Pain
By
Woody Green
of
RUNNERS NICHE
In his first novel, Dan Middleman takes a hard look at the life of a
top collegiate distance runner, Richard Dubin, in his senior year at
the Florida Institute of Technology. While the work is fictional, there
is a hard edge of truth in this story.
Middleman should know a good deal about the lifestyle of a top distance
runner in the U.S. system. An Olympian for the United States in the
1996 at 10,000 meters, Middleman is currently one of the best distance
runners in the country.
The internal struggles and external pressures of life as a top distance
runner are the book's focus. Hardly a feel-good tale, the book looks at
issues such as alcoholism, difficulty with relationships and serious
depression. There are lighter parts of the tale, such as the antics of
typically wild college students and events such as a naked relay. As
you might expect of a book with a title like "Pain," however, the
overall tone of the book is dark.
Middleman writes well, and the story is quite absorbing. The characters
seem very real, although for the most part they are a grim lot. Without
giving away the ending, I will only say that the climax didn't make
sense to me. It was sort of like the author trying to convince me there
had just been a train wreck when I never saw any tracks. Of course,
life can be that way at times, which might be part of Middleman's
message.
Runner's Niche Book Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 possible winged feet.
(Available from Tafnews Press, ISBN number: 0-911521-52-6)
