The Long Run (Kindle Single) [Kindle Edition]

Mishka Shubaly (Author)

Book Description

After nearly twenty years of chasing oblivion, a fight in a bar reveals to a newly sober Mishka Shubaly that he is able to run long distances. Despite his best attempts to dodge enlightenment and personal growth, the irreverent young drunk and drug abuser learns to tame his self-destructive tendencies through ultrarunning. His outrageous sense of humor, however, rages unabated.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

What happens when an out-of-shape, drug-addled, 30-year-old alcoholic goes running for the first time? Read on. In the Kindle Single, The Long Run, Mishka Shubaly chronicles his misspent twenties with intoxicating language. "Alcohol," he says, "is a great aggregator: when you are drinking to excess, every problem seems to fall under that umbrella." And Shubaly had problems aplenty, including self-loathing, an appetite for self-destruction, and a disdain for sobriety (which he experienced as relentless anxiety, agony, and amplified boredom). When the author accidentally discovers that running puts his demons at bay better than top-shelf bourbon, he begins to shed his old life and becomes something he never wanted to be: a runner, an ultra-distance runner at that. If running is a substitute addiction, Shubaly says, it's "the dreariest, most painful, least thrilling addiction I have ever experienced." The charms of Shubaly's writing are many: his adoring metaphors for drinking reveal it as his true unrequited love; his self-examination has Thoreau-like depth; and his exposition transforms the pedestrian into the sublime. What's more, Shubaly is earnestly obstinate, yet capable of change; a nihilist, and yet he seeks meaning; a walking contradiction and a joy to spend time with on paper. --Paul Diamond

Product Details

• File Size: 128 KB
• Print Length: 61 pages
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B0060ANFPG
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,646 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
  • #2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Nonfiction > Sports > Individual Sports > Running & Jogging
  • #2 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Running & Jogging
  • #3 in Kindle Store > Kindle Singles > Society

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

68 of 80 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Trite Garbage, Not Uplifting January 16, 2012

By Ben

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

His story overall is tragic, but it doesn't have the redemption of being inspirational or funny. It's the most depressing and vulgar book I've read in the last year. His nihilistic attitude towards life and even running surprisingly enough, is a total turn off. Don't waste your money or pollute your conscioussness with this garbage!

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Was this book about running? January 24, 2012

By D. McHale

Format:Kindle Edition

While reading this book, I got the feeling that it was crafted more as a project required by the author's AA 12-step program than out of having anything to actually say. We are introduced to a 30-something who is working in a bar, has his friend/colleague beat up one night, and after taking a taxi home that night is forced to run back to work the next day in order to pick up his bike. And, gee, it's been a long time since he's run before, and maybe he should start running again so why not sign up for a half-marathon.

After this intro, you are treated to reading story after story of his misspent youth, drinking and doing drugs. This is fine as a reader - you have to expect some back story in a tale about an individual - but you really don't get back to anything related to running until about the 55% mark. We get it, you drank a lot. You were doing a lot of drugs. You like to use the f-bomb to get attention in your writing even though it's not really necessary, but obviously you or an editor thought it would make your story sound more "authentic" or "gritty". Protip: it didn't work.

By the time we get back to running, I'm not sure what really happens with the story. Everything is extremely disjointed, nothing flows and it seems like the final chapters were just put there as ideas came out of the author's mind in ADD fashion. Apparently the author runs ultra-marathons now and... um, he likes them? I guess? The final portion of the book focuses on the author joining his friend in the final 30 miles of his friend's 100mi race; sort of an odd ending to a book which began solely focused on the author himself.

If you're looking for a running story, give this one a pass. If you're looking for a self-help book for recovering from alcoholism or drug abuse, also give this one a pass (especially given the author's admitted continued use of recreational substances in spite of successfully quitting alcohol). If you're looking for some light reading on the cheap, maybe then you can consider it. But there are other Kindle Singles out there which will probably entertain more for the same price. I'm just glad it was a freebie thanks to my Prime membership.

39 of 45 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars self aggrandizement? January 25, 2012

By R. Mccloud

Format:Kindle Edition

After reading some of the reviews for both of this author's books, I am conflicted. While he is a good writer in terms of descriptive terms, I think he falls into a trap of glorifying his addictions - ad nauseam.
I rapidly skimmed through most of this mini-kindle book as well as his other one - in one day - and made a resolution to not read him again.

More About the Author

After receiving an expensive MFA from Columbia University, Mishka Shubaly promptly quit writing to play music. He lived out of a Toyota minivan for a year, touring nonstop, and has shared the stage with artists like The Strokes, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Decemberists.

His Kindle Singles for Amazon have all been bestsellers. He writes true stories about drink, drugs, disasters, desire, deception and their aftermath. His work has been praised for its grit, humor, fearlessness and heart. 'The Long Run,' his mini-memoir detailing his transformation from alcoholic drug abuser to sober ultrarunner is one of the best-selling Kindle Singles to date.

Mishka Shubaly lives in Brooklyn where he writes music and plays bass for Freshkills. He is at work on a new solo record of his original songs and a full-length memoir.

www.mishkashubaly.com
www.facebook.com/shubaly.mishka