It takes until page 280 for the main character to say, “I am an imbecile,” which is the truest thing in the book.
Oh boy. So many feelings. That are conflicted. Is this a book about cycling? Yes. Do I love cycling? Yes. Do I love books about cycling? Do I love the book this wanted to be? Yes and yes. Did the plot get so wacky that I’m still scratching my head over what the author intended? Yes.
Was I still entertained?… Yes.
I’ve said before, what a cycling fan wants is to be entertained and to nitpick. I nitpicked. The team names. The rankings. What would and would not happen during the course of a race. (There’s more of the latter.) But the biggest glitch comes down to: this is not how people behave! It’s like a noir pot-boiler satire amped up to eleven. As written by @ukcyclingexpert. Except not funny. Except kinda funny.
(Also weirdly xenophobic? The Polish suspect is suspected literally because he’s Polish. The Italian suspects are obviously guilty because they’re Italian. The American is obviously innocent because he’s American. WTF?)
And did I somehow enjoy it anyway? It’s cycling. Heck yes I did. If it inspires multiple rants over “rebel escapeaways” that could never happen, if the team leader is somehow Chris Froome but even less likable and also somehow Captain America, if the Pinarello-riding team we’re meant to root for (not Team Sky *cough*) is so awful the only good guys are the “bad guys,” well, then, yes, I enjoyed myself thoroughly in this bizarro world of pro cycling. If I can protest a stage race’s outcome for hours, however fictional, then I’m happy; if I can provide further evidence that cycling and its fans are nuts, then I’m game.
Which might just be the most grievous part: the real sport is crazy! All that pot-boiler drama, you don’t need to invent.
(Note: I owe this book to a team effort. My friend Gayle alerted me (she knows I love cycling), I alerted my friend Rebecca (who doesn’t love cycling [yet] but works at the library with Matt who loves cycling), and next thing you know it appeared at the library with a hold under my name. If this is the first group read of the Greater Archdale Cycling Fan Club Book Club, I’m good with that. Librarian love, you guys. Librarian love.)