A New York Times Bestseller Meet Smithson "Smithy" Ide, an overweight, friendless, chain-smoking, forty-three-year-old drunk who works as a quality control inspector at a toy-action-figure factory in Rhode Island. By all accounts, including his own, Smithy's a loser. But when his life of quiet desperation is brutally interrupted by tragedy, Smithy stumbles across his old Raleigh bicycle and impulsively sets off on an epic journey that might give him one last chance to become the person always wanted to be.
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A New York Times Bestseller Meet Smithson "Smithy" Ide, an overweight, friendless, chain-smoking, forty-three-year-old drunk who works as a quality control inspector at a toy-action-figure factory in Rhode Island. By all accounts, including his own, Smithy's a loser. But when his life of quiet desperation is brutally interrupted by tragedy, Smithy stumbles across his old Raleigh bicycle and impulsively sets off on an epic journey that might give him one last chance to become the person always wanted to be.
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Seller's Description:
Very good. A copy that has been read, but remains in excellent condition. Pages are intact and are not marred by notes or highlighting, but may contain a neat previous owner name. The spine remains undamaged. An ex-library book and may have standard library stamps and/or stickers. At ThriftBooks, our motto is: Read More, Spend Less.
This book reached deep into the emotions of ordinary people with extraordinary emotional upheavals. The main character was a hugely misunderstood person and found his way back to being able to love. I wanted to read more about him after the book ended.
Dogwalker1
Sep 13, 2007
Strange but compelling!
I really enjoyed this book, although I was the only member of our book club who did! The main character had no redeeming qualities and yet I could not help but cheer him on! The whole story was so strange (even ridiculous at times) but I was drawn to this lifelong loser and desperately wanted him to succeed! I cried at times and laughed out loud at other times, although I can't be sure the author meant to be funny! When his sister locked that awful boy in his own trunk.......
Tiger
Apr 5, 2007
The Memory of Running
I have a friend who had a beautiful, brilliant daughter who happened to be mentally ill and eventually turned to drugs and the streets. I watched the family suffer. Smithy's beloved sister, whose tragic illness shaped his life's story, is so much like her. My heart broke for Smithy and I rooted for him all the way across the United States. There had to be better things in store for the mild, lack-luster, but oh-so-loyal hero who accepted every outrageous humiliation and piece of dastardly luck as no more than his due. Does he manage to find his way, retrieve his sister, claim his love? It only seems fair, but life for smithy had never been fair. I couldn't put the book down until I found out, and I'm betting other readers will react the same way.
