holiday read

Easy to listen to while doing other things. Not use how much competitive cycling the author has researched.

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Intrigued

I was intrigued by the refusal of the "blurb" to tell me what the book was about. I am so glad I didn't know as it would have been one of the last books I would have chosen. I'm really loathe to say "what it was about" in case it has the same effect. The first few minutes were about people who will be taking part in an event in London 2012. (My heart sank!) The next were set on the Death Star from Star Wars. (Confused? I was.)

Neither of these passages were what the book was about.

I am so glad I didn't delete the book before I read any further - it was beautiful, touching, sad and heart-warming.

I think I'll listen to again soon. Perhaps in July as I won't be watching the televison.

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14 people found this helpful

What you give up and what you value

I was a big fan of 'The Other Hand/Little Bee', although I hadn't read any of Chris Cleave's other work. I thought this sounded quite a diversion and I wasn't sure what to expect.

This one did take me a little while to get into (as others have said) - it stops and starts in a deliberately obfuscating way. About half way through, though, it starts to get properly gripping as the past and the present agonies start to come to a head.

I do like cycling although I'm not sporty. I don't think this is just a novel for those who are sports mad, that is merely a (well-described) setting and the scenario for the kind of competitiveness in the relationships between the characters.

If you don't like or know much about Star Wars, some of this might be lost on you!

I initially wondered how this could ever be by the same author as Little Bee - but having had a few days to reflect I do see the comparisons. Cleave draws our careful dynamics between people, and between the units people put themselves in. He allows the past to shape the present in a very slow-burning but powerful way.

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1 person found this helpful

Average

Lots of slow build up to exciting climax. Narrator can't do accents and is a bit too well spoken.

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1 person found this helpful

A really good listen

This was such a great audiobook and I listened to it very quickly because I was enjoying it so much - especially as I live in Manchester!

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What does it take to be a top athlete?

This book gives you and Incite to the sacrifices that 3 athletes make on the root to the Olympics. This book is a tale of going for gold with a tale of love, personal sacrifice and inner struggles. At first I didn't quite warm to it but after a few hours it got me. A good listen or read.

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5 people found this helpful

Soap Opera

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.

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Nothing like The other Hand & Little Bee

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

I had high hopes for this book, because The other Hand was one of my favourite books, powerful, funny, moving and recommendable.

But no, this book was not time well spent!

Any additional comments?

I was really underwhelmed with this book. The other Hand was the kind of book & writing that will stay in your memory and thoughts forever. Surprised at how different this book was. 'Gold' had nothing special about it. I will forget about it, and I kept wanting it to end while listening to it. I didn't enjoy the writing, or the story and I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone.

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1 person found this helpful

Superb narration, superb writing

Any additional comments?

Chris Cleave is a beautiful storyteller. He weaves wonderful relationships out of the most difficult scenarios. Thought-provoking and touching, his stories showcase the very best and worst of people at the same time. They make you despair for humanity at the same time as giving you hope for our race. We are capable of such terrible things, such selfishness. Yet at the same time, we’re capable of such sacrifice and love.

Gold is wonderfully written, with moments of humour and sadness throughout. I gasped reading one scene, which (as it involved vomit) should have been incredibly disgusting. Instead it was so moving I nearly cried. Having read The Other Hand, I couldn’t imagine Chris Cleave topping that masterpiece. It would be a lie to say that Gold does but it’s a very different book, with a very different story and it certainly holds its own. Absolutely stunning read/listen.

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4 people found this helpful

astounding

Would you consider the audio edition of Gold to be better than the print version?

Yes

What other book might you compare Gold to, and why?

I haven't come accross anything similar

What about Emilia Fox’s performance did you like?

Lovely voice; very believable accents

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

No idea

Any additional comments?

Compulsive listening. Very disappointed when it ended.

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