Comment

Oct 12, 2014
Chris Cleave has taken the run-up to the London Olympics as the theme for his third novel. It charts the lives of Zoe, Jack and Kate, three Olympic hopefuls whose interwoven relationship amidst the world of international cycling reaches a crisis just two months out from the games. Added to this Kate and Jack Argall's daughter Sophie has leukemia and while Sophie is fighting for her life, Kate is fighting for a place in the Olympics against her long-term frenemy Zoe. Sport is not the star here, and while Cleave does paw through the psychological baggage and practical demands made of top-flight athletes, this novel's focus is firmly fixed on the central menage-a-trois. It also quite frankly cycled a very fine pursuit line between sentimental, soap opera and sensitive drama. However I'm fully prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt due to unreserved admiration for his previous novel The Other Hand.