Cox by Kate Lace is a brand new, Jilly Cooper-style novel set in the world of elite rowing, so needless to say I’ve had it on order for a while. The author totally sounds like my kind of girl: you’ve got to love someone whose biography reads:
“After serving in the army for eight years, Kate Lace has found the best way to deal with testosterone-filled men is to point at gun at them”. I loved her already just for that bold claim.
Before we get into the detail, there are a couple of things we need to get out of the way. First of all, it’s a story about rowing and it’s written by a non-rower. You need to understand this in order not to be irritated by the occasional inaccuracy (though all credit to its author for her immaculate research), and Oxford rowers in particular will also have to overlook the Cambridge spelling of “Magdalene” (sic) Bridge.
You also need to understand that this is not a great work of literature: it’s a good, old-fashioned bonkbuster (or bodice-ripper, for my older readers). There’s lots of sex right from the start, though mercifully it’s much better written and not as kinky as That Book (which, incidentally, I deleted from my Kindle half way through, but that’s another story) and it won’t be for those of you with literary pretensions.
Cox tells the story of Amy, a genius cox with a fabulous body, who finds herself in Oxford caught between the evil-but-devilishly-handsome Rollo (tall, blond, gorgeous) and the dark and troubled Dan (tall, dark, gorgeous) who are both arch enemies and perfect sculling partners. Despite having little coxing experience, she appears to have a magic knack of spurring crews on to greater performances than they thought possible and, more startling still, the rowers all seem to attribute their success to her rather than to their own prowess. The story follows the threesome (no, not that kind of threesome – as I say, it’s not like You Know What) from Henley to the Boat Race and then on to the London 2012 Olympics, so it’s a perfectly timed summer read.
This wouldn’t normally be my kind of read (my Jilly Cooper days were a long time ago) but I can’t deny that I enjoyed Cox. It’s fun, it’s fast, it’s frivolous and it’s a great rowing fantasy. So long as you don’t take it (or yourself, for that matter) too seriously, I’d definitely suggest popping it into your suitcase for some holiday reading.
Cox by Kate Lace is published in paperback by Arrow (5 July 2012)
