The Longest Fall - Lee Krinsky (Book Review) written by Lee Krinsky is a great addition to the genre "running books for readers", i.e. a book that contains a story rather than running training advice.Though most of the names and places in the book are fictional, it is a memoir that narrates the experiences of the "Atlantic" cross-country team during one eventful summer and fall. Most of the details are taken directly from the real events and history that occurred at WC. Mepham High School, Bellmore, NY, 1996. But what makes the book more than just a simple running book or biography are the great underlying themes.
So, The Longest Fall is more than just a running book or a biography. It is the story of excitement, immaturity, gut wrenching sadness and defeat, or happiness that runners and non-runners of all ages will love.
I had the opportunity of asking Lee Krinsky, author of The Longest Fall a few questions. What is fiction and what is non-fiction? You say that a lot of the events are real, but that names of towns and people have been changed. Is that the only difference? I never intended to write a non-fiction book because I knew it would be too painful for me, my friends, our coach and many of the families close to the tragedy. It is the history of a team, the team losing the county championships in the spring meet, the coach at the end of his career, losing a runner and then making a vow to win the title in this runner's honor. This part of the story is exactly as it happened in my high school in 1996. How about some of the areas, race locations and training grounds? As the reader moves away from Atlantic, the names of the towns, parks and races become more real, as do the locations. I did this so the story could be placed in real time and space (Long Island, New York, 1996), while protecting my friends and the family who lost their son. What I ended up doing in the novel was creating what I call a fictional "nexus". I made up a name for the school, the town and the characters on the team. Almost all the details about the town and school are real. The characters are combinations of my real teammates. Again, I made up names and changed some details for the above reasons. Is there anyone in the story who is actually you? Yes, the skeleton and inspiration for Julian�s character was my friend, Troy Depass. Troy was not the best runner on the team but he was always positive and inspirational to everyone. He was not captain but did act like a leader and "counsel" to many of the runners. There is also a part of Julian that is me � his flashbacks and memories. I used myself more for the skeleton of John�s character. I did burn out during the season and folded under the pressure. Earlier in the season I was doing very well. I dramatized some of the drinking and events that led up to the final race, but the emotional pain, anguish and isolation I felt due to the loss of Troy is pretty much dead on. To elaborate on this loss, it was during the summer of 1996 we lost our teammate and good friend Troy Depass. Troy died from a rare, aggressive form of Leukemia. It was sudden and shocking. While the runner in the novel dies in car accident, most of all the other details about the wake, funeral, vigal are all real. We were all deeply crushed, but vowed to win the county championships in his honor. It was a tough season. Then this "coming of age" story is good for you. Want to know if the team managed to win the county championships? Then you need to get this book today. Click here for more information about The Longest Fall Wish to get more running tips? Subscribe to the Best Running Tips Newsletter or to my site blog. Go from The Longest Fall Page to Running Books Page Go from The Longest Fall Page to Best Running Tips Homepage Running Books Running Books: Daniel's Running Formula | 100 Day Marathon Plan | Advanced Marathoning | What I Talk About When I Talk About Running | The Longest Fall | Born to Run | How to Lose 10 Pounds in 10 Days | Running Magazines: Runner's World | Running Times Magazine |
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