Racing the Rain, John L. Parker
Racing the Rain, John L. Parker
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Racing the Rain
A Novel

Author: John L. Parker

Narrator: Jim Meskimen

Unabridged: 10 hr 48 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 07/14/2015


Synopsis

From the author of the New York Times bestseller Once a Runner—“the best novel ever written about running” (Runner’s World)—comes that novel’s prequel, the story of a world-class athlete coming of age in the 1950s and ’60s on Florida’s Gold Coast.Quenton Cassidy’s first foot races are with nature itself: the summer storms that sweep through his subtropical neighborhood. Shirtless, barefoot, and brown as a berry, Cassidy is a skinny, mouthy kid with aspirations to be a great athlete. As he explores his primal surroundings, along the Loxahatchee River and the nearby Atlantic Ocean, he is befriended by Trapper Nelson, “the Tarzan of the Loxahatchee,” a well-known eccentric who lives off the land.In junior high school, quite by chance, Cassidy discovers an ability to run long distances, but his real dream is to be a basketball star. Still, Cassidy absorbs Nelson’s view of running as a way of relating to and interacting with the natural world. Though he is warned of Nelson’s checkered past, Cassidy dismisses the stories as superstitious gossip—until his small town is stunned by the disappearance of a prominent judge and his wife. Cassidy’s loyalty to his friend is severely tested just as his opportunity to make his mark as a gifted runner comes to fruition.John Parker’s prequel to the New York Times bestseller Once a Runner vividly captures how a runner is formed and the physical endurance, determination, and mindset he develops on the way to becoming a champion. Racing the Rain is an epic coming-of-age classic about the environments and friendships that shape us all.

About John L. Parker

John L. Parker Jr. has written for Outside, Runner’s World, and numerous other publications. A graduate of the University of Florida’s College of Journalism as well as its College of Law, Parker has been a practicing attorney, a newspaper reporter and columnist, a speechwriter for then governor Bob Graham, and editorial director of Running Times magazine. The author of Once a Runner, Again to Carthage, and Racing the Rain, he lives in Gainesville, Florida, and Bar Harbor, Maine.

About Jim Meskimen

Jim Meskimen is a stage, film, and television actor who has appeared in many well-known movies and television shows. He acted in Apollo 13 and Frost/Nixon for director Ron Howard, both of which were nominated for Best Picture Oscars. His television appearances include The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Friends, Lie to Me, Criminal Minds, and Parks and Recreation. He is also a painter, award-winning audiobook narrator, and audiobook director for Galaxy Audio.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Scott on March 31, 2015

First I want to thank the author and publisher for providing this novel for review. It has been 8 years since John Parker published the last book in the series, Again To Carthage. The first book, Once A Runner, came out in 1978. Racing the Rain is a prequel. This is the story of young Quenton Cassidy......more

Goodreads review by Steve on September 01, 2018

Sorry, but there was no chance I could give a dispassionate, objective review of this one. I've known, and become emotionally attached to, Quenton (the protagonist) for too long. I'll come back to the original, cult classic, Once a Runner, but ... like the long-delayed sequel, Again to Carthage, I l......more

Goodreads review by Letitia on September 28, 2015

Good prequel to "Once a Runner." A lot more of this book is about basketball than I expected (and I am far more into running than basketball) but Parker is good at describing any kind of athletic endeavor, and the running scenes once again are terrific. There's a slightly weak-ish plot point thrown......more

Goodreads review by Chrissie on May 16, 2015

Good book. I enjoyed it almost as much as the other two Cassidy books, but I wish he would once make a mistake or do something that doesn't make him more of a heroic figure. I guess that's not the type of book this is. Anyway, it's time for a run!......more

Goodreads review by Paul on June 19, 2015

Racing the Rain: A Review of John L. Parker’s newest novel Racing the Rain delivers the goods on young Quenton Cassidy with Parker’s flair for inspirational running scenes, an intriguing cast of characters, and a verdant setting above and below the surface of the Florida Gold Coast. John L. Parker re......more


Quotes

“For a young man or woman, the twenty-first century onslaught against purity and potential offers very few havens, but John L. Parker Jr.‘s lovely novel, Racing the Rain, reminds us that within amateur sports, especially a good foot race, all of us, athletes and spectators alike, might find what is most valuable in any life—the spirit to accomplish impossible things.” Bob Shacochis, National Book Award winner and author of The Woman Who Lost Her Soul

Racing the Rain is a clear explanation of the beauty of our simple sport and why that beauty is so priceless…Racing the Rain is about friendship and struggle and the fun of being a kid who is feeling his way through life. Truly, every runner will say ‘I know what you mean, John’ when they read this book.” Bill Rodgers, four-time winner of the Boston Marathon

Racing the Rain’s depiction of the running life and the Florida of an era gone by is wonderfully authentic. Among those who’ve tried to capture the drama and beauty of the sport, John L. Parker Jr. is surely the best.” Jeff Galloway, US Olympian


Awards

  • BookPage Book of the Day