This is my third review in The Running Fiction Challenge.
Review
I read most, ~80%, of The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker.
Overall it just isn't a book about running. It's a survival dystopian novel. It's way more like Walking Dead without zombies than anything related to the sport of running. Ultimately, I didn't care about the story or how it would end. I was waiting for it to become more about running, and now I'm moving on.
The protagonist and narrator is an unhealthy anti runner. The title pretty much gives the basic premise of the story. The setting is modern day Scotland/UK, and the protagonists is telling the story in hindsight.
It's well written. The point of view and pacing make for a page turning read. I especially like the perspective of the protagonist. He captures a lot of the uglier philosophical aspects of manhood and fatherhood. The mentality, I suspect, that many men feel, but they won't admit. Here is my favorite example:
"Man Caves. Shed, garages, studies, attics, cellars. Places for "men--or at least their twenty-first-century equivalents--to hide. To tinker, potter, be creative, build things, hammer bits of wood, listen to the music that their families hate.
Drink, smoke, look at pornography, masturbate.
The subtext of the man cave, of course, is that men don't want to spend any time with their families. For some reason this is perfectly acceptable; every man deserves his cave.
It is my right as a tired parent."
The book is about surviving. If you want to know how the above quote relates to survival, you'll have to read or listen to the book yourself.
Originally The End of the World Running Club was part of the most popular running fiction, but I've demoted it to an illegible honorable mention.
Join the challenge below.
Most Popular Running Fiction Challenge
The following books are the most rated running fiction on goodreads.com, as of 6 July 2024. Goodreads readers can vote here for the best running fiction. The books are in order by total ratings. I've added more specific genres and brief spoiler free descriptions of each novel.
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*Forrest Gump by Winston Groom - historical running fiction. The novel isn't specifically focused on running throughout, but many chapters feature Forrest's physical running as important aspects of the narrative. (68,999 ratings)
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The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen - young adult running fiction. The story chronicles a high school 400m runner's physical and emotional journey of recovery and how running remains a central part of her life. (30,771 ratings)
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Once a Runner by John L. Parker Jr. - running fiction. The novel is regarded as one of the most iconic novels about running. Its entire narrative is centered around the sport, both literally and metaphorically. Centering around the life of a competitive runner who vividly captures the intensity of training, the experience of racing, and the subculture of competitive running. (15,114 ratings)
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Running the Rift by Naomi Benaron - historical running fiction. A novel that centers around running, both as a literal sport and as a metaphor for survival, identity, and hope. The novel is set in Rwanda during the years leading up to and during the Rwandan Genocide of 1994. (7,104 ratings)
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The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner by Alan Sillitoe - running fiction. Once again, running is a central role, both literally and metaphorically. The story explores themes of personal rebellion, social class, and individuality, with running serving as a powerful symbol for the protagonist’s inner life and resistance against societal expectations. (6,686 ratings)
* Novel might be demoted due to not being enough about running
Honorable Ineligible Mentions
- What I Talk About When I Talk About Running by novelist Haruki Murakami - memoir, not fiction. (171,386)
- The Running Man by Stephen King - dystopian fiction. There is a lot of running and some overlap between running qualities like endurance and stamina, but the sport or recreational activity of running is absent. The Running Man is really about survival, society, and oppression. (137, 820 ratings)
- The End of the World Running Club by Adrian J. Walker - dystopian fiction. Running plays a minor role both literally, but a larger key element of the story’s structure and themes metaphorically. And running makes for a good title, but it is not a "running novel" in the sense of being about the sport or activity of running. (14,848 ratings)
My Reviews
I'll be review each of the novels here on my blog. I'd love any and all feedback. Leave a comment. Here are reviews I've done so far:
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