Search - The Memory of Running

Oh I loved this book, mostly because I love a good schlub!! The main character, Smithy, is great. He's an "overweight, friendless, chain-smoking forty-three year old drunk..."...just from that description I was hooked, and had to read the book. It did not disappoint. The story was quirky, moving, sad, joyous, and all things in between, as poor Smithy sets off on his bicycle across the country on a personal mission. Enroute, amid the stories of the people and landscapes he encounters along the way, he reflects back to tell the story of his childhood and youth, his prom, his Vietnam experiences, etc., all the while revealing how his parents and his sister (and one pivitol neighbor) were so instrumental to his life. I love to read "debut novels"--since I believe these are the books that burned the longest in the writer's soul, and this was a debut novel. I highly recommend it, and will definitely seek out others since written by Mr. McLarty.

Great story. The pace of the book was like the ride of the main character, slow and steady but very interesting.

I absolutely loved this book, the story of Smithy Ide's bike trip across the United States to claim the body of his deceased, long-lost sister. Along the way we learn about Smithy's tragic family and his life and the series of unfortunate incidents that seem to befall him on a regular basis. Nonetheless, it is a hopeful story of indiviual redemption and you really cheer for our protagonist.

I really liked this book. I found myself thinking about it in between reads. when i got to the end, i wanted to keep reading more!! enjoyed :)

I loved this book so much I hardly know where to begin... It had a terrific premise and even better execution... Smithy in some ways reminded me of a less-socially-apt C. which may sound unkind, but Smithy is a noble character and quite heroic in his own way. Honestly, I would recommend this to anyone, really - it was that good. I sill can't get over the fact that the one episode of _Sex & the City_ that he was in was none other than my favorite episode, "Hot Child in the City" - what are the chances?! And the story of how this book got published (he couldn't find a publisher and ended up recording it himself as an audiobook that somehow Stephen King heard and pushed through his own publisher) is a great! All in all, I just loved this book and I sincerely hope he writes more!

Hard to grasp his story line when first starting this book. Wasn't till I was about 3/4 of the way done that I finally was able to really get into the characters and their relationship to each other.