The Memory of Running is my favorite of the books we've read for Hero's Journey class by far. In fact, it's probably one of the best books I've read in a while.
But I have no idea why this is.
We're only about halfway though the book, but I'm already completely drawn in. Ron McLarty did an amazing job developing his characters and their story lines.
Smithy Ide, the main character, is 43. He is a lazy, overweight chain-smoker who spends his evening drinking and eating hard pretzels and other junk. None of those things are good indicators about his personality, and yet McLarty narratives from Smithy's view in such a way that draws the reader in and makes them sympathize with him. I don't see it as Smithy throwing his life away, I see it as him trying to cope with the past and his family and what he's been through.
Within the first few chapters of the book, I read about how Smithy's parents got in a car crash and both ended up dying on the same day. A few days later, Smithy reads a letter for his late father that said that Bethany, his sister with Schizophrenia, has passed away as well. It's hard not to feel for Smithy.
At this point I greatly pitied Smithy and so, while I didn't (and still don't) understand how he came to always going though a cycle of eating and smoking and drinking, I didn't put that against him. When Smithy had the biggest reason for letting his life go, he instead managed to get on his bike and begin an epic journey. This is potentially the reason I like Smithy's character so much. He got off his ass and started biking and wow... The amount a determination a person must have to decide to bike from Rhode Island to Los Angeles. Or, I guess, Denver. I know that Smithy didn't initially plan to take the trip and that the trip "happened to him" but, when he realized he wasn't satisfied in his life, he decided to continue on. It's unbelievable.
We also see more of Smithy's character when he gets hit by a truck and yet takes care of the man who hit him instead of complaining or getting help for himself. We have the flashback chapter to how horribly he'd acted in the army hospital, so I definitely got a feel for how Smithy had been developing as a person.
There's also Smithy's dorky awkwardness. He doesn't really have friends. It makes the reader able to sympathize more because, lets face it, we all have our strange moments. We as readers also get to see his crush on Norma developing. While some of the things he does. like the love dream" and buying a romance novel because the girl on the cover that looked like her, can be seen as semi-disturbing, I think the main reason we might see it as such is because we're reading about it for our English class. It's actually not that weird. I also love how, when Smithy buys the book about the Norma look-alike, it's the determined look on her face that he sees the connection in and focuses on rather than some random perverse thought. That's so sweet.
That's basically all I have to say right now, but expect more on this book soon(ish).
I'm glad you're enjoying the book, and your description of "falling for" Smithy as a narrator in a way you can't fully understand closely mirrors my own first reading of the book. (I was teaching sophomore English at the time, with the independent reading and the book talks, and I remember I gave my first book talk of the year on _Memory of Running_, urging everyone to read it. Mr. Rayburn's daughter was in the class, and she read it and loved it, passed it on to her dad, and then he used it in an earlier incarnation of the Hero's Journey, which then inspired me to include it this year. So--full circle, as now I get to talk about it with all of you!)
ReplyDeleteYeah, I also really like Smithy. His sort of self-conscious narration and all his little things about bananas and Iggy and everything are really endearing and it's just fun to read from his point of view.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I find Smithy to be a likable person. He's brutally honest in his narrations but not in a way that seems annoying. His actions, including buying a book with the Norma look-alike are kinda sweet and makes him more likable.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Smithy's self consciousness make him a likeable character. We tend to like characters who are willing to admit to their faults, even to put themselves down, more than characters who are arrogant or even unflinchingly confident. Sometimes it is frustrating that Smithy fails to stand up for himself at all, but in generally I think we like him better because of it.
ReplyDeleteI really like Smithy too, and I guess part of the whole deal with his narration is that it's so human -- Smithy is such an empathetic figure, and he's very emotionally sensitive, which I think adds to his self-consciousness. One big thing I've learned from this novel is to not judge too quickly based on certain ingrained cultural prejudices -- I absolutely love Smithy, but if I'd seen him in real life or simply read an objective third-person narration of his life, I might jump immediately to a conclusion that he's lazy and a bum, and not even begin to consider other, arguably more substantial personality traits.
ReplyDeleteI think that what I really like about Smithy is his narrative voice. His tone is really relateable, and I think we are lucky that Smithy is a lot more clear when narrating the book compared to what he says during the story. If Smithy was as awkward in his narration as he was in real life, I think we would all be turned off from the story.
ReplyDeleteI'm really enjoying Smithy as well. His totally carefree way of life really inspires me: Feeling down? Bike across the USA. Get hit by a truck? Take care of the reckless driver. (Although we do know that Carl was very sick, so it's not totally his fault). Hungry? Each four bananas. It's just very inspiring how he keeps on perservering, not letting anything get in the way of his goal(s).
ReplyDeleteFor me, Smithy is honest and definitely a compelling narrator, while also being a compassionate person as seen with Bethany and the multiple situations where he's helped people along his journey. But somehow I still feel like if I knew him in person, I wouldn't like him. I've been thinking about why this could be but I really can't put a finger on it. If I figure it out I'll let you know haha.
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