The Memory of Running

By: Ron McLarty

Narrated by: Ron McLarty

Length: 13 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Award-winning actor and playwright Ron McLarty is well known for his audiobook performances. What fewer people realize is that he's also an accomplished author. In this wonderfully quirky novel, available exclusively as an audiobook, McLarty takes readers on a quest to find hope and redemption with an unlikely hero.

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, LLC

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)

I Remember Running

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

It's been a couple of months since I listened to 'The Memory of Running', so the fact that I can still recollect the plot and characters and voices speaks loudly too its success.

What other book might you compare The Memory of Running to and why?

Forrest Gump. Like everyone else, the naivety of the main character parallels Forrest.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Like most saps, the very end.

The Memory Of Running

This is a truly great novel. It is read with the intamacy that only the author can offer. Insightful and moving.

Best

Based on the Stephen King Review I bought this book and I am glad I did! Smithy Ide is me ten years from now. It got me to thinking about the things in my life and how they parallel to the hero's own life.
It is not a tear jerker but it will make you cry at times. It is not a comedy but it will make you laugh a lot. It tells of a man finding himself at 47. It tells of predjudice, misconception and heartache over loving someone that you cannot help. I would call this a definite listen. I liked it so much I bought the hardback and made my wife read it.

Memory of Running very touching

I loved this book. The author weaves several tales into one in this first person narrative. I couldn't wait to see if Norma and Smithy tied it up in the end.

Out of the Ashes

I didn't care for the Smithson Ide (vastly overweight, unmotivated, slovenly) who first appears in this story but I was intrigued by his childhood and then his accidental metamorphsis. I went from feeling there was little hope to feeling enormous hope. Wonderful storytelling. This book lifted me as it lifted those who encountered Smithson. I look forward to the movie!

Reminds you to value the ordinary things in life

Heartwarming story with a protagonist that will stick with you. Happy I listened to it and didn’t read it. I might not have pushed through a few parts if I had been reading.

Author’s description of people, places and things.

I love a book I can’t put down. This one held my attention through its entirety. Enjoyed every part of the book.

AMAZING

Smithy Ide is the kind of character who draws you in and makes you want to cheer for him. You can't help but feel a strong connection to him, and you'll find yourself wanting to revisit his story time and time again.

Listening to an author narrate their own book adds an extra layer of depth and personality to the story. It's like experiencing the characters and their voices just as the author intended them to be heard.

Likable book about a not so likable character

I kept hoping the book was going somewhere, and while it was an interesting journey, it was an anti-climatic book. I couldn't even like a single character no matter how much I tried.

Memory of Running

If you're looking for a book that gives you an exciting plot with a great pull-it-all-together climax then this book is not for you. It took a bit for me to get into the story but I stuck with it and was glad I did. I got into the groove of Smithy's cross-country trip and looked forward to the hour each weekday of commute time so I could travel with the big lug (that's how I thought of Smithy) on his road trip and be told about the events in his life, past and present, that made him the person he was and to find out what was next going to happen to him "on the road."
The narrator/author, Ron McLarty, struck just the right tone of how I imagined Smithy to be -- an under-achieving blue-collar worker with a good heart who probably scored on the low side of average on an IQ test. He hasn't much of a clue about how to interact with people or how to approach a problem, he just sort of stumbles through. But you want him to succeed, you want him to be happy, and in the end I think he had made strides in that direction.