Gold

An ‘immensely enjoyable’ (FT) story of Olympic ambition and friendship by international bestselling author Chris Cleave

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Gold

By: Chris Cleave

Narrated by: Emilia Fox

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Summary

The extraordinary third novel from Chris Cleave, author of the internationally bestselling, Costa-shortlisted THE OTHER HAND.

Usually, this is where we'd tell you what this book is about.

But with Chris Cleave, it's a bit different.

Because if you've read THE OTHER HAND or INCENDIARY, you'll know that what his books are about is only part of the story - what really matters is how they make you feel.

GOLD is about the limits of human endurance, both physical and emotional.

It will make you cry.

GOLD is about what drives us to succeed - and what we choose to sacrifice for success.

It will make you feel glad to be alive.

GOLD is about the struggles we all face every day; the conflict between winning on others' terms, and triumphing on your own.

It will make you count your blessings.

GOLD is a story told as only Chris Cleave could tell it. And once you begin, it will be a heart-pounding race to the finish.©2012 Chris Cleave

Cancer

Cycling

Genre Fiction

Literary Fiction

Olympics & Paralympics

Physical Illness & Disease

Women's Fiction

Heartfelt

Cancer Cycling Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Olympics & Paralympics Physical Illness & Disease Women's Fiction Heartfelt

Critic reviews

Cleave is an acutely intelligent wordsmith. Some of the sentences cut so deep you want to scream out in pain and recognition . . . This is an inspirational and moving novel in so many ways, and everyone should read it.

The wait has been worth it . . . As with all Cleave's work, GOLD probes the limit of what its protagonists will do to identify and protect what they really cherish. And that, in Cleave's confident hands, truly is exhilarating.

GOLD is a very good novel . . . strikingly well written . . . it has that rare gift of getting past the urban sneer to move and gratify, to stir us because it does, indeed, matter. It is bold and brave and, when you're on your way to the games this summer, and the person opposite you on the train is sobbing hot tears on to their Kindle, you'll have a pretty good idea what they're reading.

Novels about sport are notoriously hard to pull off . . . GOLD , Chris Cleave's third novel, is a skilful demonstration of the form . . . This is no niche book for aficionados looking for a brief summer distraction. Instead, cycling is the backdrop for a deeper exploration of the struggle between the physical and the psychological... GOLD works as a novel because Mr Cleave manages to make the reader care about what it takes to win - or even to take part . . . The small details speak loudly . . . . Cleave knows what makes a good story. Here, his concern is not with macho physicality or crossing a line, but with the endless and enduring human endeavours: love, death and what is left when hopes and dreams are crushed or fulfilled. A book to savour long after the Olympic games are over.

'Cleave does a magnificent job of exploring the emotional terrain that top athletes must travel in order to become champions [...] Cleave has undoubtedly put in the hours where research is concerned, as the technicalities and the (actual) rule change that provides one of the novel's bigger twists gleam with authenticity'.

Cleave is excellent on the technical details of the athletic life which, along with its physical and mental demands, requires further personal sacrifices, both of privacy and happy relationships . . . This book overflows with astute perceptions. One of the most moving is the parallel drawn between the athletes' need to live in the present . . . and the more devastating necessity for the parents of a sick child to not consider the horrors the future may bring.

The race scenes have true visceral intensity, leaving the reader feeling as breathless as a cyclist. From start to finish, this is a truly Olympic-level literary achievement.

If there's one Olympic-themed novel you ought to read this summer it's Chris Cleave's well-imagined and researched look at just what it takes to compete at the highest level.

Most relevant

I don't think I was the right audience for this book.....I read the numerous reviews promising "it's not what you expect", "totally surprising" etc and I was hoping for something more esoteric...something properly surprising but it's just a melodrama.

It's definitely well written with some nice observations, and I did want to know how it all turned out which is obviously a good thing. The narration was also faultless.

I'm usually a little sceptical when male writers choose to write about purportedly complex woman and their friendships because, as here it rarely strays away from the stereotypical.

The whole narrative sometimes seems to be an excercise in punishing the two leads.

Like I said I don't think I was the right audience for this, it just seems a good illustration of why kids mess up your life yet you're supposed to see them as life's ulitmate achievement. No ta.