The Memory of Running (1999) by Ron McClarty

 1001 Novels: A Library of America

The Memory of Running (1999)

by Ron McClarty

East Providence, Rhode Island

Rhode Island: 8/9

    The Memory of Running  came as a real surprise with a very quirky origin story.  Author Ron McClarty is best known as an actor (he was a main character on the Spencer for Hire tv show.  He wrote this book, a heroes quest story about an obese Vietnam veteran reeling from the deaths of his elderly parents in an auto accident.  Cleaning out their house, he finds a death notice for his estranged, mentally ill sister from Los Angeles which sends him on a journey across America on a bicycle, as he struggles with his memories of growing up with a mentally ill sister.

   When McClarty wrote the book he couldn't find a publisher so he created his own Audiobook version (McClarty is a notable Audiobook narrator- the winner of many "Audies").  Author Stephen King listened to the Audiobook and wrote about it in his Entertainment Weekly column and the rest is publishing history!  From the perspective of the 1001 Novels project, this hardly qualifies as a Rhode Island- the present of the book is a cross-country journey on a bike, and the flashbacks are very focused on the interactions between the narrator and his family.

  The theme of the mentally ill sister ripping the family apart has been a major issue in three of the last five books I've read in the 1001 Novels: A Library of America. It's amazing to me that the characters in these books let their whole entire lives be governed and ruined by a mentally ill sibling or family member. Some of these literary families are working class, others are upper middle class, but they all let their entire lives- personal and professional be ruined by a psychotic child. Well, ok.  Personally, I don't think having a sub-optimal family situation is a reason to be totally enslaved by it. 

  The Memory of Running has some moments, but most of it reads like a book length montage scene of Forrest Gump running across America with dangerous misunderstandings and a host of sad, sad stories. 

The Invaders (2015) by Karolina Waclawiak

1001 Novels: A Library of America

The Invaders (2015)

by Karolina Waclawiak

Little Neck Cove, Connecticut

Connecticut: 6/9

     Another entrant into the "suburbia and its discontents" file of the 1001 Novels: A Library of America.  Author Karolina Waclawiak is best know as a journalist- she was the editor in chief who turned out the lights when Buzzfeed News shut down.  She's written two books- this one and How to Get Into the Twin Palms.    The Invaders is set in the exclusive suburb of Little Neck Cove- populated by a mixture of rich white people who are either 1) rich old white guys 2) the first wives of those men  3) the second of third wives of those men and 4) their children.

   The main characters are Cheryl, an aging trophy wife and Teddy, her college age step son recently returned after being expelled from college.  Husband Jeffrey is mostly absent- like many of the men in this category of books, his career is opaque- he's in sales, or something.  As the reader expects in a work of literary fiction set in the American suburbs ALL IS NOT WELL.  Cheryl and Teddy are BOTH SEIZED BY BOUTS OF ENNUI.   Characters TAKE DRUGS and HAVE SEX- well not so much sex, this is Connecticut after all.

   Whenever I read a book from this shelf I find myself urging the sad suburban characters to get active mentally and physically- go for a run! Join a gym! Read a book! Volunteer at a homeless shelter!  I'm a firm believer that 99% of contemporary maladies are caused by either a lack of mental or physical exercise and/or a lack of purpose.  Neither Teddy nor Cheryl do anything like that beyond taking long walks in the woods (Cheryl).  The lack of purpose is particularly glaring in almost every book about suburban discontent including this one.  Unless the character is a child under the driving age, there really is no excuse for the lives of these sad suburbanites.  Get out of your house, go do something- anything!  Just stop moping around!