a course of micro-dosing, hormone treatments and blood-doping to a select cotorie of riders which from the end of the previous season has included Sol.
Liz’s interest in other fields extends naturally to Sol’s field:
I still remember explaining [cycling tactics] to Liz ... she took a biologist’s interest in adaptive strategy, in hidden motives and cooperation.
And after marriage into an exploration of all aspects of professional cycling, which with her medical background naturally leads her into doping – firstly accepting (if almost encouraging as the professionally responsible thing to do) Sol’s entry into the shadow world of his team and then, due to circumstances which arise, taking an increasingly active role in the doping programme during the Tour.
The author writes in an enjoyable, sometime humorous way, but with good use of language and metaphor: “Rafael rattles around a coach like a wasp trapped in a coke can.” , “A dirty kit lies on the floor, two energy bars besides it, as if remnants of a very exclusive rapture.”
Other aspects I enjoyed included: the struggles of new parenthood (Sol and Liz have recently had their first child), particularly for driven and focused individuals, initially regarding it as another scientific challenge or race to be prepared for and met; the relationship between Liz, Sol and Liz’s mother Katherine; the reflections on the role of fortune in sports:
I met Liz by chance. I do not like to think that, because to do so invites the consideration of alternatives, draws me into visualizations of different lives. My training and inclination make me a believer in necessity and causation. I need to be convinced of the efficacy of preparation, in f the sure reward of my conditioning. If I were to truly attend to luck - to how easily a puncture or crash of a rider in front might ruin my race, or how much my successes rely on the Misfortune of others - then I would struggle to prepare, to get myself out on the bike on winter mornings.
Perhaps most impressively though, and despite me coming into the book almost spoiling to find errors or anomalies, I found the portrayal of the Tour almost note perfect. The only quibble I could raise would be over Sol and Liz’s son who is called Barry by Liz: “A tribute to a favourite uncle .... I ceded her this right and accepted a middle aged man’s name for our new baby. I cannot yet extend myself to think of him as Barry, however, and have called him B in this first year of his life.” – a passage which lacking the obvious reference is either a deliberately hidden aside to any informed English Tour historian (and a subtle foreshadowing of the ending of the book) or an oversight.
Overall a wonderful find – if one for which I am close to the perfect reader.
June 25, 2018
This is a book about a sport that is wildly popular when there is big news about it and when the Tour de France is running, but unless you are a fan, there is much to know that goes on behind the scenes. I find it amazing that Reed himself is not a competitive rider, his insider knowledge is vast. I've only read one other book about cycling, Gold by Chris Cleve, but that was more character study and was about a different version of the sport. Here, Solomon, the narrator, is a career cyclist on a team in which he is not the star but a member of the peloton, the human shield on bikes that creates the wind breaks and the slip streams in order that the fastest member will win. It is the most immersive team/individual relationship I've read about. Added to this is his extraordinary marriage to a researcher, and their son. Both aspects of Solomon's life are dealt with in clear prose with adrenalin pumping pacing. I look forward to whatever Reed comes up with next.
May 21, 2018
DNF at 50%. I was lucky enough to win an ARC of this book through Goodreads. It takes a lot for me to DNF a book, this is actually the first book in 18 months that I disliked so much I refused to push through.
The premise sounded very interesting to me, even if I am not a fan of sports... any sports. A story about doping, and the family of the athlete being involved etc. was fascinating. I don't exactly know what I was expecting, but it was definitely not this. The writing was stilted. There was zero emotion. Everything just... was. This happened, then this happened. Then we did this. Even the goodreads description says "... with the humor, character, and heart ..." There was zero heart happening here. The only humor or character was with the team leader Fabrice, and his daily joke he tells Sol before the races each day. Rafael also had a lot of character, he was mildly entertaining. And neither of them are the main character.
The new cover art is beautiful, and the title will draw people in. So, woot for that.
The premise sounded very interesting to me, even if I am not a fan of sports... any sports. A story about doping, and the family of the athlete being involved etc. was fascinating. I don't exactly know what I was expecting, but it was definitely not this. The writing was stilted. There was zero emotion. Everything just... was. This happened, then this happened. Then we did this. Even the goodreads description says "... with the humor, character, and heart ..." There was zero heart happening here. The only humor or character was with the team leader Fabrice, and his daily joke he tells Sol before the races each day. Rafael also had a lot of character, he was mildly entertaining. And neither of them are the main character.
The new cover art is beautiful, and the title will draw people in. So, woot for that.
May 10, 2018
Sol has been a professional cyclist for years but has never achieved any real fame or fortune. His wife, Liz, a geneticist, and their son, Barry, are back home in England while Sol is busy trying to help his teammate, Fabrice, win the Tour De France. In a sport in which some people are willing to cheat their way to victory, Sol is forced to decide what he is willing to risk to get to the top.
For a decent portion of the book, I wasn't really feeling the story or characters but by the end I came to appreciate how it ended up being a bit different from what I normally read. While I enjoy most sports, cycling has never been my thing and in all honesty until reading this book I never entirely understood the whole "working as a team, but there's only an individual winner in the end" concept of the sport. But even if you don't find cycling all that exciting, this book brings up some interesting ethical questions in which you find yourself asking what lengths you would be willing to go for yourself or for your spouse. I'd say take a chance on this book if you are looking for something a bit different and can handle an ending that maybe doesn't answer all your questions.
I won this book in a giveaway but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
For a decent portion of the book, I wasn't really feeling the story or characters but by the end I came to appreciate how it ended up being a bit different from what I normally read. While I enjoy most sports, cycling has never been my thing and in all honesty until reading this book I never entirely understood the whole "working as a team, but there's only an individual winner in the end" concept of the sport. But even if you don't find cycling all that exciting, this book brings up some interesting ethical questions in which you find yourself asking what lengths you would be willing to go for yourself or for your spouse. I'd say take a chance on this book if you are looking for something a bit different and can handle an ending that maybe doesn't answer all your questions.
I won this book in a giveaway but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.
February 13, 2018
This one grabbed my attention with its cover, it’s an awesome cover. But then it also had such accolades from well known names, most auspicious for a debut, so why not. It actually turned out quite a good read. Thing is though I don’t like competitive sports, I don’t get the appeal, can’t relate to the sort of maddening dedication it requires or understand the singlemindedness it takes just to get to the finish line before the other guy. My idea of a competitive sport is Jeopardy. Ok, to be completely honest the concept of ambition at all costs is also quite foreign to me, and it's very much the theme here, so... And this is very much a book about a what one might refer to as a proper sport, the exhausting and dangerous pursuit of an arbitrary goal that has no meaning in a grand scheme of things outside of its own micro world. I’m a firm believer in the power of a written word, a genuine talent can take on any subject and make it compelling and it pretty much the case here for the most part. This book puts you into a bike saddle and in the middle of the race, the dynamic of it is just right, but then again do you want to spend that much time in a bike saddle faux racing as it were? I like biking very much, have been riding for ages, but for me it’s always been more of a commuting vehicle and maybe occasional fun. The riding in this book, the professional kind, is more along the lines of a really intense endurance exercise that veers into a form of self abuse. And while the descriptions of the actual races are meticulous, the motivations behind it are less so. In fact, this isn’t just about biking for the protagonist, it’s also the other side of the coin, the life outside the race, a marriage, fatherhood, etc. It’s meant to be a story about priorities. It is, really that. It’s just…not quite balanced within the narrative. Possibly on purpose. All the maddening passion of the race and such muted version thereof in the personal life. It’s quite a striking juxtaposition. Again, possibly it’s because Solomon (an unusually named young man) simply doesn’t have the energy for the outside world, but his entire marriage plotline just had this lifelessness to it. It would have been nice to understand the appeal the racing held for Solomon and his wife, instead of just this odd acquiescence to such a brutal career choice under such a cruel manipulative boss. Maybe it was just a designated tone for the book. It works, it is in fact an auspicious debut, though maybe not quite as much so as the accolades would leave one to believe. I enjoyed it intellectually, though on the emotional level there was some frustration and bewilderment (strictly personal and subjective) that got in the way of engaging with the story. Thanks Netgalley.
December 3, 2018
“There should be a word for the moment at which one realizes what a task truly entails, comes to see how little one has really understood what is required to reach a goal.”
I don’t think I can adequately convey how little I care about the topic of this book—and how much I loved it regardless. Like many novels that are ostensibly about one thing but are actually about something much deeper, this isn’t so much about bicycle racing as it is about the choices we make for bigger things outside of ourselves, whether a marriage or a team.
Sol is a professional cyclist for the Tour de France, part of a team dutifully committed to ensuring that its star cyclist wins. Between depictions of the race, he reflects on his relationship with his wife, Liz, and their newborn son. These are the most interesting sections, by far, until the two storylines converge. (I’ll openly admit that I skimmed some of the initial parts about the day-to-day race, but that by the end I was riveted by all of it.)
Liz is coming to visit during the Tour, and against Sol’s better judgment, she agrees to help his coach in the illegal transport of performance enhancing drugs for the team.
There are so many sharp metaphors in this thoughtful debut about ambition, purpose and meaning. Each character clings to an illusion of control, a conviction that they’re doing what’s right for the greater good. There’s nothing more existentially distressing than the shattering of such illusions, and Reed conveys this with tragic humor and heart.
“The question is not how to do what is remarkable, as it has been for so long, but to do what is sufficient, to know what is enough.”
I don’t think I can adequately convey how little I care about the topic of this book—and how much I loved it regardless. Like many novels that are ostensibly about one thing but are actually about something much deeper, this isn’t so much about bicycle racing as it is about the choices we make for bigger things outside of ourselves, whether a marriage or a team.
Sol is a professional cyclist for the Tour de France, part of a team dutifully committed to ensuring that its star cyclist wins. Between depictions of the race, he reflects on his relationship with his wife, Liz, and their newborn son. These are the most interesting sections, by far, until the two storylines converge. (I’ll openly admit that I skimmed some of the initial parts about the day-to-day race, but that by the end I was riveted by all of it.)
Liz is coming to visit during the Tour, and against Sol’s better judgment, she agrees to help his coach in the illegal transport of performance enhancing drugs for the team.
There are so many sharp metaphors in this thoughtful debut about ambition, purpose and meaning. Each character clings to an illusion of control, a conviction that they’re doing what’s right for the greater good. There’s nothing more existentially distressing than the shattering of such illusions, and Reed conveys this with tragic humor and heart.
“The question is not how to do what is remarkable, as it has been for so long, but to do what is sufficient, to know what is enough.”
June 22, 2018
Some good writing, detailed insights, crisp dialogue. Sadly, if you're not a fan of the Tour de France, not even those positives can make the sport interesting. I'm sure there are people who will love this book, but I found it tedious. Pass.
Read
June 22, 2018I enjoyed all the references to bicycle racing.
Very good explanations of racing terms.
Disappointed in the ending... Feels like a loose end! (Or a beginning for Book #2??!!)
Very good explanations of racing terms.
Disappointed in the ending... Feels like a loose end! (Or a beginning for Book #2??!!)
August 19, 2018
This philosophical and compelling novel about competition, marriage and ambition was perfect Tour de France inspired reading. Like most novels about sport it’s not really about the Tour or competitive cycling and I loved the way Reed used cycling teamwork strategies to interrogate human nature and relationships. The writing here is beautiful – truly glorious prose styling. Thanks to @cbdcycles for letting me take this pic with such a stunning ride. Back to the Tour!
June 10, 2018
Joe Mungo Reed has written a debut novel that had me in its grips from the first chapter. It deals with professional bicycling, focusing on the people and competition in a race not unlike the Tour de France. It is also about a marriage, one that is fairly new and finding its set-point with the birth of a baby boy.
Sol is a professional rider and is given to obsession and dedication. He must spend weeks apart from his wife Liz and his son Barry, who he calls 'B'. The microcosm of the elite biking profession is described from Sol's perspective, almost ethnographically, while providing the reader with an overall description of what being a competitive rider entails. Liz is a research biologist doing her postdoc. She is studying the genetics of zebra fish. Both are consumed by their careers but the bulk of Barry's care falls on Liz, especially when Sol is away.
The aspects of one 21 day race take up the bulk of the narrative which goes back and force between the riders and Sol and Liz's marriage. Sol states, " we compete on each of the twenty-one days of the race, but there are unwritten rules, expectations and traditions which reach back to the men with their steel bikes, bad teeth, muddy visages, to the stutter and shimmy of the old newsreel footage. Not every minute of every day is heedless competition. There are truces and lulls, and moments of peace". The riders are "governed by the rule of the peloton". This was a new work for me. I could not find it in the dictionary or thesaurus. What it appears to mean is the formation of the team in competition, the manner that individuals on the team channel their talents for the purpose of assisting a particular, and usually the best, rider to succeed.
Sol is obsessed with competitive bicycling. "The sport I am engaged in is a game, but there is a level at which it surpasses that, at which the dedication, the logic and attention make it vivid, real and meaningful." He talks about his belief that what he does is "an appreciation of life's broadness which can be found in our intense focus, in our resolve to apprehend infinity not by cowering submission at all that lies beyond us, but through meticulous reexamination of single things". Sol loves riding, both for its own sake and how it makes him feel about his capacity to maximize and, at times, overcome his physical limitations.
Despite Sol's singular perspective on his sport, there are others to whom he must account and who do not share his views. There is the sponsor, his coach, his teammates and the formidable Rafael who sets the standards and controls the riders. Recently, another team has been caught using illegal substances and they are thought of as pariahs. However, when Rafael makes a request of Liz and Sol that could impact their lives, they are put not only at risk, but at odds with their moral compasses and the strength of their marriage.
The author writes as if he has been part of this world, has ridden and competed. I don't see how anyone could understand the workings of competitive biking without having lived it. I was especially struck by two aspects of this sport. On the one hand, "there seems to be a perfect pace, at which we could ride forever. Things stack together: breathing, pedaling, thought. In this zone you become a sort of passenger within your own body." On the other hand, "the difficulty of any given sport, I suppose, is no guarantee that that activity is not selfish". These two aspects of competitive biking are the gist of this novel which makes for a great ride!
Sol is a professional rider and is given to obsession and dedication. He must spend weeks apart from his wife Liz and his son Barry, who he calls 'B'. The microcosm of the elite biking profession is described from Sol's perspective, almost ethnographically, while providing the reader with an overall description of what being a competitive rider entails. Liz is a research biologist doing her postdoc. She is studying the genetics of zebra fish. Both are consumed by their careers but the bulk of Barry's care falls on Liz, especially when Sol is away.
The aspects of one 21 day race take up the bulk of the narrative which goes back and force between the riders and Sol and Liz's marriage. Sol states, " we compete on each of the twenty-one days of the race, but there are unwritten rules, expectations and traditions which reach back to the men with their steel bikes, bad teeth, muddy visages, to the stutter and shimmy of the old newsreel footage. Not every minute of every day is heedless competition. There are truces and lulls, and moments of peace". The riders are "governed by the rule of the peloton". This was a new work for me. I could not find it in the dictionary or thesaurus. What it appears to mean is the formation of the team in competition, the manner that individuals on the team channel their talents for the purpose of assisting a particular, and usually the best, rider to succeed.
Sol is obsessed with competitive bicycling. "The sport I am engaged in is a game, but there is a level at which it surpasses that, at which the dedication, the logic and attention make it vivid, real and meaningful." He talks about his belief that what he does is "an appreciation of life's broadness which can be found in our intense focus, in our resolve to apprehend infinity not by cowering submission at all that lies beyond us, but through meticulous reexamination of single things". Sol loves riding, both for its own sake and how it makes him feel about his capacity to maximize and, at times, overcome his physical limitations.
Despite Sol's singular perspective on his sport, there are others to whom he must account and who do not share his views. There is the sponsor, his coach, his teammates and the formidable Rafael who sets the standards and controls the riders. Recently, another team has been caught using illegal substances and they are thought of as pariahs. However, when Rafael makes a request of Liz and Sol that could impact their lives, they are put not only at risk, but at odds with their moral compasses and the strength of their marriage.
The author writes as if he has been part of this world, has ridden and competed. I don't see how anyone could understand the workings of competitive biking without having lived it. I was especially struck by two aspects of this sport. On the one hand, "there seems to be a perfect pace, at which we could ride forever. Things stack together: breathing, pedaling, thought. In this zone you become a sort of passenger within your own body." On the other hand, "the difficulty of any given sport, I suppose, is no guarantee that that activity is not selfish". These two aspects of competitive biking are the gist of this novel which makes for a great ride!
June 17, 2018
I admit to being a bit skeptical when I started this but - WOW. This is a fascinating novel about bicycle racing, ambition, teamwork, and life in general. The Tour de France has played in the background of my consciousness but except for what I learned years ago from watching the movie Breaking Away, I really know very little about the sport. Reed has written an incredibly enlightening novel, with a sympathetic hero in Sol. Sol's been on the circuit but he's not someone who will ever win the Tour but rather a rider to boost the scores of his team's best rider, Fabrice. These two have a complicated relationship but one which is less fraught than the one they both have with Raphael, the team manager. Joe is married to Liz, a post doc studying zebra fish and the mother of their child B. Raphael wraps Liz into a scheme; no spoilers. This is in many ways a very small novel- it's close- you feel the road, can smell the sweat of the riders, can sense their pain. I liked it so much more than I anticipated and thank the publisher for the ARC. Try this one, even if you aren't a sports fan, for a well written novel that you'll find to be a page turner.
October 25, 2018
The writing fits my pallet, the characters are fun and the racing descriptions are well done. Liz and Sol’s relationship felt forced, but that’s the only negative I can come up with. Nice use of metaphors to look at human drive and knowing when you’ve reached too far. And the tie-in between the title and the ending was very impressive. My man Mungo has skills: I will keep an eye out for him. I mean, if Saunders is a fan he must be pretty good, right? Also, I don’t particularly like being on a bike and I still enjoyed this one- so this isn’t just for cycling fans.
Good, but not excellent.
Good, but not excellent.
June 24, 2018
An impressive debut about a professional cyclist, marriage, masculinity and loyalty. Reed's prose has the sort of economy most authors aren't able to achieve after a lifetime. Just as results vary for cyclists that dope, not everyone that gets an MFA from Syracuse under the tutelage of masters like George Saunders and Mary Kaar graduate able to write brilliantly, but it's certainly worked for Mr. Reed.
May 16, 2020
(3.5 stars) It was kind of surreal listening to this book, told from the point of view of a Tour de France racer, while riding the trails near my home. I learned a bit about how some racers exist only to help other racers win. I also heard some good racing jokes. Here’s one: A man asks a bicyclist why riders enter the grueling Tour de France. The bicyclist says “well, the winner gets $50,000”. The man answers, “but why do the others do it?” That is what has stuck with me from this read. The story itself was ok...some ethical questions arise and are interesting to contemplate, and it kept my interest during my less-than-grueling rides.
December 11, 2025
a very readable story about the Tour de France, the team dynamics, pressures and use of doping agents for performance!! Great beach read !
June 18, 2018
I honestly did not expect to enjoy this read as much as I did! I got so caught up in the characters and the plot that I went out and bought a bike myself. And I've been riding it! This story was fast-paced and unexpected
February 19, 2018
Got this ARC in exchange of an honest review from Simon & Schuster via NetGally. Thank You!!
I picked this one up because of its cover. (Its quite pretty!!) Its a sports fiction and the writing style is quite interesting. I enjoyed the way writer described the pressure, the drive, the frustrations a sports person face in his life.
But I don't know why I could not get engaged with it. The reason could be that I am not a sports person, so I don't get the drive why I should take drugs or abuse my body for winning a race. I know this happens a lot in real life, still I could not relate to Sol. The whole book described their ( both Sol and Liz's ) drive for their professions but very less details about who they really are or what is the base of their relationship.
Anyways... It was a good read none the less. My rating for this book is 3.5/5
Looking forward to read more by this author.
I picked this one up because of its cover. (Its quite pretty!!) Its a sports fiction and the writing style is quite interesting. I enjoyed the way writer described the pressure, the drive, the frustrations a sports person face in his life.
But I don't know why I could not get engaged with it. The reason could be that I am not a sports person, so I don't get the drive why I should take drugs or abuse my body for winning a race. I know this happens a lot in real life, still I could not relate to Sol. The whole book described their ( both Sol and Liz's ) drive for their professions but very less details about who they really are or what is the base of their relationship.
Anyways... It was a good read none the less. My rating for this book is 3.5/5
Looking forward to read more by this author.
August 28, 2018
This book had so much wasted potential. The author wrote lovely sentences -- with beautiful (albeit repetitive) descriptions of Europe, racing, and team dynamics, but he missed the mark on both characterization and plot. I finished this book having no idea who the protagonist was as a person, not understanding the marital relationship between Sol and Liz, and not believing for a moment that Liz would have been so stupid as to make the choices she did (especially in a foreign country with her baby). The complex themes that were superficially touched upon related to power, control, and loyalty within professional sports, and the dubious ethical choices we make when under duress, could have been explored deeply, but the author took the easy way out.
March 4, 2018
This just wasn't for me. The narrative was unbalanced and nothing about the story compelled me to read it.
The writer assumes the reader knows quite a bit about competitive bike racing (I did not) and maybe this is a better read if that knowledge is already present. I found myself unable to connect with the main character or any of the supporting characters. The main character's wife, Liz, was someone I found particularly unlikable.
Is George Saunders required to give favorable reviews to books written by all former Syracuse students?
The writer assumes the reader knows quite a bit about competitive bike racing (I did not) and maybe this is a better read if that knowledge is already present. I found myself unable to connect with the main character or any of the supporting characters. The main character's wife, Liz, was someone I found particularly unlikable.
Is George Saunders required to give favorable reviews to books written by all former Syracuse students?
May 5, 2018
I received this book as an ARC. I am not a sports book reader, so I was skeptical. I really enjoyed reading this. Something I don’t normally read, as well as eye opening into a world I am very unfamiliar with.
Quick read. My only complaints, I wish the story of the wife would have been more prominent. The description reads that she was on the edge of a scientific breakthrough, but that side of the story fell flat.
Overall a good and quick read.
Quick read. My only complaints, I wish the story of the wife would have been more prominent. The description reads that she was on the edge of a scientific breakthrough, but that side of the story fell flat.
Overall a good and quick read.
August 22, 2018
Any cyclist who intensely practices the sport can only imagine the work and dedication needed to compete at its highest level in the Tour de France. We are mere mortals in a sport that favors gods. Yet, we all just live for that day, that ride that burst of energy and control that transcends our perceived capability. If we are destined to be mortals, why do we pretend to be gods? Maybe we are motivated by the joy of work or play or the possibility of a future success. Or, is it simply that we have resigned ourselves to support the unusual sport we have chosen?
What complicates cycling is the dynamics of the group. Regardless of how talented an individual might be he/she must rely on support from the group, whether it is the team or the peleton.
The effectiveness of a team is only as good as its dedication to its top rider(s). Most professional team cyclists live to support others with little chance of winning a race or even a stage in a race. They must give up their own ambitions for the sake of the team and assisting the lead rider. Most of these riders live for a day they will ascend to a team leader spot.
Reed’s book is a tale of what it might be like for a stoic professional rider to be thrown into an opportunity to lead. But lead at what cost? The story is told from the point of view of a “domestique” rider, one paid to fill an expendable support spot on a professional team. The lifestyle is ascetic and dedicated to the team, especially during the ultimate bicycle race when all life and energy is dedicated to "Sleep and cycle".
Our rider and protagonist, Sol, is the narrator telling a story of his experience during a very competitive Tour de France lasting over a few weeks. We meet three essential characters; Raphael, the director sportif (team manager), Fabrice, the team's lead rider and Liz, Sol's wife.
Raphael is the consummate team manager looking to draw the maximum performance, in any way possible, from the members of the team. This translates to supporting the lead rider with a race strategy and superhuman effort by his teammates.
Fabrice has made it to the top team spot and knows that the fame and glory rely on him but his performance largely depends on how well his teammates can support him too. His cool, humor and otherworldly attitude demonstrates the self-actualized level of the sport he has reached as the team guru.
And, Liz, who has her own career challenges as a genetic researcher, and a new mother, must face the fact that Sol's performance for this race and this team is suddenly the key aspect of her life. In her mind, cycling is, "An evolutionary concept. You're like a honeybee, giving up a chance to breed for the queen." Her actions to assist Sol and the team make her a willing honeybee to advance Sol's and her own personal goals.
The book shows the dynamics of what happens when even skilled, professional individuals are pushed to their limits. We can push too hard in all aspects of our lives to the point where we lose focus on what is important.
It takes a special individual to be a cyclist, researcher, or team manager in a world where today's performance is everything. Are we, as individuals, willing to continue to work hard to achieve what we want? What is the real price we pay for pushing too hard?
I highly recommend this book, especially to my cycling friends, and anyone who enjoys exploring the psyche of sports and performance. It’s a fast and easy read with an efficient Fitzgerald-like style showing wisdom beyond the pages.
What complicates cycling is the dynamics of the group. Regardless of how talented an individual might be he/she must rely on support from the group, whether it is the team or the peleton.
The effectiveness of a team is only as good as its dedication to its top rider(s). Most professional team cyclists live to support others with little chance of winning a race or even a stage in a race. They must give up their own ambitions for the sake of the team and assisting the lead rider. Most of these riders live for a day they will ascend to a team leader spot.
Reed’s book is a tale of what it might be like for a stoic professional rider to be thrown into an opportunity to lead. But lead at what cost? The story is told from the point of view of a “domestique” rider, one paid to fill an expendable support spot on a professional team. The lifestyle is ascetic and dedicated to the team, especially during the ultimate bicycle race when all life and energy is dedicated to "Sleep and cycle".
Our rider and protagonist, Sol, is the narrator telling a story of his experience during a very competitive Tour de France lasting over a few weeks. We meet three essential characters; Raphael, the director sportif (team manager), Fabrice, the team's lead rider and Liz, Sol's wife.
Raphael is the consummate team manager looking to draw the maximum performance, in any way possible, from the members of the team. This translates to supporting the lead rider with a race strategy and superhuman effort by his teammates.
Fabrice has made it to the top team spot and knows that the fame and glory rely on him but his performance largely depends on how well his teammates can support him too. His cool, humor and otherworldly attitude demonstrates the self-actualized level of the sport he has reached as the team guru.
And, Liz, who has her own career challenges as a genetic researcher, and a new mother, must face the fact that Sol's performance for this race and this team is suddenly the key aspect of her life. In her mind, cycling is, "An evolutionary concept. You're like a honeybee, giving up a chance to breed for the queen." Her actions to assist Sol and the team make her a willing honeybee to advance Sol's and her own personal goals.
The book shows the dynamics of what happens when even skilled, professional individuals are pushed to their limits. We can push too hard in all aspects of our lives to the point where we lose focus on what is important.
It takes a special individual to be a cyclist, researcher, or team manager in a world where today's performance is everything. Are we, as individuals, willing to continue to work hard to achieve what we want? What is the real price we pay for pushing too hard?
I highly recommend this book, especially to my cycling friends, and anyone who enjoys exploring the psyche of sports and performance. It’s a fast and easy read with an efficient Fitzgerald-like style showing wisdom beyond the pages.
January 2, 2019
Joe Mungo Reed’s We Begin Our Ascent is a debut novel narrated by Sol, a professional cyclist. He tells two stories. The first is his current journey in the Tour de France. He is a member of a competitive team, but he rides in a supporting role. It is interesting to understand the motivation of someone who will never personally win a race or a stage; his sole purpose is to help the star rider, Fabrice, win. As Fabrice goes so goes the team. During this summer’s race the team is on the verge of a breakthrough, and Reed is very good at talking about the ins and outs of what it takes to be a world-class cyclist.
The second story concerns his home life. He is married to a biologist who is toiling in the lab to find a genetic breakthrough to secure funding. Liz is a supportive spouse and she sacrifices a lot having Sol away for long periods of time, especially after they have their first child—a boy named Barry--who Sol calls B. Both characters are smart and good at what they do—but neither are at the pinnacles of their careers and probably will not be. Both work very hard just to get to the next stage. Part of the story revolves around a marriage between two professionals who seem to co-exist more than really loving one another.
The account though is less about whether Liz receives more funding or even whether Sol’s team wins the race. In order for Sol’s team to keep their competitiveness they resort to breaking the rules—first with blood doping and then—after a cycling accident—with other illicit substances. Reed is adept at explaining why good and seemingly earnest and honest people like Sol go along with it. Sol is helped along to acquiesce to the doping by the driven team manager Rafael who is unyielding at convincing Sol—and the rest of the team—that it is not really cheating if everyone is doing it. What is perhaps more surprising is that when Liz learns about it she not only supports Rafael’s plan but agrees to abet it. She is talked into carrying banned substances to the team because an educated woman travelling with a baby would not be detected.
Sol and Liz both live sheltered and seemingly lonely lives. They have one mutual friend and rely to some extent on Liz’s mother and her second husband. Katherine, the mother, has a hard time understanding why Sol is committing so much time to his craft because he “will not ever win”. She does not quite comprehend team cycling.
The conclusion of the book is not surprising, but it is well told. In the end, both Liz and Sol need to reconcile with their actions which profoundly affect their lives. One can empathize with both characters though neither are particularly likeable. The greater issues of individual morality and group norms are what emerges as most important from this novel.
The second story concerns his home life. He is married to a biologist who is toiling in the lab to find a genetic breakthrough to secure funding. Liz is a supportive spouse and she sacrifices a lot having Sol away for long periods of time, especially after they have their first child—a boy named Barry--who Sol calls B. Both characters are smart and good at what they do—but neither are at the pinnacles of their careers and probably will not be. Both work very hard just to get to the next stage. Part of the story revolves around a marriage between two professionals who seem to co-exist more than really loving one another.
The account though is less about whether Liz receives more funding or even whether Sol’s team wins the race. In order for Sol’s team to keep their competitiveness they resort to breaking the rules—first with blood doping and then—after a cycling accident—with other illicit substances. Reed is adept at explaining why good and seemingly earnest and honest people like Sol go along with it. Sol is helped along to acquiesce to the doping by the driven team manager Rafael who is unyielding at convincing Sol—and the rest of the team—that it is not really cheating if everyone is doing it. What is perhaps more surprising is that when Liz learns about it she not only supports Rafael’s plan but agrees to abet it. She is talked into carrying banned substances to the team because an educated woman travelling with a baby would not be detected.
Sol and Liz both live sheltered and seemingly lonely lives. They have one mutual friend and rely to some extent on Liz’s mother and her second husband. Katherine, the mother, has a hard time understanding why Sol is committing so much time to his craft because he “will not ever win”. She does not quite comprehend team cycling.
The conclusion of the book is not surprising, but it is well told. In the end, both Liz and Sol need to reconcile with their actions which profoundly affect their lives. One can empathize with both characters though neither are particularly likeable. The greater issues of individual morality and group norms are what emerges as most important from this novel.
July 19, 2018
Sports novels are rare. Good sports novels are even rarer. This isn’t a good sports novel, but it’s certainly worth a read, especially for anyone with an interest in the Tour de France of the Vuelta or the Giro d’Italia.
Sol is a support rider in a team in the ‘Tour’ (which one is not mentioned, but one assumes France). It is Day 11 when the action starts. Reed manages to get over the inevitably mundane and tough life of a professional sportsman. The accuracy with which he writes about life on the ‘Tour’ I will leave to someone with more knowledge than me to comment on, but clearly it is not as glamorous as one might imagine from TV.
The plot is of secondary importance to the descriptions of day to day life for the riders, but there is one, which meanders somewhat as if not sure what direction to head in.
It certainly isn’t a literary novel, but this debut novel will attract fans of the Tour, and does keep the attention.
Sol is a support rider in a team in the ‘Tour’ (which one is not mentioned, but one assumes France). It is Day 11 when the action starts. Reed manages to get over the inevitably mundane and tough life of a professional sportsman. The accuracy with which he writes about life on the ‘Tour’ I will leave to someone with more knowledge than me to comment on, but clearly it is not as glamorous as one might imagine from TV.
The plot is of secondary importance to the descriptions of day to day life for the riders, but there is one, which meanders somewhat as if not sure what direction to head in.
It certainly isn’t a literary novel, but this debut novel will attract fans of the Tour, and does keep the attention.
July 7, 2018
I received an ARC from Goodreads on a giveaway. Thanks so much for that.
We Begin Our Ascent, Joe Mungo Reed's debut novel, was quite educational, in that through it I learned a great deal about professional cycling. Specifically, I learned that even if I were a gifted cyclist, participating in the sport engenders no appeal; it is overly dangerous, and, if portrayed accurately in the novel, it is plagued with performance-enhancing drugs like no other sport, except perhaps for professional bodybuilding.
While the author did a superb job bringing the adage "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying" to an entirely different level, and while his descriptions of the battle within the peloton were paced beautifully, I had a difficult time sympathizing with the "plight" of the characters, including the cyclists and those enabling them.
Overall, We Begin Our Ascent was an interesting, if not evocative book.
We Begin Our Ascent, Joe Mungo Reed's debut novel, was quite educational, in that through it I learned a great deal about professional cycling. Specifically, I learned that even if I were a gifted cyclist, participating in the sport engenders no appeal; it is overly dangerous, and, if portrayed accurately in the novel, it is plagued with performance-enhancing drugs like no other sport, except perhaps for professional bodybuilding.
While the author did a superb job bringing the adage "if you ain't cheating, you ain't trying" to an entirely different level, and while his descriptions of the battle within the peloton were paced beautifully, I had a difficult time sympathizing with the "plight" of the characters, including the cyclists and those enabling them.
Overall, We Begin Our Ascent was an interesting, if not evocative book.
July 16, 2018
I love sports and work with cyclists. The Tour de France is happening now and I watched Stage 9 from Arras to Roubaix while I read this book. It was over cobblestones, not in the mountains as in the book, but the trauma was evident. I watched the Tour before for the field trip to France. Now I will understand a little of how the teams work together and the true cost to each rider. In this nice debut novel, the descriptions of the couples' careers and making of a life balanced the bicycle sequences.
October 30, 2018
“The question is not how to do what is remarkable, as it has been for so long, but to do what is sufficient, to know what is enough.”
I’m not a cyclist. Is that why I found most of this book tedious? There were beautifully written parts, but each page read too much like the one before it. Cycling, more cycling, eating, sleeping, doping, then more cycling. The obsessive behaviors required to become a professional runner / cyclist freak me out...So perhaps this was vaguely upsetting / triggering in that way. I liked parts of this.
I’m not a cyclist. Is that why I found most of this book tedious? There were beautifully written parts, but each page read too much like the one before it. Cycling, more cycling, eating, sleeping, doping, then more cycling. The obsessive behaviors required to become a professional runner / cyclist freak me out...So perhaps this was vaguely upsetting / triggering in that way. I liked parts of this.
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