Marathon Man

By William Goldman,

Book cover of Marathon Man

Book description

William Goldman's remarkable career spans more than five decades, and his credentials run the gamut from bestselling novelist to Oscar-winning screenwriter to Hollywood raconteur. He's beloved by millions of readers as the author of the classic comic-romantic fantasy The Princess Bride. And he's notorious for creating the most harrowing visitā€¦

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Why read it?

3 authors picked Marathon Man as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This falls under the category of ā€œDamn, I wish Iā€™d written this.ā€ This story has the quintessential out-of-their-depth hero who is drawn into a world much larger than himself and has to rise above the situation to survive.

I love how this book is about a man who lives in the shadow of his father and brother and has dedicated himself to academia and running but ends up facing off against spies and nazis. Itā€™s a story that will make an ordinary protagonist a bona fide hero.

From Simon's list on out-of-their-depth heroes.

I never knew William Goldman (The Princess Bridewas such a versatile writer, and I love how he messed with my expectations. The result was funny, sad, and remarkably deep.

An athletic academic with delusions of grandeur, and an overpowering sense of his own awkwardness, getting sucked up in a world of espionage really caught my imagination. I loved the characters and character growth. Especially when the change was forced by a revelation that made me reevaluate everything I knew about the characters.

I especially enjoyed how the narrative follows the charactersā€™ train of thought. The unusual useā€¦

ā€œIs it safe?ā€ There is, perhaps, no other trio of words in the English language capable of sending shockwaves of unimaginable pain deep into oneā€™s molars.

Dr. Christian Szellā€™s ruthless determination to obtain his diamonds, no matter the cost, makes him one of the most detestable villains in all of fiction. So detestable, in fact, that I couldnā€™t help borrowing his surname for a tertiary antagonist in Sunset Empire, who is part heartless physician and part mad scientist.

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Truth told, folks still ask if Saul Crabtree sold his soul for the perfect voice. If he sold it to angels or devils. A Bristol newspaper once asked: ā€œAre his love songs closer to heaven than dying?ā€ Others wonder how he wrote a song so sad, everyone who heard itā€¦

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