Again to Carthage: A Novel

I read Once a Runner in 1978, shortly after it came out. I was 16 years old and running cross-country and track and loved it. I read Again to Carthage when it came out in 2008. I loved it as well. It was wonderful to have a sequel published 30 years later. I'm amused by the comments from the 1- and 2-star reviews. Fortunately, they are a tiny percent of the reviews. The main criticism is that people expected a book about running and found lots of vignettes about deep sea fishing and life in Florida and cookouts and meetings at restaurants and more. Those critics want running, running, running, running. It's sad that they have such a constricted field of vision and can't understand that Again to Carthage is less about running and more about life, as it should be, since John Parker wrote it after 30 more years of living. His observations about family, friends, career, relationships, health, fitness, aging, and more, are spot-on. Funny, some reviewers criticized Once a Runner for Cassidy's moving out to the A-frame in the woods to single-mindedly train his guts out, and how nobody should do such a psychologically unhealthy thing, cut themselves off from society and people and all. Now, critics complain that there actually IS a lot of normal life in this book and not enough running, running, running, running. Complaints about timelines emerge once again, people trying to piece one together and disprove its possibility: "Well if this event took place in those Olympics then Denton must have won the gold in this other Olympics, but how could Cassidy have run then, and Vietnam took place before blah blah blah." Pro tip: it's a NOVEL. Parker can do whatever he wants. Some complain there is no central conflict in Again to Carthage. I guess every novel and movie has to have a central conflict, because English Lit and Film Criticism professors have said they must. OK, if you say so. Maybe that's why Parker did create a conflict, that does not appear till near the end of the book and admittedly is rather contrived and thin. To satisfy the professors among the 1- and 2-star people. But really, there is a central conflict, and it's inside Cassidy, once he realizes something is missing and he wants to get back on the bus one more time. One minor difficulty I had was keeping up with Cassidy's geographic shifts, within Florida and between Florida and western North Carolina as he is training for his final goal. But then, perhaps that's OK. In an interview a number of years ago, Mark Nenow, former American record-holder in the 10,000 and world-ranked several years in a row in the 1980s, was asked about those heady days and about training and racing and specifics. His response was something to the effect that it's all a blur now, looking back, days and weeks and months of brutal workouts and travel and racing in the US and in Europe, all blending together to the point that specifics are obscure and visible only through an opaque lens. So maybe that's the way Cassidy's life was, once he hopped back on the bus. A great read, but expect running and training surrounded by a lot of life. Not just running, running, running, running. That would be boring at this point.

"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 "Hear Hear". Read it and see if you agree. Like me, you will probably see it coming, but it is satisfying nonetheless! Enjoy!

Runners would enjoy this novel. A bit slow and meandering in between, but the second half about training and trials is brilliant as in ‘Once a runner’

Parker maintaining the high standard of his works!

The first book was better but enjoying

The second novel by John L. Parker Jr and just as good as the first, if not better! I thoroughly enjoyed this book and didn't want to put it down. Inspirational and motivational, a must read for all runners alike.

Great sequel to Once a Runner