The Runner

by Scarlett Thomas

277 pages, Hardcover

About the author

Scarlett Thomas was born in London in 1972. Her widely-acclaimed novels include PopCo, The End of Mr Y and The Seed Collectors. As well as writing literary fiction for adults, she has also written a literary fantasy series for children and a book about writing called Monkeys with Typewriters. Her work has been translated into more than 25 languages.

She has been longlisted for the Orange Prize, shortlisted for the South African Boeke Prize and was once the proud recipient of an Elle Style Award. She is currently Professor of Creative Writing & Contemporary Fiction at the University of Kent in the UK. She lives in a Victorian house near the sea and spends a lot of time reading Chekhov and Katherine Mansfield.

She is currently working on a new novel and various projects for TV.

Reviews

[Bill Lawrence · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was looking for a new author, something a bit different. I had seen good reviews of Scarlett Thomas's books and so why not try this. Well, there are several good reasons not to try it. Reading reviews of her other books on Goodreads would have given me the clues I needed. The positive is, it's not long and quick to read and chunks of text that can be glanced over. The problem is, it is very thin. It is a thin plot, the denouement comes out of nowhere and barely works. There are holes aplenty. The characters are at best one-dimensional. I spent the whole book with Jay, but apart from life incidents, I have very little sense of his character. But he is 6ft and runs. Bogged down in surface ideas around bitcoin and the dark web, it foregoes the idea of character or development. It's really dull pretending to be exciting, but so much better at the former.

[katelands_booknook · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting read. I loved The Sleepwalkers by this author for its uniqueness. I’m not entirely sure how I feel about this one. I thought it was well written, and I read it pretty quick while on a couple of flights. I was only slightly offended by the advice Jay was given about running, especially a 5k considering I find that distance to be challenging. But this isn’t just a book about running for exercise. It’s also about a man who’s been on the run most of his adult life. There’s some interesting developments, but overall it’s a very straightforward story.

3.5 stars

[Gregor Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Runner by Scarlett Thomas is a really enjoyable thriller, laced with mystery, twists, and turns.

Running is both literal and metaphorically a major theme of the book as the main character navigates life on the run from hitmen, incentivised by the ever more valuable crypto to be rewarded on his death.

I blasted through this in 2 days, and really enjoyed it. If you are planning a wee holiday, this would be the perfect book for the beach or pool.

Massive thanks to Simon and Schuster UK @simonschusteruk and congrats to @scarthomas on this wonderful release

[Dave Haywood · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were moments of brilliance laced over sentences that left me head scratching.

It’s billed as an erotic thriller but it’s neither. The premise behind it is Jay, on the run from a myriad of assassins that’s finally explained after 100 pages.

This wasn’t really for me, I like a bit more scene setting and description, but I can see some people will love it.

Thank you to Scribner for supplying a copy.

[Alison Lockley · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was so boring. I managed about 120 pages but just couldn’t force myself to finish it. I got to the point where the reader begins to know what he’s running from, but it seems such an unlikely scenario. And Jay (along with all the other characters) is such an unlikeable character, that there’s no-one to invest in. However, I acknowledge I might be out of step as the book has been well promoted by a number of popular reviewers.

[Ryan Eskrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read, lots of funny bits. Plot gets a bit muddled towards the latter third, but at the heart Jay and Ellie are great characters and their relationship is superb. Very different to Sleepwalkers but another good one by Thomas. Quirky fun? Good summer book

[David Saitch · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit of a let down after some of her brilliant books.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

DRC from Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster / Simon & Schuster
Jay has been running since grade school. Turns out that it is something that he can do to make his dad, who basically ignores him or hits him, proud of him. Later, he runs because there is a bounty on his head. Now on his third name, and using frequent flyer points he earned while working a high paying job, he is running gain. This time he has no money except the points and he meets a woman who, for the first time in his life, he thinks he is in love with. Problem is that she could collect the bounty by killing him, except she wants to use him first. Can he forget about Elle and keep running? Will he ever be able to stay in one place and have a normal life?