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meadams's review
4.0
Altho bittersweet, this is a gooder. Kinda a mid-life crisis journey full of adventure. Great characters met along the way, everyone has a story if you stop and listen to it
zofie's review
4.0
Aangrijpend verhaal van Smithy die naast de zoektocht naar zijn zus ook op zoektocht is naar zichzelf.
awilbert's review
4.0
I really enjoyed this book about a guy who at first appears to be a total loser, but is I think very sensitive.
davefoolery's review
1.0
The beginning was ok. The ending was ok. I guess this means I did not like the middle. It wasn't that important that the book wasn't about running. I've got to stop choosing books because they have the word running in the title. The running was a poorly explained metaphor.
This book was about a bike trip which I liked in theory, but not in practice.
I did not like this book because:
1. Its shift from past and present was jarring and sometimes confusing
2. I did not identify with the characters and therefore their words felt empty
3. It felt like therapy for the writer, but not complete therapy, not to a point of understanding
I only finished this out of a need to complete it.
This book was about a bike trip which I liked in theory, but not in practice.
I did not like this book because:
1. Its shift from past and present was jarring and sometimes confusing
2. I did not identify with the characters and therefore their words felt empty
3. It felt like therapy for the writer, but not complete therapy, not to a point of understanding
I only finished this out of a need to complete it.
jmsmusings's review
3.0
I don't know that I can recommend this book because of some of the language and crudeness, but the story interested me and I liked the main character's journey. I feel like this one may stay with me for awhile.
steveno's review
3.0
I grabbed this after I heard it name-dropped in season 2 of In Treatment. It's a great story, but it's not very deep and some of the writing is a bit overdone.
In a lot of ways, it's a contemporary Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, told in a much more straight-forward (and flatter) manner.
Still, whatever weaknesses the book has are pretty much overcome by the great story.
In a lot of ways, it's a contemporary Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, told in a much more straight-forward (and flatter) manner.
Still, whatever weaknesses the book has are pretty much overcome by the great story.
pamelaaugust's review
4.0
What a wonderful surprise read! I was looking for another book and stumbled upon this one quite accidentally. I was drawn in first by the title, then the cover and what I read on the fly leaf. This is a middle-age coming-of-age tale about a loner/loser alcoholic 40-something guy working in a toy factory. His world is radically changed when both of his parents are killed in a car wreck and then within a few days he finds out that his missing mentally ill sister has been found dead. He is suddenly utterly alone. In his younger years he used to be an avid runner and bike rider. In his grief one night he takes off on his childhood bike and then begins biking from Rhode Island to California to claim his sister's remains. The book is his cross-country biking adventure--what he learns about humanity and himself. The only part I didn't like about this book was a few of his cross country encouters were too "victimizing" and random,, which caused the book to seem a bit far-fetched at times. However, overall Smithy Ide was a very geniuine and flawed, but likeable fellow.
neetslives's review
5.0
This book was first published as an Audiobook because the author is a frequent narrator of audiobooks and his company wanted to publish his first novel. Stephen King apparently read it while recovering from an accident and began to promote it and it eventually was published in print. I think what appeals is that the main character takes a journey almost everyone wishes they could take when their life becomes unbearable.