11/01/2014
Canadian author Snyder (The Juliet Stories) opens her novel in a nursing home, where 104-year-old Aganetha Smart, a former Olympian runner long forgotten, lives out the rest of her days until a young couple appears for an unannounced visit. Telling the staff they're making a film about female athletes, the two strangers instead take Aggie on a mysterious journey that jars loose a flood of memories that are revealed unsequentially but add up to a rich life filled with exhilaration—winning a gold medal for Canada in 1928, the first year women were allowed to participate in the Olympic Games—and unspeakable sadness: one by one, she has lost her extensive family to wars, illnesses, estrangement, and, finally, old age, bringing into sharp focus the pain she had been running from. VERDICT Snyder's well-crafted meditation on aging and loss sometimes feels burdened by the ghosts of Aggie's past to truly reach full sprint, but her inspirational protagonist pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable for women in the first half of the 20th century makes this novel a winner.—Michael Pucci, South Orange P.L., NJ
12/22/2014
In 1928, Canada’s “matchless six” won gold at the first Olympics in which women competed in track, serving as the inspiration for this novel about a fictional female runner who races in those historic games. Aganetha Smart, youngest daughter of an Ontario farmer and his second wife, shows natural speed and agility as a child running between her parents’ house and that of her married half-sister. At 16, Aggie leaves the farm for Toronto, where her athletic ability lands her a job at a confectionery whose owner subsidizes women racers. With a coach and training companion, Aggie learns the meaning of competition, then goes on to experience victory, celebrity, love, betrayal, and sacrifice. Her story is revealed through layers of time: 104-year-old Aganetha introduces herself in the prologue, the first chapter begins with adolescent Aggie tending family graves, and the next scene shows two visitors to the 104-year-old’s nursing home—a girl training for the Olympics and her brother, who have a surprising connection to Aggie. Infused with striking imagery and pearls of wisdom, Snyder’s novel attempts to capture how it feels to be a female athlete, an independent woman, and above all a runner. Like the pioneers of 1928, the characters in this novel win gold or get disqualified in the process, go on to modest modeling and acting careers, and disappear from the spotlight, while Snyder focuses on the feelings behind their public triumphs, the emotions beneath their personal turmoil. (Feb.)
Instantly mesmerizing and effortlessly beautiful...an unforgettable tale—rich in historical detail and psychological insight.” — Kimberly McCreight, New York Times bestselling author of Reconstructing Amelia
“Carrie Snyder has written an extraordinary, accomplished debut novel of love and family: a wonderful story of a free spirit forced to make difficult choices. Aggie Smart is a truly memorable heroine: she grabbed my hand on page one and never let go.” — Sara Gruen, author of Water For Elephants and At The Water’s Edge
“Aggie’s strength and independence in a time of gender inequality will be an inspiration to readers in this poignant story of a life and its redemption.” — Booklist
“Snyder tunes Aganetha’s voice so beautifully at each stage of her life that the comparisons to Elizabeth Strout’s unforgettable Olive Kitteridge are inevitable.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune
“Infused with striking imagery and pearls of wisdom, Snyder’s novel attempts to capture how it feels to be a female athlete, an independent woman, and above all a runner.” — Publishers Weekly
“[A] well-crafted meditation on aging and loss…. [Snyder’s] inspirational protagonist pushing the boundaries of what was acceptable for women in the first half of the 20th century makes this novel a winner.” — Library Journal
“A fascinating novel about. . . a determined woman who lived life by her own standards.” — Amy Steele, Entertainment Realm
“Throughout Girl Runner…the details and specificity enhance without distracting. What defines the novel is the depth of Aggie herself; her complexities, her desires and failures and her deep relationships are the book’s heart, authentic and beautifully wrought.” — Edmonton Journal
“You don’t have to be an athlete to enjoy this mesmerizing novel.” — Metro
“Exhilarating.... Carrie Snyder writes with prowess, immersing readers in each moment.” — Shelf Awareness
“A well-paced and beautifully written story which culminates in an important reunion....Carrie Snyder writes a tribute to the early pioneers of women’s athletics.” — Iron Mountain Daily News
“Girl Runner is a lyrical and achingly sad novel. An independent woman ahead of her time, Aganetha Smart is a fully realized, sympathetic character who will spur readers to think about aging, regret, and the difficult choices life often sends our way.” — Books on the Table
Carrie Snyder has written an extraordinary, accomplished debut novel of love and family: a wonderful story of a free spirit forced to make difficult choices. Aggie Smart is a truly memorable heroine: she grabbed my hand on page one and never let go.
You don’t have to be an athlete to enjoy this mesmerizing novel.
Aggie’s strength and independence in a time of gender inequality will be an inspiration to readers in this poignant story of a life and its redemption.
Exhilarating.... Carrie Snyder writes with prowess, immersing readers in each moment.
A fascinating novel about. . . a determined woman who lived life by her own standards.
Instantly mesmerizing and effortlessly beautiful...an unforgettable tale—rich in historical detail and psychological insight.
Girl Runner is a lyrical and achingly sad novel. An independent woman ahead of her time, Aganetha Smart is a fully realized, sympathetic character who will spur readers to think about aging, regret, and the difficult choices life often sends our way.
Throughout Girl Runner…the details and specificity enhance without distracting. What defines the novel is the depth of Aggie herself; her complexities, her desires and failures and her deep relationships are the book’s heart, authentic and beautifully wrought.
Snyder tunes Aganetha’s voice so beautifully at each stage of her life that the comparisons to Elizabeth Strout’s unforgettable Olive Kitteridge are inevitable.
A well-paced and beautifully written story which culminates in an important reunion....Carrie Snyder writes a tribute to the early pioneers of women’s athletics.
Aggie’s strength and independence in a time of gender inequality will be an inspiration to readers in this poignant story of a life and its redemption.
You don’t have to be an athlete to enjoy this mesmerizing novel.
Carrie Snyder has written an extraordinary, accomplished debut novel of love and family: a wonderful story of a free spirit forced to make difficult choices. Aggie Smart is a truly memorable heroine: she grabbed my hand on page one and never let go.
2014-11-20
A silenced centenarian harbors a remarkable past in Snyder's (The Juliet Stories, 2012, etc.) latest novel.At age 104, Aganetha Smart has outlived most who would recognize her as a gold-medal-winning runner for Canada in the 1928 Olympics. Despite being ignored by the staff of her nursing home, Aganetha is still mentally spry, with a strong and often humorous inner voice. Her time at the nursing home has been largely uneventful, until one day when a pair of young strangers arrives under the pretense of being distant relatives, and though Aganetha knows this to be untrue—"Everyone known to me is dead, buried, departed, gone, x-ed out from my life, ties severed, bridges burnt, lost, misplaced"—she's eager for a change of scenery and goes along with it. Away from the nursing home, the visitors begin to admit their true motivations. Kaley, a young runner with her own Olympic dreams, claims to be making a documentary about her athletic inspirations with the help of her brother, Max. While Aganetha again knows they're still not being entirely honest, the break from her usual routine is well worth the uncertainty. The narrative leaps back and forth through time, from a young Aganetha surrounded by a family rife with secrets and heartache, to her brief career as an Olympic athlete and model, and finally to the events that lead to the nursing home with little evidence of her prior glory. The present action with Kaley and Max is often lost in the years of memories, though it plays an equally vital role. A tale of family and life after the gold medal that struggles to gain momentum.
