We Begin Our Ascent - by Joe Mungo Reed (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Exceptional...fast and smart, funny and sad, this is an outstanding sports novel, and Joe Mungo Reed is an author to watch" (Kirkus Reviews, starred review).Sol and Liz are a couple on the cusp. He's a professional cyclist in the Tour de France, a workhorse, but not yet a star. She's a geneticist on the brink of a major discovery, either that or a loss of funding. They've just welcomed their first child into the world, and their bright future lies just before them--if only they can reach out and grab it. But as Liz's research slows, as Sol starts doping, their dreams grow murkier and the risks graver. Over the whirlwind course of the Tour, they enter the orbit of an extraordinary cast of conmen and aspirants, and the young family is brought ineluctably into the depths of an illegal drug smuggling operation. As Liz and Sol flounder to discern right from wrong, up from down, they are forced to decide: What is it we're striving for? And what is it worth? "Joe Mungo Reed's unforgettable debut novel introduces us to a powerful new literary voice--as riveting as Don DeLillo's or Toni Morrison's" (Mary Karr, author of The Liars' Club). We Begin Our Ascent dances nimbly between tragic and comic, exploring the cost of ambition and the question of what gives our lives meaning. Reed melds the powerful themes of great marital dramas like Revolutionary Road with the humor, character, and heart of a George Saunders collection. Throughout, we're drawn inside the cycling world and treated to the brilliant literary sports-writing of modern classics like The Art of Fielding or End Zone.

Review Quotes

"Joe Mungo Reed has the sort of triple-barreled name that often comes attached to a certain kind of disheveled country music star...But scratch all that. Reed is young and English and...based on the aloof, punishing control he displays in his small, tight bud of a first novel, We Begin Our Ascent, he doesn't appear to have a disheveled bone in his body...It's one of the indices of Reed's talent that you hotly flip this book's pages even when there's not a lot going on, when it's just another hilly day on the tour...This novel derives its power from its limited focus and direct language. There are no adipose, word-glutted sentences. Reed is mostly content to give us strong silk thread, absent pearls...This novel's darkness, like heart disease, sneaks up on you...Like a racer, Reed carefully husbands his resources in this ruthless little sports novel. He enlists our mind in Sol's project as an athlete. He sees the madness in it as well." -Dwight Garner, The New York Times

About the Author

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.