Customer Reviews

Again to Carthage

5 star:		(29)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

Parker has written a worthy sequel to OAR. While the book stands up well by itself, if you view it as an extension of the original story and read them sequentially, I think it makes the new novel a more meaningful tale.

Parker's eye for detail remains impeccable, and he never loses sight of the fact that Cassidy's journey is about life as much as it is about running.

For the runners out there, be assured that John once again captures the elements of our sport that make it so dear to us. The workouts, the sacrifice and the racing are all there, and the more mature Cassidy is a logical extension of the original character.

The slightly off-kilter wit of JLP has has survived intact, adding to the pleasure of the read.

The wait was long, but I was not disappointed. I recommend this book highly to all of my fellow runners.

The long-awaited sequel to Once a Runner picks up on silver medalist Quenton Cassidy's life as a thirty-something practicing law in a small Palm Beach firm. While he still runs recreationally, Cassidy seems content to have traded his years of self-denial for a comfortable Hemingway-esque lifestyle of drinking, boating, and skin diving. A series of personal events lead him to re-examine his life, however, forcing a realization that he will never be completely fulfilled unless he is aspiring toward personal improvement, in the way that only a runner committed to serious training can be.

Just as Once a Runner nails the feelings of the competitive schoolboy runner, Again to Carthage captures the mindset of the middle-aged athlete who struggles to come to terms with the inevitability of physical decline. As one would expect, Parker's training and racing scenes are beautifully and convincingly rendered. What's equally impressive, are his descriptions of nature, fishing, and the mountain lifestyle of Cassidy's relatives. If he goes a bit heavy on the details at times, particularly in the middle chapters concerning Cassidy's family, these passages flesh out Cassidy as a person and ultimately reward the patient reader. My only other knocks on the book are the occasional awkwardness of Parker's prose, the inclusion of several plot contrivances, and the penchant for odd, anecdotal humor. Even these shortcomings, though, become kind of welcomely familiar for those of us who love Once a Runner and crave a similar reading experience.

As someone who loved OAR (and has read it several times), I was eagerly anticipating reading Again to Carthage. Parker does a great job when he writes about training and racing, but ATC is a literary jumble, with lots of purple prose, extraneous characters that haphazardly come and go, and a rambling storyline. The writing is mediocre (and filled with typos)... until you get to the race description, which is truly awesome. You have to suffer through 300 pages to get there, but it's worth the price of admission. A mixed bag, for sure.

John L. Parker Jr.'s Once a Runner was - and still is - the best book ever written about the world of the serious, elite distance runner. (Cassidy, though a miler then, clearly trained as a distance runner.) Again to Carthage isn't likely to have the same success as its predecessor, but I suspect Parker will be okay with that. It seems clear he wrote this book primarily for himself and to honor his family and friends - and with the sure knowledge that both they and his more distant readers who have endured countless long miles - and life itself - will be captured by this tale of the older Cassidy/Parker.

A few readers, perhaps attracted to its lovely cover and the accolades for Once a Runner on the back , may come to this book new, but most will have read OAR. To the latter let me urge you not to expect to find simply further adventures of the college-age Cassidy. This book, too, has running as its center, but it is in many ways more ambitious and mature. Parker has done a great deal of living since those days. He has much he wants to say. And it is virtually all written with grace and passion.

I'm sure Parker had many doubts about writing a sequel to a book as loved as Once a Runner. I am glad he dared to do so - and had the courage to make it much more than a sequel.

"Once A Runner" is pretty much considered "required reading" for any serious runner. Any runner who read the first book can find something to identify with in Quenton Cassidy's "trials of the miles"

I always wondered if we would ever get a sequel as the end of "Once A Runner" was pretty open ended. "Again to Carthage" had been in the works for a long time and had been long delayed. I had pretty much given up on it until I saw the article on it (and interview with John Parker) in Runner's World. I remember gently teasing my son when he was waiting for the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" to come out and realized I was just like him with this book. It came in the mail over Turkey Day break, so I stayed up all night and read it cover to cover after my wife and son hit the sack.

OK, so was it worth it? I'd say very much so! Am I going to re-cap the entire story in this review? Hell No, I won't ruin it for you. What I will say is that the story picks up several years after the events of "Once A Runner" and that our hero has settled into a fairly successful life as a lawyer (and recreational runner). However, he starts to get that "feeling" of wanting another mountain to climb. A couple of tragic events involving those close to him kick him into action. This time the challenge is making the Olympic Marathon Team.

To help him, he once again calls on his buddy and fellow Olympic medalist Bruce Denton to provide coaching and inspiration. While there isn't as much detail in specific training like in "OAR" you still feel like you are with Quenton every step of the way.

So what happens at the end? Sorry can't tell ya! :) I WILL say this. Runners World editor Amby Burfoot reviewed "Again to Carthage" (you can find it on the net). He said, "The last three paragraphs are perfect". When I got to the end of the book and read them, I grinned and said "Here Here". Read it and see if you agree. Like me, you will probably see it coming, but it is satisfying nonetheless!

Enjoy!

I had to put this book down a few times because I did not believe that a sequel to OAR had little to do with running. However, as I was reading about his law practice, his vacation in Bermuda, his lack of relationships and on and on...I realized that this is the boring life of anyone. I realized that he needs purpose and significance and since he was once a runner, he returns to running. When this occurs is when I become captivated by Parker's explanation of why we run, how it makes us feel, and how we envy seeing someone run effortlessly and knowing the power and joy that carries them. Parker's explanation of this is what makes the book worth while.

I am mostly a trail runner and that is why I liked Parker's description of where Quenton trained. He went back to basics. And isn't that all running is.

I just finished reading Again to Cathage following a first time read of Once a Runner. I cannot believe that I waited this long to read OAR, a really inspirational book on the commitment it takes to be excellent at anything, especially running. Although meaningful to all runners, these books are especially poignant to those who competed in the early seventies and who still loved the draw of self-improvement in running after college or as grad students. Although both books are semi-autobiographical, Again to Carthage seemed the more difficult challenge for Parker as it may rely less on his personal running experiences. It seems to be at least as much about his passion for fishing as for running and both include highly credible accounts of the camaraderie common to both activities. In OAR there is virtually no account of Cassidy's (Parker's) family and his parents are a glaring omission. I was wondering how this might change with Again to Carthage in which he recounts activities with every relative imaginable, except his parents. His mother is never mentioned as far as I can tell and his father only in passing. I wondered what the reason might be for this. Again to Carthage is a mature and believable follow-up to OAR and I commend Parker for producing another remarkable tale.

Daniel M. Ennis (Richmond, VA)

I'll be honest: when I first started reading Again to Carthage, I was disappointed, because it didn't offer the same intensity of breathless (but inspiring) running narrative. However, as I kept reading, I came to appreciate that Again to Carthage was a fitting book for both an older protagonist and an older novelist: while Once a Runner may still be a better motivational tool for high school and college kids (who can center their lives on their sport), Again to Carthage will resonate with readers like me, who are on the graying side of 30 and who have to instead fit their sport into the bigger context of love, family, friends, and work. Furthermore, of course, this book will touch anyone who listens to Springsteen's "Glory Days" and nods with familiarity, anyone who knows that their athletic peak may be behind them, but is still fighting the inevitable march of time.

If you just picked up the book to get more of that reader's high from Parker's running descriptions, you'll have a hard time not being impatient, because it's over halfway through the book that Quenton makes the crucial decision to train seriously once again. However, it's clear that the author has made good use of the intervening years, because more so than in his previous book, Parker makes worthwhile and wise observations about running, sports generally, life in the South, and much more, many of which observations have been copied down into my Moleskine. Parker's prose also feels better crafted, as one would hope from a mature, experienced author; with Once a Runner, I would recommend it strictly as a running book (but make caveats about the less-effective departures from the core subject matter), whereas with Again to Carthage I could recommend it as a whole. Sprinkled liberally throughout are bon mots such as "she was a little wire bent-over question mark of a woman" and "a squalling infant of pain."

The final specific way that I would like to credit Parker's development as a writer is the strong sense of place throughout the book, something common to great books, and a clear step up from his previous work. From the balmy humidity of Palm Beach, to the lazy fishing in the Bahamas, to the quiet retreat of the cabin in the Carolina hills, Again to Carthage is filled with a suffusing sense of, and love for, the South--its people, its food, its weather and its quirks. Parker has lived in the South for many years, and he does an admirable job of conveying his corner of the country.

John L. Parker has clearly given a lot of thought to an athlete's aging and the ways in which the bodies that work so beautifully when we're young begin to be a little less reliable. Overcoming the encroachments of age, as Quenton Cassidy does, makes for some thrilling descriptions of running and racing. Be forewarned, though, that those running scens are rather sparingly doled out--at one point it seemed like the sequel to "Once A Runner" would have been more accurately titled "Now a Fisherman." But, like running itself, pushing through the tedious patches sets you up for a rewarding finish.

I was overanxious at the beginning of this book to get back to the very clear, and precise running descriptions of Once A Runner. I was a little purturbed that it did not happen right away. Instead, Parker took time to build his characters, recount history, and lay the foundation for everything that went on during the "mental circus act" of the marathon. During this time, the events of Once A Runner, and the 1st half of Again to Carthage were brought together beautifully. My initial misunderstanding of what Parker was laying out at the beginning of the book was erased as the book went on. Kudos to Parker for showing a lot of maturity and wisdom from were he began in Once A Runner to were he is now in Again to Carthage. Running is not life; however, there are many paralles between the two. Again to Carthage is the perfect balance.