whatthedeuce's Reviews (1.39k)

This book will now make me look differently at the smiling young gymnasts I see parading across my TV screen at the Summer Olympics. They pay too heavy a price to be there, and apparently, many don't even get to mingle with fellow athletes or enjoy participating in their own events once they've arrived because all the emphasis is put on winning and not on partaking in the Olympic experience itself.

This book was a much quicker read than I expected, considering that I didn't enjoy McEwan's Cement Garden. It's beautifully written and subtly humorous at times. I highly recommend it to one and all!

Talk about a tearjerker! I was nearly bawling by p. 34 of this 400+ page book, that's how damn moving it can be! At times, it was also funny and infuriating and terribly thought-provoking.