Runner's World participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. That being said, I believe some specific resonant moments will stick with me, even if the overall arc of the story didn't quite deliver. The low rating indicates to me that it has at least done something unique and different and isn’t just a “mediocre people-pleaser”.

Does this mean the father is alive, or that some other person or strange being is at hand, playing a nasty and frightening trick on the narrator? I go into these reads genuinely hoping to find a marmite-read that I find to be a delicious bitter-sweet delight.But of course running can seem a bit daunting, especially to those struggling with mental health difficulties . This author knows how to use language to great effect to create a feeling, to create an atmosphere to create a real intensity, The short sharp sentences, next to the long rambling ones create a stream of consciousness so you feel like you’re in the narrators head. This intensity that I'm feeling in this moment of panic trying to get down off the side of the mountain safely, is the same experience that I want a reader to have reading the book.

There is a striving throughout the book to deal with personal demons and come out of them with a peace of mind. and I think I'm not the right audience for it; I simply didn't have patience for the extreme (and intentional) repetitiveness of the prose. If the book had been about the protagonists grief then the end would have been great, but while the theme is touched on, it just doesn't seem to be about that.

This tale is beautifully rendered with a distinct style that brings the full range of emotions to the surface. It’s actually a wildly immersive exploration of grief, guilt, and mental illness, mediated by nature, running, and intentionality. The narrator has now traced their father to this cottage – he’s not there himself, but the place is full of papers and maps written and drawn by his hand. During an anxiety experience, or a panic attack, there’s that feeling of not being able to catch your breath or feeling like you're choking and you just can't control it. In short: a bleak, disjointed “wandering” of text, that has a single message and “feeling” to convey.