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A review by willoughbyreads
Once a Runner by John L. Parker Jr.
3.0
This is a story of resolve, and there's enough in the plot to interest all readers, whether or not they considers themselves to be runners. The story takes place among college athletes in the 1970s, and that premise alone at least provides some potential for a great read. However, no one would enjoy this book more than a runner.
Within the pages, there's a whole lot of runner's jargon, especially early in the book. In fact, I initially thought this might be more of an attempt to try and teach running principles through a contrived plot (sort of in the same vein as business fiction), and at times, the conversations between characters seem a bit forced in order to get across some general principles about running.
And some of that is probably true.
But I stuck with it, and about halfway through the book, a practical joke that results in a mock courtroom trial for one of the college athletes who has cheated on a test was absolutely hilarious. The character in question was the only one who wasn't in on the joke.
At that point, I decided to stick with it, and the last half of the book was better than the opening half. In fact, I found the race at the very end of the story to be worth the time to read the whole book. It was inspirational, emotionally engaging, and suspenseful.
My favorite book about running, however, remains Haruki Murakami's non-fiction classic "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running." That is a book that would appeal equally to runners and non-runners.
Within the pages, there's a whole lot of runner's jargon, especially early in the book. In fact, I initially thought this might be more of an attempt to try and teach running principles through a contrived plot (sort of in the same vein as business fiction), and at times, the conversations between characters seem a bit forced in order to get across some general principles about running.
And some of that is probably true.
But I stuck with it, and about halfway through the book, a practical joke that results in a mock courtroom trial for one of the college athletes who has cheated on a test was absolutely hilarious. The character in question was the only one who wasn't in on the joke.
At that point, I decided to stick with it, and the last half of the book was better than the opening half. In fact, I found the race at the very end of the story to be worth the time to read the whole book. It was inspirational, emotionally engaging, and suspenseful.
My favorite book about running, however, remains Haruki Murakami's non-fiction classic "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running." That is a book that would appeal equally to runners and non-runners.