{"product_id":"the-memory-of-running-by-ron-mclarty-2004-hcdj-very-good","title":"The Memory of Running by Ron McLarty (2004) HCDJ VERY GOOD","description":"\u003cp\u003eHardcover with DJ in Very Good condition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOnce in a great while, a story comes along that has everything: plot, setting, and, most important of all, the kind of characters that sweep readers up and take them on a thrilling, unforgettable ride. Well, get ready for Ron McLarty’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Memory of Running\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e because, as Stephen King wrote in \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e (Stephen King’s “The Pop of King” column for \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eEntertainment Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cspan\u003e), “Smithy is an American original, worthy of a place on the shelf just below your Hucks, your Holdens, your Yossarians.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMeet 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 Smithy’s own, he’s a loser. But when Smithy’s life of quiet desperation is brutally interrupted by tragedy, he 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 he always wanted to be. As he pedals across America—with stops in New York City, St. Louis, Denver, and Phoenix, to name a few—he encounters humanity at its best and worst and adventures that are by turns hilarious, luminous, and extraordinary. Along the way, Smithy falls in love and back into life.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMcLarty’s novel has already received significant attention for its unusual genesis as an audiobook. Now, in a major publishing event, Viking heralds the arrival of a major new voice in American fiction with his stunning debut,\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Memory of Running\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Ex Libris Used Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47805094461667,"sku":"EXL002444","price":4.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0562\/5675\/7951\/files\/s-l500_30_48db976e-12fc-44a7-86a2-b6f613016a2a.webp?v=1767884236","url":"https:\/\/www.exlibrismichigan.com\/products\/the-memory-of-running-by-ron-mclarty-2004-hcdj-very-good","provider":"Ex Libris Used Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}