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    We Begin Our Ascent
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    We Begin Our Ascent
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    We Begin Our Ascent
    Audiobook6 hours

    We Begin Our Ascent

    Written by Joe Mungo Reed

    Narrated by Joseph Tweedale

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    ‘A dazzling debut by an exciting and essential new talent’ George Saunders, Man Booker Prize winning author of Lincoln in the Bardo

    For Sol and Liz, competition is everything. On the road or in the lab, it’s all on the line.

    As a young professional cyclist in the Tour de France and a geneticist on the brink of a major discovery, success looks within reach for them both – if only they can reach out and grab it.

    But everything comes at a cost, whether that’s starting a family or doping to keep up with the team, and soon the worlds of drugs, cycling and family will collide, and they will be forced to decide whether the price of accomplishment is something they can afford.

    In this powerful, gripping and blackly comic debut, this young couple must ask themselves: what is it we’re striving for? And what is it worth?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJul 5, 2018
    ISBN9780008298180
    Author

    Joe Mungo Reed

    Joe Mungo Reed was born in London and raised in Gloucestershire, England. He has a degree in philosophy and politics from the University of Edinburgh, an MFA in creative writing from Syracuse University, and a PhD in creative writing from the University of Manchester. He is the author of the novel, We Begin Our Ascent, and his short stories have appeared in VQR, the London Evening Standard, and Corriere della Sera. He is currently living in Edinburgh, UK.

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    Reviews for We Begin Our Ascent

    4/5

    22 ratings3 reviews

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    • 3/5
      I grew up in a family that enjoyed bicycling and often the only times our cable package was upgraded was to watch the Tour de France each summer. This novel brings back a lot of those memories. It's narrated by one of the cyclists in the tour, not one of the leaders, but a teammate who is expected to anything to help his leader win, including taking drugs. As the narrator reflects on his life and his family, one starts to think he may be ready to turn over a new leaf in his life, but the stakes just keep getting higher and his wife becomes embroiled in the team's doping activities. An interesting read, that makes one think of all the cycling headlines of the past two decades.
    • 5/5
      An excellent cycling novel, even better I think than Tim Krabbé's "The Rider". An intelligent, observant cyclist races the Tour de France (in support of his team leader), while contemplating his career and life outside cycling. The writing is great (though occasionally three sentences are used when two would do), the observations perfect and real. The characters aren't quite perfect and the story is wrapped up too easily.
    • 4/5
      Sol has been a professional cyclist for years but has never achieved any real fame or fortune. His wife, Liz, a geneticist, and their son, Barry, are back home in England while Sol is busy trying to help his teammate, Fabrice, win the Tour De France. In a sport in which some people are willing to cheat their way to victory, Sol is forced to decide what he is willing to risk to get to the top.For a decent portion of the book, I wasn't really feeling the story or characters but by the end I came to appreciate how it ended up being a bit different from what I normally read. While I enjoy most sports, cycling has never been my thing and in all honesty until reading this book I never entirely understood the whole "working as a team, but there's only an individual winner in the end" concept of the sport. But even if you don't find cycling all that exciting, this book brings up some interesting ethical questions in which you find yourself asking what lengths you would be willing to go for yourself or for your spouse. I'd say take a chance on this book if you are looking for something a bit different and can handle an ending that maybe doesn't answer all your questions. I won this book in a giveaway but was under no obligation to post a review. All views expressed are my honest opinion.