Running After Antelope

by Scott Carrier

The wildly various stories in Running After Antelope are connected and illuminated by a singular passion: the author's attempt to run down a pronghorn antelope. His pursuit-odd, funny, and inspired-is juxtaposed with stories about sibling rivalry, falling in love, and working as a journalist in war-torn countries. Scott Carrier provides a most unique record of a most unique life.

Genres: Nonfiction, Essays, Short Stories, Memoir, Travel, Biography, Adult

144 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2001

Reviews

[Marissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was really great, as I expected from listening to some of these pieces on This American Life. He has a sort of bewildered writing style that is very unique. His writing has an openness and naivety about it that gives a lot of his observations the ring of truth and makes you connect emotionally to the work in a more immediate way. His style works particularly well in the latter half of the book when he travels to war-torn countries and learns about the unthinkable atrocities that took place there. His style is clear and direct and doesn't try to tackle the experience whole. Instead, he gives it to us through the lens of a vulnerable, slightly ridiculous journalist who is in over his head. There is something really refreshing about taking that approach to the events, since most of the international journalism we read walls the writer up in a shiny, invisible anonymity. With less objectivity and more of the personal added in, it is easier to at least make the attempt to engage with the unfathomable cruelty of a regime like the Khmer Rouge.

[Pete · Rating 3 out of 5]

Running After Antelope...remarkably little about running after antelope, remarkably a lot about social injustice and absolutly shitty conditions in other countries (Cambodia, Kashmir province) overseas. But still a rockin' book.

Scott Carrier very much paints himself as a bit of a social misfit, a wandering soul who happens into situations and places where there is deep learning to be had. This book, in its distilled form, is a collection of his stories about those places. Even if he didn't mention it in the book, I think I could have figured out that he is a regular NPR contributer...he very much writes in radio style, with short quips, lots of meaningful quotes from folks, and a resistience to overarching moralizing. Rather, he simply paints his emotions in each scene and allows many of the conclusions to be drawn by the listener/reader.

I wish there had been more about running, but that's just me.

[Wayne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Extremely well-written. Only complaint: it's a collection of shorter radio and magazine pieces that tries to cohere around a theme, but doesn't quite. If it billed itself as an anthology I'd have been less disappointed - as currently packaged I was expecting more on the history, lore, and science of, you know, running after antelope.

[Charlie Fan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Running After Antelope is a collection of Scott Carrier's contributions to the radio program This American Life. As such, each piece is short and filled with the usual bits that make for good radio: dramatic caesuras, thoughtful codas, etc. I heard one of these pieces and could not get it out of my head for days... which led to my eventual purchasing of this book.

The book has the confessionalism feel of a loosely connected / unconnected memoir. However, what sets Running After Antelope from other memoir-type books is the lack of vanity; so while we do learn considerably of the habits, mannerisms, and thoughts of Scott Carrier, most of the vignettes are about something other than him.

And these things other than him are quite compelling. There is the time Mexico to cover the Zapatistas' movement against the government which became more of a piece about the American woman working there as an international observer. Or his time spent as a traveling administrator of a schizophrenia test which became more of a piece about his subjects (and the ebb and flow of his own darkness).

If I ever meet Scott Carrier, I'd like to shake his hand. Not just because he's a good writer but because he's one of those rare individuals wandering out there, risking all, to bring us the story that might change our lives. Good job dude.

[Ms. Rocket Pie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Scott Carrier writes stories for NPR's this American life, and this book chronicles a bit of his personal journey. His book jumps from one situation to the next without giving the book a disjointed or detached feel. His writing is down to earth, funny and flatly gutsy all at once.

Towards the end he tells the story of being in Chiapas trying to get an interview with a political leader. He met a 23 year old girl there working in the coffee fields around the villages and she tells him why she's there. She came on a study abroad trip, went home enrolled in all kinds of classes to learn more about Latin America, had a breakdown, dropped out of school and couldn't leave her house for two months. "I didn't want to live, I didn't want to die. It all just seemd so futile. And it still does seem so futile. I just don't think we should be comfortable watching television, while the rest of the world doesn't have food and shelter and education." Then she came back because she loved these people and hated the United States.

It was the kind of story that made me wish I was comfortable hitchhiking across the US or walking in front of militia armed with machine guns in order to protect the innocent.

[John G. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book, let me warn you, it starts slow, but keep with it! It's worth reading, it becomes something else entirely as you progress into. Interesting aside, the book lovers club I'm part of has established that you should give a book 55 pages before you decided to quit or finish it. This book kicked in around page 39m cutting her pretty close there. I thought this book was simply a memoir, a bit like Mary Karr's books, but then it really become more philosophical and political, which I quite enjoyed. The writer is what I would call an honest journalist, one who is interested in reality and the truth, not some agenda or puff/PR piece. There is real danger and discomfort in this book, the author has courage and fire in his soul and has not fallen into the traps of comfort and status. Pretty deep book, a super quick read as well and I learned a bit about current/political events, about some regions I was not the familiar with, Cambodia and Kashmir, India.

[matt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm not sure what the author was intending when he attempted to tie together these tales with the story of "running after antelope". The stories are way too random to be grouped this way. Something about the attempt at running down an animal seems to him to be his defining moment, what he is most proud of in his life. This is hard to understand, in part because it is not even clear that he ever succeeded in running down an animal.
The stories jump from his early childhood, to his listless early adulthood, and then on to his travels as an adult. It is these later stories about his travels to war torn countries that are most interesting and enlightening. I admire his openness and even his naïveté in confronting foreign cultures. He is willing to take serious risks in the hope of understanding things that are too horrible to ever fully understand.

[Todd Martin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first heard Scott Carrier on NPR's 'This American Life'. I enjoyed his radio stories and thought his book might be equally interesting. "Running After Antelope" is a thin collection of short essays about a broad range of topics. The main essays are rather oddly and pointlessly interspersed with short pieces about Carrier's attempt to determine whether it is possible for a man to chase an antelope to the point where it collapses (a technique supposedly used by various tribes in Mexico).

Carrier's understated writing style reminds me somewhat of Kurt Vonnegut, and like Vonnegut it seems like he has something to say, but never seems to quite be able to get it down on paper. As a result, the book meanders, but never seems to go anywhere.

[Mark Antonio Wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have heard any of Scott Carrier's pieces on This American Life, you won't be surprised by the quality of his writing. I read this book over two days and it was almost impossible to put down. You won't exactly feel inspired or happy-go-lucky after reading it: more numb and bewildered by what life sometimes dishes out and you will certainly appreciate the talent of the writer. In a series of relatively short anecdotes, Carrier lays out exactly what it's like to be a struggling writer, often broke, often lonely. And I promise, if you're a runner, you're going to want to go try your hand at chasing down an antelope.

[Jack M · Rating 4 out of 5]

The reportage was okay, if not mediocre and lacking the poetic Kapuszinski touch (and the classic debate of a possible stretching of the truth). But a few of those short stories, and I mean short , some maxing out at 500 words, hit with me a feeling close to euphoria. At first I had thought it was to do with the circumstances – July / outdoor terrace in Europe / cappuccino / good health / the cute waitress – so I relocated to the public library (okay it’s not a mental institute like in North America, but a far cry from the café) – and the feelings were replicated.

I don’t recall where I found out about this not widely read book, but it I’m glad I did.

[Tyler Moore · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had such high expectations for this book. After reading Born To Run I was excited to hear about a story of someone actually running down an antelope and killing it. I would say only 25% of the book is about chasing antelope. The rest is about random things in his life. Spoiler Alert: in the end he never tells if they caught the antelope or not!

[Meg Hoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read it for class and it turned out to be a really interesting read. Something I would recommend to outdoorsy dads just because it has that vibe,, in a good way!! But seriously, it gets incredibly introspective, and every chapter keeps the interest up.

[Kristin L · Rating 5 out of 5]

One million stars for this collection.

Scott Carrier is a force fueled by heart and guts and hitchhiking.

If you've been moved by his work on This American Life, you will love this book.

[Cory Pavicich · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me 12+ years to read this book and it was as good as I hoped. I still lack any resolution for the This American Life story that started my whole interest in the book. :-)

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take David Sedaris and Hunter S Thompson and put em in a blender and voila! I really liked the writing and the perspective, but the chapters don't really hang together as a coherent thing.

[Teresa Hathaway]

Don't think I really "Got" this one.

[Kourtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book for school, very informative and she’s a light on the experiences Carrier went through. A good read but not the best thing I’ve read.

[Katharine Noble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cool memoir, unsequenced but related fragments about becoming a journalist and writer: evolution of running in antelope and humans; human rights; relationships. Fantastic.

[Ryan Carraway · Rating 4 out of 5]

heard a few of the chapter on This American Life, i felt like the journalism on foreign countries wasn’t for me but everything else was

[Emma Beau · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 still a cool book

[Matthew Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard Carrier reading some stories on NPR's "Wiretap" that he had produced and aired elsewhere, and his voice and style and insight felt like a mix between David Berman and Hunter Thompson. OK, maybe that's forced, but he has a slow, contemplative pace all his own, and it shines in these stories. He seems able to open up entire worlds, be it a suburban alley in Salt Lake or taking in the view from the Foreign Correspondent's Club in Phenom Penh, Cambodia, all with an honest, direct, unpretentious voice, somehow conveying a sense of place and history and depth with simple language, robust descriptions, and compassion. The layout of the book is great too, following a natural arc of his growth as a writer and a human being. I laughed at this book and ultimately came away hoping I'll look back on my life and have lived it as well as Carrier has, and if that isn't the sign of a good book, what is? Easy, fun, insightful, and brisk, I really do recommend this one.

[Ensiform · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of pieces loosely based on the author’s obsession, inspired by his biologist brother’s studies, with literally running down a deer, as some say primitive men once did. In between the attempts to corroborate stories of Indian tribes who do this and trying to catch pronghorns in Wyoming, Carrier shares essays about his divorce, his attempts to produce radio segments on the road, his adventures in hitchhiking, and stories from global hot spots that he did for Esquire. None of these digressions is unwelcome, especially the latter, which are superb stories of the best and worst in human nature, of death and survival. Whether he’s interviewing a Cambodian woman whose greatest relief is that she no longer has to spend her day making poison sticks to keep out the militia, or an Indian commander is Kashmir who says the daily carnage is only “friendly fire,” Carrier knows how to get the quotes and anecdotes that stick with you for a long time.

[Andrew]

I first heard about Scott Carrier when This American Life compiled several of his pieces—some of them authored for radio, others for the written word—into one sort of mixtape. I was at a weird point, pretty much broke, waiting for my work visa, just kicking around a rather seedy little Thai beach town that was trying to make its way onto the tourist map, and somewhere around sunset, I listened to these eerie, detached real life stories while sprawled out on a filthy beach in the shadow of an oil refinery.

Some of the essays in Running After Antelope are merely print versions of radio stories I’d heard before. Others are new to me. All of them are stunning. Scott Carrier has a remarkably distinctive voice, one that is deceptively simple and thoroughly deep. Behind every laconic phrase are a million lines of subtext.

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Running After Antelope by Scott Carrier (Counterpoint 2002) (978.033) is an interesting series of short stories by a regular contributor to NPR. The title refers to a thread which the author weaves through the book, namely the desire to recreate the Southwest Native American legendary tradition of capturing deer (or in this case, a pronghorn antelope) by chasing an animal on foot until exhaustion precludes the animal from running further. There are also numerous other well-written essays; my favorites include two pieces on the current state of affairs in Cambodia and an examination of hitchhiking in America in the 21st century. My rating: 6/10, finished 9/19/13.

[Naomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

1. I love a good book of essays, and this is a very good book of essays.

2. I deeply admire Scott Carrier as a person while also feeling I am in many ways his polar opposite. The chances of my older male neighbor coming over to sip beer and tell stories while I rip out the interior of my house? The chances I would skip a meeting with my boss to rent a motorcycle in Cambodia? The chances I would hitch across the country with a trucker? Probably zero. You never know. Perhaps I am just risk averse. Carrier has a unique writing style and he finds a way of tapping into feelings and situations that are very hard to tap into, which I think is ultimately what makes his writing so compelling.

[Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had not heard of Scott Carrier until an article of his was featured in a Spring '06 issue of Mother Jones. If you ever see anything of his, PICK IT UP. While I won't say that he is the voice of the white American west, I will say that his grasp of poetic nature and the place of man in the scheme of things is impeccable. Only one tribe in Mexico was ever skilled enough to be able to catch up with antelope and this was an exercise that required days to tire the antelope out. Incredible book.

[Em · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this elegant memoir. I had heard Scott Carrier read portions of his book on This American Life, which is why I picked it up. The theme of the book is Carrier's obsession with running an antelope to exhaustion like ancient tribes did. Chapters about this venture over the years are interspersed with memories from Carrier's life. It is about siblings, evolution, and what it means to be human. I read most of this outloud on a roadtrip through Croatia with some girlfriends, then came home and finished it up.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a big fan of Scott Carrier's work on This American Life, so I was excited to read this. I'm still deciding wether I was disappointed or not. It is an interesting collection of essays/personal accounts, and Carrier's voice is there, but some how its just not as effective on the page as on the radio.
The title reflects a theme that runs throughout the book, Carrier chasing antelope both literal and metaphorical. It gives a jumping off point for thinking about each piece-- what's the antelope here?

[Beth Bee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Haunting short essays in a lyrical voice. I fell in love with Carrier after 9/11 when he interviewed Lakota Sioux and Amish people about the coming war. The disconnect and phrasing of his story captivated you, and made you realize what a broad continent and world we are in. (Scott Carrier, "Are You Ready?" TAL 9.28.2001 http://www.thisamericanlife.org/Radio... )

This collection of essays does the same thing: diminishes your size and place in the universe, connects you back to nature and to man.

[Marjorie Hakala · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. Pieces of the author's life are presented sparingly and interwoven with stories about truck drivers, brutal war stories, stories about schizophrenia, all of them told in a nonjudgmental and utterly honest voice. The result is surprisingly affecting emotionally as well as informative. Scott Carrier is a master craftsman, the kind who makes it look easy. This book is worth hunting down--or reprinting, for that matter--but if you can't find it, or even if you can, listen to Carrier's work on This American Life.