A few booksellers have now seen a proof copy of my new novel, GOLD, which is coming out in the spring. Here are their first reactions…

“As with Little Bee, Chris Cleave has written a novel that encompasses love, compassion, and tragedy through which emerges the goodness of mankind and the importance of friendship. One reads the pages of Gold like they were racing Kate and Zoe on the track of the velodrome—fast, unstopping, breathing hard until the next page where you have to hold your breath to see who wins the heat….Emotionally stunning, brilliantly written…You will hold on for the ride.”
—Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT

“I do not how Chris does it—he makes you feel every little nuance and detail…You feel as if you have known [the characters] all your life… I loved this book and cannot wait to pass it around to all of my colleagues at work. Gold medal to Chris Cleave for writing an amazing book!”
—Toni Ness, Barnes & Noble, Grand Rapids, MI

“Gold is about parenthood, relationships, priorities, and the sacrifices that are made for love, or fear. It’s about celebrity and intimacy, the trials of competition on your head and heart, and about figuring out who you are and remaining true to that….Gold runs through a gauntlet of emotions that will not leave that reader untouched. More simply, this is a marvelous and enveloping read.”
—Jackie Belm, Tattered Cover, Denver, CO

“Chris Cleave has scored another ‘gold’ with his latest novel….Like Little Bee and Incendiary, it is impossible to describe; rather, it is one of those rare books you can’t wait to put into the hands of the reader and say, ‘Trust me on this one.’”
—Beth Black, The Bookworm, Omaha, NE

“Chris Cleave is a wonderful storyteller and Gold is as compelling a read as Little Bee….You will love these characters who are struggling to understand what is the right choice to make….I became so engaged with both Zoe and Kate that I didn’t know what to hope for.”
—Jeanne Costello, Maria’s Bookshop, Durango, CO

“I truly loved and enjoyed Gold! Chris Cleave has written another terrific story that will not disappoint his Little Bee fans and will only broaden his fan base. And how could you not love Sophie?”
—Susan Barthold, Barnes & Noble #2782, Willow Grove, PA

“Chris Cleave is already one of the luminaries of modern fiction and his talent shines just as brightly as the title in Gold. In a novel centered on the world of competitive cycling, he gives all of the work and trauma of that elite society but, more importantly, shows us the same work and trauma involved in the ordinary lives of his characters, particularly eight-year-old Sophie, who suffers from leukemia and demonstrates the same determination and courage of the world class riders. This is a novel that inspires, informs, provides sadness and exhilaration and shows empathy for the human condition that is rare. It is a reading experience not to be missed.”
—Bill Cusumano, Nicola’s Books, Ann Arbor, MI

“Gold vibrates and rattles the psyche—and made me gasp, smile and cheer. Chris Cleave has done it again!”
—Ed Conklin, Chaucer’s Books, Santa Barbara, CA

“Using the microcosm of Olympic level biking and all the sacrifice that the athletes make for one shining moment, juxtaposed with the very real threat of losing a child, Cleave has ripped my heart out again with a family story where the lines are blurred and at the end there is only life left for us to ponder.”
—Valerie Koehler, Blue Willow Bookshop, Houston, TX

“Gold by Chris Cleave is as riveting as an Olympic race for a gold medal.”
—Patricia Sanders, Barnes & Noble #2940, Towson, MD

“Gold is a heartbreakingly wonderful novel. Cleave has written a breathtaking, multi-layered tale that has everything a good book needs: love, friendship, suspense, heart-pounding races, twists, turns, humor and of course, Star Wars references. I found myself holding my breath in anticipation of the next page wondering where the story would go and unable to put the book down until I read just one more page. Cleave has an unbelievable talent for writing about characters you fall in love with and want to keep reading about. I don’t know which character I love the most, but I didn’t want their stories to end…And how can you not fall in love with Sophie? Gold is destined to be a bestseller. Like Little Bee, when you finish the book, you want to talk about it…you want to tell someone they HAVE to read this amazing book.”
—Eric Sample, Barnes & Noble #2305, Cedar Hill, TX

Here is a message I wrote to all the 250,000 writers who are part of the NaNoWriMo writing community this November.

Dear fellow writer,

Delivering a novel in a month must be the most extreme challenge in writing.

I can’t claim to have done it in a month, but I once drafted a novel in six weeks. That draft eventually became my first published book, Incendiary. There are three things you need to know about that. One, that the first draft was unpublishable. Two, that the obsession and the sleep deprivation drove me to a place of dubious mental stability which, in retrospect, we can all laugh about. And three, that I am more proud of those six weeks than of any other period in my life. It changed me. I was working in an attic room in Paris, living on coffee and nerves. I say “living” – in truth I was mutating. I crossed a Rubicon that they will have to drag my cold dead body back across.

That’s what you’re doing, if you’re doing NaNoWriMo. You could have chosen to write a short story this month. You could have redecorated. You could have lounged on your couch and absorbed reality TV, formulating opinions about which of the nice young people ought to be your nation’s brand new idol. Instead you have crossed a line of no return. You have chosen to engage – and in many cases reengage – with a dangerous process that changes you.

Read the rest of this entry »

As part of the legal profession’s pro bono week in the UK, I’ll be doing a speaking & signing event in Leeds aimed at giving lawyers information about what’s involved in working with refugees and asylum seekers.

The event is organised by the Manuel Bravo Project. The true story of Manuel Bravo was a key inspiration for my novel Little Bee / The Other Hand.

Please see the details of the event here and my personal invitation to lawyers here. If you’re a lawyer or working in a related capacity, please come along. If you know a lawyer who may be interested in working with refugees in a pro bono capacity, please let them know about the event.

Many thanks!
Chris Cleave

I was interested to read this blog post, using LITTLE BEE to provide some human background to the story about the US Senate’s decision not to pass the DREAM act, which the House passed in October.

One proposal of the DREAM act is that the children of illegal immigrants should have a potential pathway to citizenship. This interests me because such children are otherwise condemned to a life of illegality as a result of no choice that they have made, which poses an interesting moral question for the rest of society.

Something I try to do in my fiction is to take the time to explore the human consequences of political decision-making, which I think is something that the news media would generally like to do, but rarely has the time and resource to achieve.

I’m similarly attracted to the work of American writers such as Dave Eggers, Philipp Meyer, Adam Haslett and Cara Hoffman who are writing about people in the real world that political and economic forces are shaping.

If you’ll be in London on 4th Feb you are warmly invited to attend a public forum at the (very beautiful) Southwark Cathedral, 7pm-8.30pm, on the theme of refugee and asylum-seeker detention in the UK. [Click here to see event flyer]. On the panel will be me, Jonathan Cox (Director of Citizens for Sanctuary), the Revd Canon Ruth Worsley, and Tom Greig, Deputy Director of the London area for the UK Border Agency. Read the rest of this entry »

“[British] Home Office policy deliberately suppresses and isolates those seeking asylum, keeping them out of sight, out of mind.  The Testimony Project works to counteract this.”

I went to the launch of this wonderful project last night. They are building a perfect rebuttal to the notion that asylum seekers are somehow insincere or unworthy of our help. The videos on The Testimony Project’s site are immensely honest and powerful. Please take a moment to check them out, and add your voice to the project if you feel so moved.

Next week is Refugee Week, so if you’re UK-based, refugee friendly, and not  much of an egg-chucker, it’s a positive way to stand up and be counted in favour of an enlightened way of sharing this country’s opportunities, to the benefit of all. Read the rest of this entry »

This news has been well reported in the newspapers, but for the record: the oil company Shell has settled out-of-court in respect of a legal action accusing it of collaborating with the Nigerian authorities to expedite the execution of community activists who opposed Shell’s practices in the region. Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr, son of the executed activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, is quoted in the New York Times saying “this historic case means that corporations will have to be much more careful.”  The Guardian quotes Stephen Kretzmann of Oil Change International saying that Shell “knew the case was overwhelming against them, so they bought their way out of a trial”.

A short film from Refugee Action in the UK, showing the cruel dilemma faced by asylum seekers refused work permits and benefits following the rejection of their asylum applications. Their stark choice: live in the UK in destitution, or return to the countries they fled. As one contributor to this film points out, the fact that so many are prepared to accept destitution is the best indicator of their genuine fear of returning home.

Me discussing ‘Little Bee’ aka ‘The Other Hand’ on this morning’s Early Show: http://bit.ly/ecbIH