We Begin Our Ascent

  • Author: Joe Mungo Reed
  • Narrator: Matthew Lloyd Davies
  • Publisher: Simon & Schuster
  • Duration: 8:12:22
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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.

Chapters

  • WeBeginOurAscent 01 OpenCredits

    Duration: 14s
  • WeBeginOurAscent 02 Ch1

    Duration: 39min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 03 Ch2

    Duration: 28min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 04 Ch3

    Duration: 31min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 05 Ch4

    Duration: 47min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 06 Ch5

    Duration: 13min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 07 Ch6

    Duration: 58min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 08 Ch7

    Duration: 34min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 09 Ch8

    Duration: 41min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 10 Ch09

    Duration: 42min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 11 Ch10

    Duration: 21min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 12 Ch11

    Duration: 50min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 13 Ch12

    Duration: 28min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 14 Ch13

    Duration: 23min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 15 Ch14

    Duration: 30min
  • WeBeginOurAscent 16 CloseCredits

    Duration: 27s