Gold: An ‘immensely enjoyable’ (FT) story of Olympic ambition and friendship by international bestselling author Chris Cleave
Autor Chris Cleaveen Limba Engleză Paperback – 3 ian 2013
Ritmul romanului Gold este cel al unei curse de contratimp: alert, pulsatoriu și stratificat sub presiunea cronometrului. Nu este doar o poveste despre ciclismul de performanță, ci o explorare viscerală a modului în care ambiția modelează destinele umane. Chris Cleave construiește o narațiune care accelerează pe măsură ce personajele sale, Kate și Zoe, se apropie de apogeul carierei lor, alternând între momente de efort fizic brut și introspecții dureroase despre fragilitatea familiei.
Ne-a atras atenția modul în care autorul reușește să transforme velodromul într-o scenă a dilemelor morale. Stilul are ceva din proza tăioasă a lui Alena Dillon în The Happiest Girl in the World, fără să fie o imitație — acolo unde Dillon se concentrează pe gimnastică, Cleave folosește ciclismul pentru a sonda adâncimi emoționale care amintesc de propriile sale lucrări anterioare, precum The Other Hand sau Incendiary. Dacă în Everyone Brave Is Forgiven Cleave analiza reziliența în timp de război, în Gold el mută bătălia în arena sportului, demonstrând că sacrificiile făcute în numele unei medalii pot fi la fel de devastatoare.
Apreciem documentarea meticuloasă care oferă autenticitate fiecărei pedale, însă forța cărții rezidă în capacitatea de a face cititorul să simtă epuizarea și triumful personajelor. Este o lectură despre ce pierzi atunci când câștigi, o temă universală tratată cu o sensibilitate aparte, specifică unui autor care refuză să ofere răspunsuri simple unor întrebări existențiale complexe.
Preț: 66.80 lei
Preț vechi: 91.53 lei
-27%
Puncte Express: 100
Carte disponibilă
Livrare economică 01-15 iunie
Livrare express 15-21 mai pentru 49.01 lei
Specificații
ISBN-13: 9780340963456
ISBN-10: 034096345X
Pagini: 448
Dimensiuni: 131 x 197 x 28 mm
Greutate: 0.31 kg
Editura: Hodder & Stoughton
Colecția Sceptre
Locul publicării:London, United Kingdom
ISBN-10: 034096345X
Pagini: 448
Dimensiuni: 131 x 197 x 28 mm
Greutate: 0.31 kg
Editura: Hodder & Stoughton
Colecția Sceptre
Locul publicării:London, United Kingdom
V-ar putea interesa
-
Pastures NewClare BaldingPreț: 102.31 lei -
The HustleKaren WoodsPreț: 69.60 lei -
Gracie Jenkins Runs a MarathonPenny MirrenPreț: 69.72 lei -
-48%Preț: 41.15 lei78.81 lei -
-27%Preț: 57.17 lei77.96 lei -
-28%Preț: 56.53 lei78.04 lei -
Rush for the GoldJohn FeinsteinPreț: 67.20 lei -
WinnersDanielle Steel-56%Preț: 56.25 lei129.02 lei -
Golden ChildClaire AdamPreț: 69.36 lei -
SacrificeOisin MurphyPreț: 155.70 lei -
I Would Die For YouSandie Jones-34%Preț: 46.38 lei70.10 lei -
To the LimitMichael Crawley-26%Preț: 96.04 lei130.21 lei -
-28%Preț: 55.56 lei77.47 lei -
One Golden SummerCarley Fortune-19%Preț: 58.16 lei71.87 leiRecomandat -
Red QueenVictoria Aveyard-27%Preț: 56.17 lei76.81 lei -
SilverOlivia LevezPreț: 63.05 lei -
The Striker and the ClockGeorgia Cloepfil-28%Preț: 50.22 lei70.23 lei -
Winter StoriesIngvild RishøiPreț: 92.62 lei -
One Hour of FervourMuriel BarbaryPreț: 75.29 lei -
Preț: 57.11 lei
De ce să citești această carte
Recomandăm Gold oricărui cititor care caută o poveste intensă despre competiție și devotament. Dincolo de cadrul sportiv, este un roman despre alegerile imposibile dintre carieră și familie. Veți câștiga o perspectivă onestă asupra prețului excelenței, totul într-o proză elegantă care confirmă talentul lui Chris Cleave de a transforma suferința în artă narativă.
Despre autor
Chris Cleave este un scriitor britanic de renume internațional, cunoscut pentru capacitatea sa de a aborda teme sociale și umane dificile cu o mare încărcătură empatică. Debutul său, Incendiary, a fost recompensat cu premiul Somerset Maugham, iar al doilea roman, The Other Hand (publicat în SUA sub titlul Little Bee), a fost finalist la premiile Costa și a ocupat primele poziții în lista de bestselleruri New York Times timp de peste un an. Locuiește în Kingston-upon-Thames și este apreciat pentru cercetarea riguroasă și stilul său literar care îmbină tensiunea cu fragilitatea emoțională.
Recenzii
'Sport is so packed with tension and surprise that when authors or scriptwriters use it as the basis for fictional drama I always end up thinking the real thing is preferable by far. Gold is the exception. Set in the world of elite track cycling Chris Cleave's novel follows the ambitions of three very different cyclists with Olympic dreams. He captures the intensity of the sport with aplomb and if you have doubts about whether romance could flourish with the ferocity it does here then, well, look at Laura Trott and Jason Kenny, Team GB gold medalists, who made the front pages with that kiss'
A thrilling and quite literally heart-pounding story... You'll never look at an Olympic champion in quite the same way again.
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.
Extremely moving . . . It really has that same thing as The Other Hand and Incendiary, where you feel a bit lonely and annoyed until someone else you know has read it and you can discuss it with them . . . I really loved it and I do think it's one of those books that you want to talk to people about . . . no one will be able to read it then put it down with a gentle sigh. They will be pressing it on people.
With its tightly plotted twists and turns this is a novel of extremes - of the heights a body can reach in pursuit of Olympic cycling gold, and of what the heart can endure in the face of love, parenthood and an ill child. Cleave's writing is nothing short of poetic and this has to be our (very early) tip for the best book of 2012.
The Olympics are almost upon us and if like me you are given to wondering whether it's possible to be a superhuman athlete and a simple human being, GOLD is here to help . . . What counts about this thrilling novel are the characters: the flaws and fears that fuel their need to compete, the drives and dreads that bring them together and threaten to bring them to blows . . . Cleave artfully interleaves moments of high-tensile emotion with no less taut descriptions of action on the track . . . I don't know about Kate and Zoe but Chris Cleave deserves a medal.
Cleave's brilliantly plotted, nail-biting, and emotional tale dramatizes the anguish and triumphs of ambition and sacrifice, fame and heartbreak to celebrate the true gold of love.
If you are looking for a book to read to avoid the brouhaha of the Olympics this year but still want to get a taste of what all the fuss is about, this would be a superb choice . . . Cleave's style is highly readable, with plenty of humour and some wry similes and metaphors . . . It would take a cold heart not to be moved at some point in this book.
Compelling, dramatic and . . . pure gold.
Compelling and heart-wrenching.
GOLD is immensely enjoyable . . . The writing is energetic and urgent, and, far from being geeky, the descriptions of bike racing are among the most poetic passages. Best of all are the powerful, dark moments where we glimpse the cost of obsession with something as painful as cycling.
A riveting read because at the heart of it is the unseen, private world of our greatest athletes.
Underpinning their stories is poignant tragedy, fierce ambition, hope, failure and a glorious twist in the tale that will take your breath away. I tore through the pages with such rabid abandon that, by the time I looked up again, it was dark outside.
If you've read Chris Cleave's earlier novels you'll know how well he wraps searing social commentary in a gripping and engaging narrative. In GOLD he focuses his insightful gaze on the world of Olympic-level speed cycling . . . It's the perfect counterpoint to all the Olympic mania - but it's one for sports fans too.
A gloriously fast-paced romp of a sporting novel that's a must-read in this Olympic year. Thrilling and deeply touching, it'll have you sobbing.
Gold is an emotional rollercoaster ride as it explores what drives people to succeed and what they choose to sacrifice for success.
This bestseller-bound, tightly told story is unusually compelling . . . Cleave is that rare creature -- an Oxford graduate with an emotional IQ of Mensa proportions. Add some hard research to give his characters credibility and you have a dream team of story-telling ingredients.
'It is a timely work of fiction, but Cleave is meticulous in his research'
'Sport is so packed with tension and surprise that when authors or scriptwriters use it as the basis for fictional drama I always end up thinking the real thing is preferable by far. Gold is the exception. Set in the world of elite track cycling Chris Cleave's novel follows the ambitions of three very different cyclists with Olympic dreams. He captures the intensity of the sport with aplomb and if you have doubts about whether romance could flourish with the ferocity it does here then, well, look at Laura Trott and Jason Kenny, Team GB gold medalists, who made the front pages with that kiss' -- Times Book Club A thrilling and quite literally heart-pounding story... You'll never look at an Olympic champion in quite the same way again. -- Richard Madeley, Richard And Judy Book Club Spring 2013 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 Times 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. -- Independent 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. -- Observer 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. -- The Economist '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'. -- Independent on Sunday 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. -- TLS 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. -- Publishers Weekly 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. -- Daily Mirror Extremely moving ... It really has that same thing as The Other Hand and Incendiary, where you feel a bit lonely and annoyed until someone else you know has read it and you can discuss it with them ... I really loved it and I do think it's one of those books that you want to talk to people about ... no one will be able to read it then put it down with a gentle sigh. They will be pressing it on people. -- Alex Heminsley, BBC 6 Music With its tightly plotted twists and turns this is a novel of extremes - of the heights a body can reach in pursuit of Olympic cycling gold, and of what the heart can endure in the face of love, parenthood and an ill child. Cleave's writing is nothing short of poetic and this has to be our (very early) tip for the best book of 2012. -- Glamour The Olympics are almost upon us and if like me you are given to wondering whether it's possible to be a superhuman athlete and a simple human being, GOLD is here to help ... What counts about this thrilling novel are the characters: the flaws and fears that fuel their need to compete, the drives and dreads that bring them together and threaten to bring them to blows ... Cleave artfully interleaves moments of high-tensile emotion with no less taut descriptions of action on the track ... I don't know about Kate and Zoe but Chris Cleave deserves a medal. -- Daily Express Cleave's brilliantly plotted, nail-biting, and emotional tale dramatizes the anguish and triumphs of ambition and sacrifice, fame and heartbreak to celebrate the true gold of love. -- Booklist If you are looking for a book to read to avoid the brouhaha of the Olympics this year but still want to get a taste of what all the fuss is about, this would be a superb choice ... Cleave's style is highly readable, with plenty of humour and some wry similes and metaphors ... It would take a cold heart not to be moved at some point in this book. -- thebookbag.co.uk Compelling, dramatic and ... pure gold. -- Scotsman Compelling and heart-wrenching. -- Good Housekeeping GOLD is immensely enjoyable ... The writing is energetic and urgent, and, far from being geeky, the descriptions of bike racing are among the most poetic passages. Best of all are the powerful, dark moments where we glimpse the cost of obsession with something as painful as cycling. -- Financial Times A riveting read because at the heart of it is the unseen, private world of our greatest athletes. -- Press Association Underpinning their stories is poignant tragedy, fierce ambition, hope, failure and a glorious twist in the tale that will take your breath away. I tore through the pages with such rabid abandon that, by the time I looked up again, it was dark outside. -- Herald If you've read Chris Cleave's earlier novels you'll know how well he wraps searing social commentary in a gripping and engaging narrative. In GOLD he focuses his insightful gaze on the world of Olympic-level speed cycling ... It's the perfect counterpoint to all the Olympic mania - but it's one for sports fans too. -- Irish Times A gloriously fast-paced romp of a sporting novel that's a must-read in this Olympic year. Thrilling and deeply touching, it'll have you sobbing. -- FHM Gold is an emotional rollercoaster ride as it explores what drives people to succeed and what they choose to sacrifice for success. -- Choice This bestseller-bound, tightly told story is unusually compelling ... Cleave is that rare creature -- an Oxford graduate with an emotional IQ of Mensa proportions. Add some hard research to give his characters credibility and you have a dream team of story-telling ingredients. -- Evening Standard 'It is a timely work of fiction, but Cleave is meticulous in his research' -- Claire Byrne, Irish Times Books of the Year
A thrilling and quite literally heart-pounding story... You'll never look at an Olympic champion in quite the same way again.
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.
Extremely moving . . . It really has that same thing as The Other Hand and Incendiary, where you feel a bit lonely and annoyed until someone else you know has read it and you can discuss it with them . . . I really loved it and I do think it's one of those books that you want to talk to people about . . . no one will be able to read it then put it down with a gentle sigh. They will be pressing it on people.
With its tightly plotted twists and turns this is a novel of extremes - of the heights a body can reach in pursuit of Olympic cycling gold, and of what the heart can endure in the face of love, parenthood and an ill child. Cleave's writing is nothing short of poetic and this has to be our (very early) tip for the best book of 2012.
The Olympics are almost upon us and if like me you are given to wondering whether it's possible to be a superhuman athlete and a simple human being, GOLD is here to help . . . What counts about this thrilling novel are the characters: the flaws and fears that fuel their need to compete, the drives and dreads that bring them together and threaten to bring them to blows . . . Cleave artfully interleaves moments of high-tensile emotion with no less taut descriptions of action on the track . . . I don't know about Kate and Zoe but Chris Cleave deserves a medal.
Cleave's brilliantly plotted, nail-biting, and emotional tale dramatizes the anguish and triumphs of ambition and sacrifice, fame and heartbreak to celebrate the true gold of love.
If you are looking for a book to read to avoid the brouhaha of the Olympics this year but still want to get a taste of what all the fuss is about, this would be a superb choice . . . Cleave's style is highly readable, with plenty of humour and some wry similes and metaphors . . . It would take a cold heart not to be moved at some point in this book.
Compelling, dramatic and . . . pure gold.
Compelling and heart-wrenching.
GOLD is immensely enjoyable . . . The writing is energetic and urgent, and, far from being geeky, the descriptions of bike racing are among the most poetic passages. Best of all are the powerful, dark moments where we glimpse the cost of obsession with something as painful as cycling.
A riveting read because at the heart of it is the unseen, private world of our greatest athletes.
Underpinning their stories is poignant tragedy, fierce ambition, hope, failure and a glorious twist in the tale that will take your breath away. I tore through the pages with such rabid abandon that, by the time I looked up again, it was dark outside.
If you've read Chris Cleave's earlier novels you'll know how well he wraps searing social commentary in a gripping and engaging narrative. In GOLD he focuses his insightful gaze on the world of Olympic-level speed cycling . . . It's the perfect counterpoint to all the Olympic mania - but it's one for sports fans too.
A gloriously fast-paced romp of a sporting novel that's a must-read in this Olympic year. Thrilling and deeply touching, it'll have you sobbing.
Gold is an emotional rollercoaster ride as it explores what drives people to succeed and what they choose to sacrifice for success.
This bestseller-bound, tightly told story is unusually compelling . . . Cleave is that rare creature -- an Oxford graduate with an emotional IQ of Mensa proportions. Add some hard research to give his characters credibility and you have a dream team of story-telling ingredients.
'It is a timely work of fiction, but Cleave is meticulous in his research'
'Sport is so packed with tension and surprise that when authors or scriptwriters use it as the basis for fictional drama I always end up thinking the real thing is preferable by far. Gold is the exception. Set in the world of elite track cycling Chris Cleave's novel follows the ambitions of three very different cyclists with Olympic dreams. He captures the intensity of the sport with aplomb and if you have doubts about whether romance could flourish with the ferocity it does here then, well, look at Laura Trott and Jason Kenny, Team GB gold medalists, who made the front pages with that kiss' -- Times Book Club A thrilling and quite literally heart-pounding story... You'll never look at an Olympic champion in quite the same way again. -- Richard Madeley, Richard And Judy Book Club Spring 2013 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 Times 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. -- Independent 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. -- Observer 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. -- The Economist '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'. -- Independent on Sunday 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. -- TLS 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. -- Publishers Weekly 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. -- Daily Mirror Extremely moving ... It really has that same thing as The Other Hand and Incendiary, where you feel a bit lonely and annoyed until someone else you know has read it and you can discuss it with them ... I really loved it and I do think it's one of those books that you want to talk to people about ... no one will be able to read it then put it down with a gentle sigh. They will be pressing it on people. -- Alex Heminsley, BBC 6 Music With its tightly plotted twists and turns this is a novel of extremes - of the heights a body can reach in pursuit of Olympic cycling gold, and of what the heart can endure in the face of love, parenthood and an ill child. Cleave's writing is nothing short of poetic and this has to be our (very early) tip for the best book of 2012. -- Glamour The Olympics are almost upon us and if like me you are given to wondering whether it's possible to be a superhuman athlete and a simple human being, GOLD is here to help ... What counts about this thrilling novel are the characters: the flaws and fears that fuel their need to compete, the drives and dreads that bring them together and threaten to bring them to blows ... Cleave artfully interleaves moments of high-tensile emotion with no less taut descriptions of action on the track ... I don't know about Kate and Zoe but Chris Cleave deserves a medal. -- Daily Express Cleave's brilliantly plotted, nail-biting, and emotional tale dramatizes the anguish and triumphs of ambition and sacrifice, fame and heartbreak to celebrate the true gold of love. -- Booklist If you are looking for a book to read to avoid the brouhaha of the Olympics this year but still want to get a taste of what all the fuss is about, this would be a superb choice ... Cleave's style is highly readable, with plenty of humour and some wry similes and metaphors ... It would take a cold heart not to be moved at some point in this book. -- thebookbag.co.uk Compelling, dramatic and ... pure gold. -- Scotsman Compelling and heart-wrenching. -- Good Housekeeping GOLD is immensely enjoyable ... The writing is energetic and urgent, and, far from being geeky, the descriptions of bike racing are among the most poetic passages. Best of all are the powerful, dark moments where we glimpse the cost of obsession with something as painful as cycling. -- Financial Times A riveting read because at the heart of it is the unseen, private world of our greatest athletes. -- Press Association Underpinning their stories is poignant tragedy, fierce ambition, hope, failure and a glorious twist in the tale that will take your breath away. I tore through the pages with such rabid abandon that, by the time I looked up again, it was dark outside. -- Herald If you've read Chris Cleave's earlier novels you'll know how well he wraps searing social commentary in a gripping and engaging narrative. In GOLD he focuses his insightful gaze on the world of Olympic-level speed cycling ... It's the perfect counterpoint to all the Olympic mania - but it's one for sports fans too. -- Irish Times A gloriously fast-paced romp of a sporting novel that's a must-read in this Olympic year. Thrilling and deeply touching, it'll have you sobbing. -- FHM Gold is an emotional rollercoaster ride as it explores what drives people to succeed and what they choose to sacrifice for success. -- Choice This bestseller-bound, tightly told story is unusually compelling ... Cleave is that rare creature -- an Oxford graduate with an emotional IQ of Mensa proportions. Add some hard research to give his characters credibility and you have a dream team of story-telling ingredients. -- Evening Standard 'It is a timely work of fiction, but Cleave is meticulous in his research' -- Claire Byrne, Irish Times Books of the Year
Descriere
The extraordinary third novel from Chris Cleave, author of the internationally bestselling, Costa-shortlisted THE OTHER HAND. Kate and Zoe are friends but also ardent rivals - athletes at the top of their game, fighting to compete in the world's greatest sporting contest. Each scarred by tragedy, and each with a great deal to lose, they must choose between family and glory and ask themselves: what will I sacrifice? GOLD captures the extraordinary effort and dedication that go into the pursuit of victory.
But this life-affirming novel is about more than sport. It is about human endurance, motherhood and love, and what enables us all, in our different ways, to achieve the remarkable. It 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.
Notă biografică
Chris Cleave's debut novel INCENDIARY was a prize-winner and international bestseller and his second novel, THE OTHER HAND has found phenomenal success both in the UK and abroad, hitting number one on the New York Times bestseller list. He is married with three children, and lives in Surrey. He keeps a website at www.chriscleave.com and can be found on twitter.com/chriscleave.