The Memory of Running
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Narrated by:
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Ron McLarty
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By:
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Ron McLarty
About this listen
Smithson Ide is 43 years old and weighs 279 pounds when his parents die in an accident. Lost in memories of childhood, Smithson uncovers his old Raleigh bicycle in the garage and begins a cross-country journey to find his beautiful, but tragically psychotic sister. Keenly aware of how ridiculous he must appear, Smithson nonetheless perseveres through a journey that is hilarious and horrifying. It is a trip, he soon realizes, that might provide his last chance to become the person he has always wanted to be.
In late 2003, in his column in Entertainment Weekly, Stephen King called The Memory of Running "the best novel you won't read this year." This glowing endorsement of the audiobook resulted in Ron McLarty receiving a $2 million two-book deal from Viking Penguin. Also, Warner Brothers has shelled out big bucks for the movie rights to The Memory of Running, for which McLarty will write the script.©2002 Ron McLarty (P)2002 Recorded Books, LLCListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
"Ron McLarty's The Memory of Running is the best novel you won't read this year. But you can experience it, and I'm all but positive that you'll thank me for the tip if you do....What I hope is that you'll order a copy and experience it for yourself....It's bighearted and as satisfying as one of your mom's home-cooked Sunday dinners." (Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly)
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Meet Dolores Price. She's 13, wise-mouthed but wounded, having bid her childhood goodbye. Beached like a whale in front of her bedroom TV, she spends the next few years nourishing herself with the Mallomars, potato chips, and Pepsi her anxious mother supplies. When she finally rolls into young womanhood at 257 pounds, Dolores is no stronger and life is no kinder. But this time she's determined to rise to the occasion and give herself one more chance before really going belly-up.
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Really disappointing narrator!
- By Jessica Williams on 01-21-12
By: Wally Lamb
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Signals: New and Selected Stories
- By: Tim Gautreaux
- Narrated by: Joe Barrett
- Length: 13 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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After the stunning historical novels The Clearing and The Missing, Tim Gautreaux now ranges freely through contemporary life with 12 new stories and eight from previous collections. Most are set in his beloved Louisiana, many hard by or on the Mississippi River, others in North Carolina, and even in midwinter Minnesota. But generally it's heat, humidity, and bugs that beset his people as they wrestle with affairs of the heart, matters of faith, and the pros and cons of tight-knit communities.
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Perfection! Amazing writer/amazing reader
- By Monique on 01-08-19
By: Tim Gautreaux
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Art in America
- By: Ron McLarty
- Narrated by: Ron McLarty
- Length: 14 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
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Art in America tells the story of unknown writer Steven Kearney, an aging man whose lifelong commitment to his art finally brings him to homelessness in NYC. Then miraculously he receives an invitation to become playwright in residence of a troubled Rocky Mountain town.
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Another great tale from Ron McLarty
- By TypicalConsumer on 08-18-09
By: Ron McLarty
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Where I'm Calling From
- Selected Stories
- By: Raymond Carver
- Narrated by: Norman Dietz
- Length: 16 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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By the time of his early death in 1988, Raymond Carver had established himself as one of the great practitioners of the American short story. Where I'm Calling From, his last collection, encompasses classic stories from Cathedral, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, and earlier Carver volumes, along with seven new works previously unpublished in book form.
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Love Carver, But Dietz Ruins It With Reading
- By Noirbat on 05-10-18
By: Raymond Carver
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Too Bright to Hear Too Loud to See
- By: Juliann Garey
- Narrated by: Dan Butler
- Length: 11 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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In her tour-de-force first novel, Juliann Garey takes us inside the restless mind, ravaged heart, and anguished soul of Greyson Todd, a successful Hollywood studio executive who leaves his wife and young daughter and for a decade travels the world giving free reign to the bipolar disorder he's been forced to keep hidden for almost 20 years.
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Psychosis or Syphilis?
- By Vira on 04-02-13
By: Juliann Garey
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American Rust
- By: Philipp Meyer
- Narrated by: Tom Stechschulte
- Length: 12 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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Set in a beautiful but economically devastated Pennsylvania steel town, American Rust is a novel of the lost American dream and the desperation-as well as the acts of friendship, loyalty, and love-that arise from its loss. From local bars to train yards to prison, it is the story of two young men, bound to the town by family, responsibility, inertia, and the beauty around them, who dream of a future beyond the factories and abandoned homes.
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A Web of Despair and Desperation
- By Darwin8u on 07-16-12
By: Philipp Meyer
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Bullet in the Brain
- By: Tobias Wolff
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 13 mins
- Unabridged
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Anders is an angry, cynical man. A book critic known for his scathing reviews, he finds any excuse to dismiss, belittle, or insult. This afternoon is no more agitating than the next. Angers finds himself in a long line at the bank, waiting to reach a teller. Even after two men - wearing masks and carrying guns - take control of the building, Anders is unfazed. It's this behavior that lands him with a pistol against his stomach and a man screamingin his face. And when the bank robber, indignant over Anders' behavior, shoots the book critic in the head, his mind floats through the memories of his life, settling on one particular event....
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The Perfect Example
- By Sarah on 08-01-17
By: Tobias Wolff
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Fourth of July Creek
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- By: Smith Henderson
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- Length: 15 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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After trying to help Benjamin Pearl, an undernourished, nearly feral 11-year-old boy living in the Montana wilderness, social worker Pete Snow comes face-to-face with the boy's profoundly disturbed father, Jeremiah. With courage and caution, Pete slowly earns a measure of trust from this paranoid survivalist itching for a final conflict that will signal the coming End Times. But as Pete's own family spins out of control, Pearl's activities spark the full-blown interest of the FBI, putting Pete at the center of a massive manhunt from which no one will emerge unscathed.
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The Ghost of Tom Joad & the Wrath of Grapes
- By Mel on 06-30-14
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This Dark Road to Mercy
- A Novel
- By: Wiley Cash
- Narrated by: Jenna Lamia, Erik Bergmann, Scott Sowers
- Length: 7 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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This Dark Road to Mercy is a tale of love and atonement, blood and vengeance, a story that involves two young sisters, a wayward father, and an enemy determined to see him pay for his sins. When their mother dies unexpectedly, twelve-year-old Easter Quillby and her six-year-old sister, Ruby, are shuffled into the foster care system in Gastonia, North Carolina, a little town not far from the Appalachian Mountains. But just as they settle into their new life, their errant father, Wade, an ex-minor-league baseball player whom they haven't seen in years, suddenly reappears and steals them away in the middle of the night.
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Easter offers chance at redemption; but no spark
- By W Perry Hall on 01-31-14
By: Wiley Cash
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Raven Stole the Moon
- A Novel
- By: Garth Stein
- Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck
- Length: 12 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Jenna Rosen returns to the place in Alaska where her young son, Bobby, disappeared without a trace two years before. Jenna is determined to lay to rest the aching mystery of his death. But ancient legends may have had a hand in Bobby’s fate, forcing Jenna to sift through her own Native American ancestry to uncover the truth.
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I love this book
- By Em mom of 3 on 08-27-18
By: Garth Stein
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If I am Missing or Dead
- A Sister's Story of Love, Murder, and Liberation
- By: Janine Latus
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- Length: 8 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
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Performance
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Story
In April 2002, Janine Latus' youngest sister, Amy, wrote a note and taped it to the inside of her desk drawer. "Today Ron Ball and I are romantically involved", it read, "but I fear I have placed myself at risk in a variety of ways. Based on his criminal past, writing this out just seems like the smart thing to do. If I am missing or dead this obviously has not protected me...."
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All About Janine
- By Ellen on 07-02-07
By: Janine Latus
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What listeners say about The Memory of Running
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall
- Ari
- 10-08-08
Don't Bother
It occurred to me that the overwhelming enthusiasm for this book is much like the story of the Emperor with No Clothes. Actually, a reviewer already mentioned that, but I swear I had thought of that analogy before reading that review. I can’t see anything that this book has going for it.
It is unbelievable that there are so many people that swear that this book has so much to offer. A plot does not exist. The characters are not fleshed out or developed, possibly because the main character/narrator is completely uninteresting and uninsightful. The language that the main character uses is completely shallow, unsophisticated, dull, and repetitive. There’s too much description, and most of the time it is meaningless, dry and doesn’t help develop the story. Time and again I wanted to know more about the characters, but the story never seemed to go there. It was completely flat. When tragedy occurred (and it occurred a lot in this story) I wasn’t moved probably because I didn’t care about the characters.
Now a little disclaimer: I only got through ½ the novel. That’s because I never read or listened to a novel where the first half was bad and the last half was great. I just gave up on it. But maybe there are some redeeming qualities later on. My gut feeling is that if you don’t like the novel after the first 2-3 hours of listening, you might want to cut your losses and check out something else. It’s up to you.
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8 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Izzy
- 08-13-04
A great
If you are down on yourself, this book may change your perspective. I especially like the way the various episodes are broken up and intermingled with each other. Experience shows that books narrated by the author are usually a good bet, and this audiobook is no exception. Ron McLarty puts all of himself into the rendition. A great story and Highly recommended.
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7 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Brett
- 01-20-05
A great surprise
I am just about to finish this book and had to take a minute and say how much I've been enjoying it. So many times I start a book and get disapointed.
Not since I've read Middlesex have I enjoyed a life-story book as much as this one.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Lisa
- 05-30-05
Absolutely Marvelous. Take this one to the Beach.
I haven't enjoyed a listen this much since "Middlesex", and it is every bit it's equal for both content and performance. A compelling story with memorable characters.
The book is a touching remembrance of growing up with a schizophrenic sister, whom he loves very much. It conveys the many ways the human psyche can cope with unbelievable and confusing events. You will love this character and root for him every mile of his incredible journey across the country and through his life.
And the writer is unique. Another reviewer is correct that this book is written to be read aloud. That is because the author is an accomplished performer of audio books. He knows what makes a wonderful listen, and he gives it to us perfectly.
Highly recommended.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
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Performance
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Story
- Paula
- 09-04-13
Missed the Mark for Me!
I listened and listened and listened, hoping that some sort of plot would evolve into a real story of merit, but it simply didn't happen. All I can say is "It could have been so GOOD!" The narrator was quite good, but the story line, which folded over itself so many times with so many different characters and life events, just didn't catch my imagination.
Other listeners differ in their opinion, so don't take mine for the final answer. In total, I found it just a shade above b-o-r-i-n-g.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Amber
- 05-25-05
Loved the character
I thought this book was a little strange. The main character seems to have been a doormat since he was in diapers. Everyone is mean to him and he has no real friends. I didn't like him. But, then I kind of fell in love with him. It made me cringe when someone would do something bad to him. I love how the author is his own narrator.
The journey he decides to take to bring his dead sister home is part Kerouac and part Grapes of Wrath.The journey is uplifting, but at the same time, depressing. The character changes a little during his morbid quest to give his sister a proper burial, but he doesn't change so much. He is taunted and taken-advantage of. But then again, there are some characters who make you realize that human beings are mostly good.
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall
- Howard
- 04-12-05
The Memory of Running
This book was meant to be read outloud and only Ron McLarty could read his own book with such finess. Found it hard to turn off and looked forward to my time to listen. I loved it.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Sherrill
- 04-14-05
Simple can be Complex
An interesting story about characters who are simple people on the surface but who you come to feel have some profound qualities deep down. Smithy is an average Joe who embarks on any amazing, physically challenging journey during which he has time to discover things about himself and the people who are important to him. Sometimes he takes such a laid back approach to life I wanted to shake him by the neck, but that's just Smithy and I came to appreciate his approach to living. The author could have done much more with the Norma-Smithy relationship, especially at the very end. Also I found the constant skipping back and forth in time in a cyclic pattern to be a bit affected, unnecessary, and slightly aggravating. The story is interesting enough to be told in strict chronological order. But overall well worth the listen and the author's narration is perfect.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Patricia
- 02-14-05
The Memory of Listening
Ron McLarty has written an American novel worthy of being read by generations of readers. I could not stop listening, carrying my audio player with me to the gym, to the store and into the house. McLarty weaves several story lines into this quintessential anti-hero plot. The anti-hero is on a quest without enough awareness to realize that he is searching. McLarty offers us this overweight loser of a character with great tenderness and humor and peoples his world with equally faulted humans, never condemning, just listening to their stories. My friend and I called each other to share tidbits of humor from the novel as we listened. Beautifully written and more powerfully read by McLarty. Congratulations Mr. McLarty.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall
- Pamela J
- 10-19-06
This book will touch your heart
This story is very near to my heart. If you've lost a sibling to death or disease, been disappointed in your own behavior, or have just given up, this book my help to set you on the right path. One of my favorites.
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1 person found this helpful