FICTION

The Motion of the Body Through Space

Harper. May 2020. 352p. ISBN 9780062328250. $28.99. F
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After losing his job in the Department of Transportation, where he had been a long-valued employee, 63-year-old Remington Alabaster finds himself in need of a new purpose. When he informs his wife, Serenata, that he intends to run a marathon some months hence, she is immediately dismissive. Until now, Serenata has been the runner and fitness fanatic in the family. But arthritic knees have forced her to abandon running and severely restrict her exercise routine. Despite her opposition, Remington takes to his training regime with the zeal of a religious convert, while Serenata clings to the hope that his obsession will end once the marathon is over. That hope is crushed when Remington hobbles over the finish line and announces his new goal to compete in the MettleMan, an ultra-triathlon that pushes endurance beyond normal limits and tests his aging body and their marriage.
VERDICT As she has done before in novels such as We Need To Talk About Kevin, Shriver takes on hot-button topics—in this case the fitness craze, toxic workplaces, the tyranny of political correctness, and the indignities of aging
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