Sign in with Facebook
J. Yandell's Reviews > The Memory of Running
The Memory of Running
by
by
I listened to the audio version of this book, and the flashbacks telling the story of his early life and his sister, Bethany, were very engaging. I was far less impressed with the present-day journey.
I couldn't get past the whole "you have got to be kidding" syndrome. Come on. A forty-something, 300 lb. alcoholic smoker gets on his childhood bike one day and just keeps going? Okay, maybe he found inner strength to not miss the vodka, and to ignore what I am sure would have to be serious physical pains and strains and discomforts. Maybe he even managed not to have a heart attack..... but he never even thinks about a cigarette? And at nearly 300 lbs, and riding anywhere from seven to twenty miles a day, he subsists just fine on bananas, protein bars, tuna fish and water? Do you have any idea of the caloric intake needed to sustain a man of that bulk, let alone one engaged in strenuous exercise?
Maybe it's because I write myself and am so attuned to looking for the thin spots that strain a reader's credulity. Things like this really ruin books for me. Perhaps I need to market myself as an editor for believability.
I couldn't get past the whole "you have got to be kidding" syndrome. Come on. A forty-something, 300 lb. alcoholic smoker gets on his childhood bike one day and just keeps going? Okay, maybe he found inner strength to not miss the vodka, and to ignore what I am sure would have to be serious physical pains and strains and discomforts. Maybe he even managed not to have a heart attack..... but he never even thinks about a cigarette? And at nearly 300 lbs, and riding anywhere from seven to twenty miles a day, he subsists just fine on bananas, protein bars, tuna fish and water? Do you have any idea of the caloric intake needed to sustain a man of that bulk, let alone one engaged in strenuous exercise?
Maybe it's because I write myself and am so attuned to looking for the thin spots that strain a reader's credulity. Things like this really ruin books for me. Perhaps I need to market myself as an editor for believability.
Sign into Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ to see if any of your friends have read
The Memory of Running.
Sign In »
Reading Progress
Started Reading
December 24, 2008
–
Finished Reading
January 1, 2009
– Shelved
Comments Showing 1-4 of 4 (4 new)
date
newest »
newest »
message 1:
by
Chana
(new)
-
rated it 3 stars
Jul 10, 2012 11:04AM
True, but if we only believed in the believable the world would be a lot less interesting and many amazing things would never be accomplished.
reply
|
flag
I think it was his love for his sister that pushed him to make the trip and ultimately saved him. This was such a story of healing that I loved the simplicity to it. I bought the whole story pretty easily. I mean, would it have been more 'realistic' if he met a pack of vampires on the way to Los Angeles? His weight and drinking were only symptoms of something deeper inside him that had gone wrong, and therefore as that deeper thing started to heal those other symptoms went away.
I agree J. Yandell. Smithy's cycling across America was impossible to believe, but I enjoyed it.
That's what ruined the book for me too - if he had struggled more and not just oh look I rode 50 miles today by day 3, or just craved a cigarette once in awhile instead of magically disconnecting with his old life I would have been able to engage better. If you write a realistic non magical book I have to be able to not have my credulity strained past breaking. I can stretch pretty far but if you're not writing science fiction, let's not insult my intellect completely.
