false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg 112147 19 Ron McLarty has joined the ranks of writers of the quirky hero with <I>The Memory of Running</I>. His hero, Smithy Ide, is in the grand tradition of Ignatius J. Reilly of <I>A Confederacy of Dunces</I> and Quoyle of <I>The Shipping News</I>. What these gentlemen have in common is their lumpen-loser looks, their outsider status and their general befuddlement about the way the world works and their place in it. Smithy rises above them because of his self-effacing nature, his great capacity for love, his inability to show it and his endless willingness to forgive. <p> Smithy is a 279-pound, hard-drinking, chain-smoking, 43-year-old misfit who works in a G.I. Joe factory putting arms and legs on the action heroes. (How did McLarty come up with that?) He is also the most beguiling anti-hero to come into view in a long, long time. McLarty, an award-winning actor and playwright best known for his many appearances on TV in <I>Law & Order</I>, <I>Sex and the City</I>, <I>The Practice</I>, and <I>Judging Amy</I>, has added another star to his creative crown with this novel.<p> The first sentence of the book is: "My parents' Ford station wagon hit a concrete divider on U.S. 95 outside Biddeford, Maine, in August 1990." This tragic accident eventually claims both their lives. It is on the day of their funeral that Smithy finds a letter to his father about Bethany, his beloved and deeply troubled sister, stating that, "Bethany Ide, 51, died from complications of exposure... and she has since that time been in the Los Angeles Morgue West." Beautiful Bethany, given to taking off her clothes in public places, holding impossible poses for long periods of time, responding to voices that only she can hear, and disappearing for no known reason. This time, she has been gone for many years and now Smithy knows that she died destitute and alone. When he reads the letter, he is drunk, grief-stricken and, despite a house full of people, he is alone. He goes out to the garage to smoke and have another drink and spies his old Raleigh bicycle. He sits on it, flat tires and all, wheels it to the end of the driveway--and--Smithy doesn't know it yet, but he is going to ride a bicycle from Maine to Los Angeles to claim his sister's remains.<p> On the road he meets the good, the bad, and the really bad. He frequently calls Norma, the Ides' across-the-street neighbor, confined to a wheelchair for years, and always in love with him. He has never acknowledged nor returned her ardor, but he starts to count on her friendship during his travels. Their conversations are sweet and revelatory. McLarty has done a superb job of showing us who Smithy is and who he is becoming. It's a wonderful story told with great poignancy and humor. <I>--Valerie Ryan</I> 859670 1999 The Memory of Running total:2118|5:494|4:857|3:553|2:150|1:64| 2118 7921 2854 464 1140104 0670033634 9780670033638 82 20 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181339869m/1140104.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1140104.The_Memory_of_Running_A_Novel 2 5 false Tue Mar 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Feb 11 13:20:16 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 19 09:28:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 239394 0751537365 9780751537369 31 4 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1173028076m/239394.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/239394.The_Memory_Of_Running 0 2 false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sat Jun 09 22:21:46 -0700 2007 Sat Jun 09 22:21:51 -0700 2007 more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 5 2 false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 07 09:00:07 -0700 2007 Sun Oct 07 09:05:05 -0700 2007 more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 4 3 false Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Sat Jan 05 19:52:29 -0800 2008 Tue Oct 06 14:53:19 -0700 2009 more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 3 4 false Tue Jan 22 11:02:08 -0800 2008 Tue Jan 22 11:04:26 -0800 2008 more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 5 2 false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 25 18:14:29 -0700 2007 Wed Apr 25 18:17:40 -0700 2007 more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 3 1 false Wed Dec 24 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Jan 01 19:31:41 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 01 19:44:22 -0800 2009
I couldn't get past the whole "you have got to be kidding" syndrome. Come on....more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 2 1 false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 09:39:41 -0700 2008 Tue Jul 15 10:01:45 -0700 2008 more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 3 1 false Mon Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Fri Sep 28 10:52:26 -0700 2007 Mon Nov 12 12:18:12 -0800 2007 more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 5 1 false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sun Jul 22 05:56:06 -0700 2007 Sun Jul 22 05:56:06 -0700 2007 ...more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 0 1 false Sat Apr 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Mar 10 16:51:27 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 10 16:52:19 -0700 2009 1140104 0670033634 9780670033638 82 20 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1181339869m/1140104.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1140104.The_Memory_of_Running_A_Novel 5 1 false Sat Oct 20 17:53:28 -0700 2007 Sat Oct 06 14:34:38 -0700 2007 Sat Oct 20 17:47:11 -0700 2007 more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 3 1 false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Thu Dec 06 09:36:12 -0800 2007 Wed Dec 12 08:23:02 -0800 2007 more...]]> 2898721 1402594291 9781402594298 13 7 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255617250m/2898721.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2898721.The_Memory_of_Running 4 1 false Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2003 Tue Mar 24 19:34:22 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 19:47:50 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 2 0 false Sun Feb 15 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 10:17:25 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 15 10:37:44 -0800 2009
This book is a testament to it and as such is a success. Other than that, it isn...more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 0 0 false Fri Oct 23 16:04:30 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 23 16:05:37 -0700 2009 more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 5 0 false Thu Aug 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 08 11:26:28 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 08 12:14:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 5 0 false Wed Aug 05 08:17:43 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 08:18:20 -0700 2009
Smithy Ide's life completely changes when in the span of one week he loses his parents and ...more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 4 0 false Sat Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 15:08:28 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 03 15:33:16 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 112147 0143036688 9780143036685 1901 408 3.74 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171655987m/112147.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/112147.The_Memory_of_Running 5 0 false Sun Jul 19 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 22:54:38 -0700 2009 Sat Jul 18 23:13:36 -0700 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=112147