Finished Again to Carthage Last Night

I haven't read the book yet, but I am surprised by the reviews thus far.

IMO a novelist doesn't have to write a story that captures every reader everywhere. There are books that have been written that are classics that so-called experts have panned. I, for one, hate the Catcher in the Rye. Now I'm no expert, but I'm not gonna like it because someone else told me its good. If I had to read a book about a Violinist I'd probably hate it, but if its well-written I might like it (like Lance's book).

The only thing I can figure is some readers of the book want to be the first to say "I didn't like it" because that makes them edgy somehow. Personally I loved OAR - for me it was one of the best-written novels I've ever read. There were parts I didn't like, but the book stands on its own merits FOR ME. I've read the Runner's World excerpts from ATC and noticed some repetition, but that's okay. I look forward to my read. Maybe it's good, maybe it's not, but I'm not going to get online and hammer Parker because he tried.

If you can do better, do it. You'll find its not so easy.

I enjoyed atc, it was no oar, but a good read.

I haven't finished it yet but ATC is an excellent book so far. It describes perfectly how an athlete feels once out of the spotlight and that urgency to attain that feeling if only for one more time. It isn't the edgy OAR but it describes maturation and growth (or lack thereof) of the fictional character that we became so passionate about. It is a situational book, meaning that you need to be in a similar situation to understand those hardships, the confusion, and the desire to compete again.

This writing is good and descriptive of all aspects in life, sometimes too descriptive. There were some character building sections that seemed too irrelevant to be mentioned.

I am looking forward to the finish.

Well said.

You have to be able to put yourself there to understand it.

I just finished it last night, and I thought it was good. It's much different from OAR, not as much raw adrenaline makes you want to get up and run stuff, but you have to look at what the books about. It's much more sentimental, and touches on the idea that the blissful speed he had in college is gone, and he wants it back. I'd think someone who is finished with their running career would probably connect more with this book, but it certainly made me think about where I am and appreciate it more. The first part is kinda boring, but I think thats the point. All in all a good read, I'd recommend it.

college frosh wrote:

The first part is kinda boring, but I think thats the point.

Interesting concept.

thats not fair!! I sent for mine on the 26th of october, I just got it yesterday....and I'm already about 1/4 of the way through

I think the book obliquely acknowledges that OAR was a miracle book that fell out of the sky. Nothing is gonna touch that, and Parker should get credit for not trying to.

Just finished reading tonight, and I loved it. Of course OAR was better but this book was amazing as well, all I know is that over the course of my life few books have been able to make me feel the way these two novels did, Thank you JLP

I finished it yesterday and I enjoyed it alot. It's a different book about a different character than OAR, but it still captures some of the same magic. I know some of the people on this board hated the first half which was light on running and focused more on mizner, fishing, law, etc, but i actually enjoyed this.

The book does have alot of obvious errors, the editor definitely needs to read it over again, but overall its a good read.

I'm sorry but I just can't say I enjoyed the book, not even the second half. Everything was overdone, especially the descriptions. I found myself completely annoyed and irritated how many names Parker was pulling out just to insert into the book. Too much "Liquori this and Liquori that" and pulling up Costill? Seriously!!! I couldn't stand that part! As I was reading I thought, "Wow, we all know Costill did year long studies on Lance Armstrong and now we were going to go back and show that are boy Cass preceded Lance in that. Oh, and also Cassidy was there when they invented Gatorade. Oh, and also Cassidy knew everyone. Oh, and they all loved him and told him not to run the marathon because it was too dangerous."

It was just too much! All of the references to the first book, like that part where cassidy is testing the "if the furance is hot enough anything will burn theory" or some ridiculous thing like that. It was overdone.

Not a recommended read at all.

for some of us, OAR was something that we could relate to in a very personal way, we lived in the same time period. I am still waiting for my copy of ATC, but I suspect that it will be as satisfying to me as the new Eagles album will be. The perspective I anticipate is probably a pretty generational thing. In other words, you have to be a dinosaur to truly appreciate it.

"for some of us, OAR was something that we could relate to in a very personal way, we lived in the same time period. I am still waiting for my copy of ATC, but I suspect that it will be as satisfying to me as the new Eagles album will be. The perspective I anticipate is probably a pretty generational thing. In other words, you have to be a dinosaur to truly appreciate it."

Having just finished the book and turned 60 today, I would say the runamook has pretty well nailed it. The book is more of a period piece and musing on life in general. I suspected while reading it that the references and evocations of another era wouldn't mean as much to younger generations. For example, very few people my age didn't personally know someone whose name is now carved into the Vietnam War Memorial Wall. Once A Runner is more easily accessible to anyone who has ever trained and raced competitively. The new book will come easier to those of us who have lived the years beyond our peaks, especially to those of us who still train and go racing at whatever level we can. It is a very different book, but I enjoyed it and it does bring the story full circle. It is not likely to inspire you to go out and rip off 20 400s, but there is much of value to take from it.

I think I got the point about how and why the events that happened in the book took place, and I'm pretty sure I got the message. But in terms of how it's written, it feels like a lot of things that were done in OAR that were done to the effect of "Oh, that's sort of cute" now just come off as "wow, that is the most terrible thing ever."

I thought the casual mention of Prefontaine or Liquori in the first book was done very nicely, but in ATC it just feels so forced, so IN YOUR FACE.

I guess in general, things from OAR that came off a brilliant (such as the use of "hard as diamond" to describe running), came off feeling awkward and cold this time around.

I guess there are some things in the story line just are too ridiculous to be true. Again, in comparison to OAR, these events are so ridiculous that they're awesome! ATC, on the other hand, has events that seem too ridiculous to be read without either laughing or throwing the book in the corner and leaving it alone for a few days.

I got a good sense of what parker was going after in the early stages of the book. I understood how he was showing how things had changed, how Cassidy was living a different life, how people grow up. Somehow, though, I just can't get past the writing and some of his literary choices.

The book is far from perfect as evidenced by how long he struggled to finish it, but I guess I find the flaws less distracting. The name dropping doesn't bother me as these are the people the character would have known and run against (and Parker did know and run with) much as in the first book. The hardest part for me to wrap my mind around was the concept that an ex-miler who could be world class in the 5 or 10K would choose the marathon for his comeback, but I'll put that down to literary license. Anyway, I wouldn't fault anyone who didn't like the book. I think it's going to be a matter of personal taste.

oldtimes wrote:

The hardest part for me to wrap my mind around was the concept that an ex-miler who could be world class in the 5 or 10K would choose the marathon for his comeback, but I'll put that down to literary license.

Rod Dixon perhaps?

I agree with Gangsta!

OAR was written by a runner about running, and although at times the prose was labored and the plot choppy, Parker was able to capture the feelings of running, the feelings of being on a college team, and what the process of becoming a great runner might be like. You might say that our dreams became reality, vicariously.

ATC was written by a runner about a lot of other things besides running, and it simply falls flat. For most of the book, Cassidy comes across as spoiled, condescending and unappreciative (and the epitome of nepotism). The self-absorption that was charming in a college student has become an unattractive trait in an adult. Certainly there's a place for protagonists who start out immature and unlikeable and stay that way, but I felt in this case that the author wanted Cassidy to seem likable and admirable. I guess it goes to show that someone can be a great runner without being a great person.

Did Parker really try to fit Cassidy in all the historical moments of running science. Gatorade, Costill etc. It sounds almost like Forrest Gump for runners.

Run Cass! Run!

SMJO wrote:

Did Parker really try to fit Cassidy in all the historical moments of running science. Gatorade, Costill etc. It sounds almost like Forrest Gump for runners.

Run Cass! Run!

I can see how it can come across that way and some of the references are a bit clumsy, but you have to remember that both books came from the fact that Parker was a very good but not great runner in the midst of the running scene around the U. of Florida in those days (e.g., the reign of Doug Dickey/Dick Doobey, learning from Jack Bachelor, Frank Shorter sleeping on his dorm/apartment room floor, getting fired as the Florida XC coach for having long hair). For good or for bad, that's where the books both come from. And he was smarter than Forrest, just not as fast.