|
|
Expert
Posts: 28047
   
Location: Back home again in Indiana | Another review of Marathon, this time from the publication Canadian Runner. Interesting what caught the reviewers eye, since Marathon is pretty much a PG rated book with only a few passages as naughty as the one he quoted. I guess I should use a smile face here. But it is a very positive review, and I can't complain. BOOK REVIEW Marathon, A Novel By Hal Higdon, Roadrunner Press Reviewed by David Chaundy-Smart Hal Higdon is well known to runners. His online marathon training information has probably helped more first-timers prepare to run 42.195K than any other online site. Higdon, who lives in Chicago, is a long-time marathoner, author of 35 books and a film reviewer. Marathon is his first novel and it’s pretty entertaining. I had just finished Jan Echenoz’s coolly understated Running, a Czech-writing-French-translated-to-English novella after the style of Kundera, so Higdon’s book offered a jarring transition. Marathon fictionalizes a big American marathon set to the occasionally lurid, sometimes cheesy but always passionate literary argot of the Colin Hailey and Danielle Steel school. The story is told to the reader rather than shown and the plethora of description leaves little to the imagination. “She played gently with the breasts, and felt her nipples come alive.” The runner goes on to comment that “God, she was horny. Tapering for a marathon did that to her.” Perhaps Canadian Running’s science editor Alex Hutchinson can research that one. Things are described a lot. We learn how many passengers Celebrity X’s Grumman Gulfstream G550 can carry, that the videos the middle class couples whose lives are tangled up in the marathon watch are rented from Blockbuster and the exact names of the mid-level new world wines they quaff between saying things like, “Hey Beautiful Lady, you better not fall asleep in the marathon next Sunday.” We have the brothers from the local running club who wear superhero pyjamas and eat, live and breathe running, there’s the supermodel who does the run for personal reasons, the cutthroat Kenyan runners, one of whom says, “I am crocodile. I am crocodile … I wait beside brown flowing river,” and a sports writer who simply doesn’t get running at all. This is a unique take on marathons that is sure to entertain runners, whether or not they’re impressed by it. In a way, it’s Higdon’s big, sloppy love letter to the world of marathoning and the best way to enjoy it is simply to go along for the ride. | |
| | |
New User
Posts: 4
| I just came back from a 6 day vacation to Aruba and I brought just one book with me to read: Marathon. I started it on the plane ride down and finished it on the plane ride back. The book will always be linked in my mind with this wonderful trip. Indeed, it enhanced the experience.
I am a 60 year old middle of the pack with 71 marathons under my belt. I've run marathons with 200 participants and others with 40,000 runners. I prefer the excitement of the larger marathons. Hal's book made me feel like I was a participant in a big city marathon even as I was sitting by a pool sipping pina coladas.
The characters in the book were real, some quirky, but never outlandish. I sank quickly and deeply into the various plot lines. Hal kept me guessing about almost every plot conclusion, with the notable but pleasant exception of boy gets girl (was there ever a doubt?!). And the last 100+ pages depicting the actual race - WOW! I couldn't put the book down, for as one plot line came to a stirring conclusion, an even more frenetic finish loomed in the near distance. All of this written in an easy natural style by someone who clearly knows his subject matter from the inside out.
Mr. Higdon, thank you for adding an extra dimension of memories to my Aruba excursion - my very own tropical marathon! | |
| | |
Expert
Posts: 28047
Location: Back home again in Indiana | This latest review comes from The New York Times, actually not the print edition that you can pick up at 42nd and Broadway, but in a special Chicago Life section offered to those who buy The Times in Chicago. Regardless of that technicality, it's good to get another positive review from another newspaper/magazine. After writing dozens of articles and running manuals (e.g., Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide) and competing in marathons throughout the world, Hal Higdon was bound to write a book entitled simply Marathon (Roadrunner Press, paperback, 454 pages, $19.95). What's surprising is that it's a novel that has more drama, action and thrills than a Tom Cruise movie as it describes the 72 hours leading up to a major marathon. Higdon, a contributing editor for Runner's World, tells the story in the grand tradition of fact/fiction books by James Michener and Arthur Hailey. This means his novel also has plenty of training tips to help marathoners prepare for their next big race. Peter McDonald is director of the annual marathon of Lake City (fictional name of Chicago), and he has his hands full during those 72 hours. In addition to praying for good race-day weather, he must deal with a recalcitrant sponsor, grumbling city officials, athletes with giant-size egos, pushy media people, and ensure the safe arrival of a mysterious race participant known only as "Celebrity X" (described as "More famous than Oprah"). McDonald does all this while pursuing a romance with Christina Ferrara, a television news reporter. And you thought that the only preparation was riding around in a comfortable car to measure the race course! Marathon sets a fast pace, and at the end, readers -- unlike the runners who struggle across the finish line -- will feel exhilarated instead of exhausted.
Edited by Hal Higdon 6/15/2010 9:37 AM
| |
| | |
Extreme Veteran
Posts: 348
Location: Silver Spring, Md. | Great review! Congrats! | |
| | |
Expert
Posts: 28047
Location: Back home again in Indiana | MARATHON Hal Higdon's Exciting New Novel Hal Higdon’s latest book is a novel, describing the 72 hours leading up to the fictional Lake City Marathon. Marathon & Beyond editor Rich Benyo writes: “Relying on both his decades of covering long-distance running and his expertise as a journalist, Hal has assembled a cast of characters from every strata of the marathon game and mixed them together in a literal tornado of time-sensitive schedules and flying feet. His weaving of all these characters into the first four hours of the actual race is masterful.” To order an autographed copy of Marathon, click here: Books by Hal Higdon. Also available on Kindle. | |
| |
Jump to page : 1 2
Now viewing page 2 [25 messages per page] | |
|
|
BOOK REVIEWS: Marathon
