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Lädt ... The Bone Cage (2007)von Angie Abdou
Lädt ...
Melde dich bei LibraryThing an um herauszufinden, ob du dieses Buch mögen würdest. Keine aktuelle Diskussion zu diesem Buch. I am in awe of athletes, particularly athletes who make it to the Olympics. This is a book about two Olympians from Calgary. It is a novel but I believe it accurately reflects the reality of the hard work and sacrifices such elite athletes must perform. Sadie is a swimmer. She has a degree in English literature but she continues to live with her parents, work part-time at the university gym and train full time as a competitive swimmer. She has qualified in the 800 metre freestyle event to represent Canada at the Sydney Olympics. Now she has seven months to hone her style and reduce her time. Except life throws roadblocks in her way and she struggles to stay on course. The death of her beloved grandmother really throws her for a loop; she stops going to practices for a while but then gets back into the routine so she can keep her promise to her grandmother to win a medal at the Olympics. Digger is a wrestler. He also has trained and sacrificed a lot and has missed qualifying for the Olympics twice. Now at 30 the Sydney Olympics is probably his last chance so he is delighted to qualify in his weight class. His teammates from Calgary did not make it and one has a hard time accepting that. Digger just keeps training and working out and he is sure that this is his chance. Since both Sadie and Digger train at the University of Calgary it is inevitable that they will meet after they join the small group of Olympians from that facility. They recognize something in each other and soon are helping each other train. There could be a sexual attraction as well but that is just put on hold until after the Olympics. There is no time for anything but preparing for the Olympics. Until there is an accident and one of them has nothing but time. This book really gave me insight into how hard these elite athletes work to climb to the top of the heap. I will never achieve anything close to this and I don't think I would be willing to make the sacrifices even if I had the natural ability. Society asks a lot of the people who represent us at the Olympics and I don't think they ever get repaid. Sadie is a swimmer; Digger is a wrestler. They are both training in Calgary for the Sydney Olympics in 2000. They are both at the end of their careers, so this Olympics will be their last shot. In addition to the training, they have things going on in their personal lives and about half-way through the book, they do meet. This was probably good timing to be reading this, just after the Rio Olympics. I'm not that much “into” sports, so I wasn't sure how much I'd like this one, but I was pleasantly surprised that I enjoyed it so much. The author is a swimmer, so she could go into behind-the-scenes details most of us wouldn't know. The chapters are told from alternating viewpoints and I enjoyed the personal stories of Sadie and Digger, particularly Sadie. Since the book was mostly set in the city I live, it's always fun to read about places you know, as well. "I really liked how the characters were established independently in alternating chapters. At one point I found myself wondering if they ever meet, but I was glad that Angie Abdou waited so long to introduce them to each other. AbdouÃôs imagery and writing was perfect; succinct but illustrative with the right balance of narrative and description. It never felt over-written but never left me creating details myself. I found the entire book very enlightening to the athletic mentality as well as the aftermath. The title is perfect too. Read my full review: http://www.monniblog.com/2011/02/the-bone-cage-by-angie-abdou/"
Abdou’s story both questions and celebrates elite sport and enables readers to feel what it’s like to live inside an athlete’s body. I loved this novel, as expected — but the appeal of this vivid, fast-paced read isn’t limited to the sport community...The story explores the “relationship between body and identity, the challenge of post-Olympic depression, and the attempt to find meaning through sport,” Abdou’s ear for dialogue is sharp, but the descriptive passages of the book are often repetitive and predictable. Some of the poetic references ...blunt the symbolic resonance of the narrative, reducing the novel’s total powerOverall, though, The Bone Cage is well paced and readable, memorable for its fresh perspective on the lives of athletes and the obstacles they must overcome. AuszeichnungenBemerkenswerte Listen
Digger, an 85-kilo wrestler, and Sadie, a 26-year-old speed swimmer, stand on the verge of realizing every athlete's dream - winning a gold medal at the Olympics. Both athletes are nearing the end of their careers, and are forced to confront the question: what happens to athletes when their bodies are too worn to compete? The blossoming relationship between Digger and Sadie is tested in the intense months leading up to the Olympics, which, as both of them are painfully aware, will be the realization or the end of a life's dream. Keine Bibliotheksbeschreibungen gefunden. |
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Google Books — Lädt ... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyKlassifikation der Library of Congress [LCC] (USA)BewertungDurchschnitt:
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Well written enough, too.