The Memory of Running

I am lucky to read a few good books recently. The Memory of Running is one of them.

Smithy Ide is a big loser. He is 43 years old and fat (279 pounds). He lives in an apartment he does not like since he moved in there. He works as an inspector in a toy factory. His work is easy: see if the palm of the toy is facing the right way. He did not go to college and went to army instead. However, he did not even fire his weapon before he was sent back because of the injury he got when peeing outside at a wrong time. His life is easy: eat junk food, drink, and smoke. He has only been with woman three times before the story starts and they were prostitutes.

Who wants to know somebody like Smithy?

But Smithy actually is a very nice guy. His parents died at the beginning of the book. He held his father’s hand in hospital even his father was not a hand-holding kind person. His parents were treated at different hospitals. After his father died, he went to his mom’s hospital. He told her he would be away for a couple of days and lied that his father was ok though her mother was in a coma. However, she died before he left.

A person doesn’t get over a family.

Sometimes things happen that make a person feel like standing up is just too much. It’s the knee then. Legs. Heart. I put my face under Mom’s until I could stand up.

After the funeral, back to his parent’s house, he found a few mails. One of them informed that a body has been identified as his sister’s according to the dental record his father sent. His sister was a beautiful girl who heard voice and followed the voice’s demands to disappear and pose at random places for random period of times. And by law, the family member need to collect the body. Last time his sister disappeared was 27 years ago.

Smithy was a runner and that was how he searched for his sister. Later his father bought him a bike so that the search could be more efficient. Now he was not a runner anymore. But he suddenly had the urge to ride his bike again. Just like that, he started his journey. At the beginning, he did not really know where he would go. But then he made plan to go to LA to collect his sister’s body.

During his trip, he met a lot of nice people. And sure, also not-so-nice people. He recalled his early life when he cared so much about his sister. And he rebuilt his relationship with the neighbour girl Norma, who was very close with his family until she was hit by a car and oddness somehow drifted them apart. At the end, he made to LA and saw his sister one last time.

This book does not offer any drama. It is just memory and it is told in a plain kind of way. What attracts me is Smithy’s personality. He is such a nice guy. He is defenceless. He always sees other’s kindness and always forgives for other’s rudeness and disrespect. He is such a lonely guy and has no friends. During the ride, he would talk to himself, out loud. He rides bike all day long and eat mostly fruits and water. When he found out he lost about 50 pounds, he said to himself “losing weight”. He was misunderstood by others and he has never tried to defend himself. Even when he was hit by a pickup truck but the hospital admitted the driver who was a regular patient and therefore was assumed to be the one with problem. He had to take care of the driver afterwards and then got beaten up by police who thought he was a bad drifter. He does not complain. So no one knows what he felts. He always appreciates others good gesture but has trouble to find a way to express. Once he had no money and had to get his bike fixed. So he offered all his stuffs in exchange. But the repair person only took a bag. He felt so thankful and also sorry about the repair person losing his son in an accident years ago. So after he left and along on the road again, he prayed and said out loud it was for his son. In his young life, he put all his heart on his sister even his sister made up bad stories about him and told them to her psychiatrist. During the journey, he kept seeing the visions of his sister and sometimes his parents. Of course it is just in his imagination. But he is such a caring person!

I don’t know much about a good book. But I know I enjoy this one and I sincerely care about the characters from the story. I guess it is enough to make it a wonderful book. I know it is fake. But still, I hope Smithy has a great life ever after.