Smithy Ide is the least likely literary character to capture a reader's imagination and heart. But Smithy will do just that, given half a chance. He is the narrator of "The Memory of Running," a strange and wonderful adventure by Ron McLarty.
Smithy, given name Smithson, is a fat alcoholic when we first meet him, a sorry figure, devoted to his family and his bike, a grand Raleigh, the centerpiece of Smithy's life.
The back story is told in hefty segments interspersed with the current events of Smithy's life. It is a writer's device that is often confusing and annoying, but this time it works.
At the moment, Smithy is suffering from the loss of his parents, killed in an automobile accident. His beloved sister Bethany, whose mental illness is never quite defined, has disappeared again. She is a beauty, a loving newlywed whose disease turns her into a mad stranger.
Now she, too, is dead, and Smithy discovers the request to come to California to claim her remains among his father's effects. We also meet, early on, a lovely, wheelchair-bound neighbor, Norma.
Smithy leaves New Providence, R.I., on his Raleigh. He will go get his adored sister's remains no matter how long it takes. His journey across America is the backbone of this astounding novel. It is jam-packed with wonderful vignettes and grand characters; full of pathos, charm and goodness, as well as occasional meanness that sears Smithy's soul, but not for long.
During his travels, he keeps in touch with Norma by phone. She arranges to get his money from the bank to s/files/storyimages/him. He sleeps in the open or sometimes in a fine tent he has bought.
He is befriended along the way by a trucker, whose own story is mesmerizing. Other people come and go on the highways and byways, and all the time, Smithy recalls for us the story of his own and his family's life.
At one point in his trek, he meets another family out West. They take him in for a few days. He has saved their son's life, and has been accused of the vilest intentions by the local sheriff, until the family tells him what really happened. It isn't the first time Smithy has taken a hit so unjustly. We wonder that he can survive.
But he does. It is a long way to the mortuary on the Pacific coast, but despite losing his Raleigh (and having it replaced), the perils of the road and fickle weather, he finds his beloved Bethany and will bring her home, Norma at his side.
The author of this grand story has a familiar face. He is a fine actor, often seen on "Law and Order" (a judge, usually), "The Practice" and "Sex and the City." It is amazing that he has found the time to write such a book, so touching and exhilarating.
"The Memory of Running" may or may not become "a breakout best seller" as Stephen King suggests, but it is a true American original. I'm glad I stuck with Smithy, a good and honest man. (Viking; $24.95)
* * * "Natura 1795-1905" is a superbly researched, written and illustrated (by hand drawings) history of thoroughbred horse breeding and racing in central Kentucky in the 19th century.
Read more at ://www.voice-tribune.com/bookshelf3_3_05.html
