Gold

A Novel

By: Chris Cleave

Narrated by: Emilia Fox

Length: 11 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Building on the tradition of Little Bee, Chris Cleave again writes with elegance, humor, and passion about friendship, marriage, parenthood, tragedy, and redemption.

Gold is the story of Zoe and Kate, world-class athletes who have been friends and rivals since their first day of Elite training. They've loved, fought, betrayed, forgiven, consoled, gloried, and grown up together. Now, on the eve of London 2012, their last Olympics, both women will be tested to their physical and emotional limits. They must confront each other and their own mortality to decide, when lives are at stake: What would you sacrifice for the people you love, if it meant giving up the thing that was most important to you in the world?

Listen to Little Bee by Chris Cleave.

©2012 Chris Cleave (P)2012 Simon & Schuster

Critic reviews

"Cleave goes for the gold and brings it home in his thrillingly written and emotionally rewarding novel about the world of professional cycling.... Cleave expertly cycles through the characters' tangled past and present, charting their ever-shifting dynamic as ultra-competitive Zoe and Kate are forced to decide whether winning means more to them than friendship.... Cleave likewise pulls out all the stops getting inside the hearts and minds of his engagingly complex characters. The race scenes have true visceral intensity, leaving the reader feeling breathless.... From start to finish, this is a truly Olympic-level literary achievement." ( Publishers Weekly)

What Matters Most?

What made the experience of listening to Gold the most enjoyable?

It was interesting to read this novel about 3 Olympic athletes (and their coach) during the 2012 summer Olympics, but it would be good and relevant any time. The overall theme of the book is "what matters most in life, your career ambitions (and money/fame) or the people in your life that you love?

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gold?

To avoid spoilers -- wording it this way: A crucial decision made by the husband of one of the main characters, near the end of the novel, during an important race she was participating in.

What about Emilia Fox’s performance did you like?

The narrator did a good job of making the different characters actually sound different.

If you could take any character from Gold out to dinner, who would it be and why?

Kate

Any additional comments?

The one child in Gold has a fixation with Star Wars. I thought there was too much Star Wars discussion during the times the novel was told from the child's viewpoint.

Very Good--but not great--

I enjoyed this new novel, but it did not end up being one of my favorites. I guess I was hoping for a little more of the sport/Olympic storyline than personal drama, but it is a novel after all! It was written and narrated very well. My ratings reflect how much I enjoy a particular book, and overall, Gold was not a bad way to spend my time and credit--

Entertaining story

Would you listen to Gold again? Why?

My wife and I listened on a road trip. I didn't know how much she was enjoying till I offered to finish it and move on to another choice. Then we both agreed it was a good story, well told, and entertaining to the end. My wife and I don't often agree that much.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

A good look at the price of a gold medal.

Gripping!

awesome and gripping story from beginning to end! There is everything in this novel, you won't be able to turn it off.