Chris Cleave never shies from overt sentimentality in his fiction, but readers are persuaded to accept sometimes shameless manipulation by his literary style. Like the best-selling “Little Bee,” Cleave’s new book, “Gold,” is highly emotionally charged, but the story is smaller though the venue is intriguing and well explored. Zoe Castle and Kate Meadows are competing for the gold in track cycling at the London 2012 Olympics. They’ve been neck and neck in the sport for years, though Zoe has taken four gold medals and Kate none. Zoe has an inhuman determination to win while Kate, the naturally superior athlete, allowed life to get in the way. She became a mother, which slowed her considerably, and then just when it seemed she was free to train exhaustively, her daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. She and her husband, also an Olympic cyclist who sports gold, fought their way through to remission. Now as the Olympics are within sight again, and it’s widely believed Kate’s turn has finally come, the cancer returns. Did we mention that Zoe and Kate are best friends who share a secret so fraught with complications that it could engulf either of their lives. Or both. Cleave immersed himself in the world of track cycling and makes the most of his research in scenes of stunning athletic endurance, but it’s the trials of the human spirit that are his real material in a novel meant to move you. And it does.
