Marathon - Hardcover

Winokur, W. William

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 097685080X ISBN 13: 9780976850809

Publisher: Kissena Park Pr, 2006

Synopsis

An Odyssey of Self-Discovery

Based on a True Story

From the concrete canyons of lower Manhattan to the ruins of Ancient Greece, Marathon is a deeply personal tour de force of a woman who turns her back on the modern world in order to unravel the secrets of her past.

Meet Marianna Gardner—intelligent, beautiful, successful, yet empty, sad and searching. Marianna is a partner in a prominent Manhattan law firm, but her rise to the top has come at a price: She has become so hardened that she missed her own father’s funeral.

Enter Ion Theodore, a charming yet lonely old Greek man who has known Marianna since she was a child. A teacher, artist, and marathon runner, Ion is a man of uncommon experience and wisdom. When the two unexpectedly reconnect in a dilapidated Queens nursing home, Marianna finds herself entranced by "Uncle" Ion’s quiet life force.

Soon after their meeting, Marianna finds herself compelled to accompany Ion on a pilgrimage back to his homeland of Greece. There she stumbles upon Ion’s hidden journals, with their tantalizing allusions to a lost obol, once possessed by Ion. It was the obol actually worn by Pheidippides, the legendary hero who ran from Marathon to Athens to warn the Greeks of the invading Persians. As Marianna unearths these secrets of the past, she also begins to see her own future and learns how her destiny is inescapably linked to Ion’s.

Framed by the story of Pheidippides’ celebrated run, the novel is steeped in mythology and mystery. With a deft and certain hand, author W. William Winokur ponders the essential questions of life and death, the intersection of past and present, the struggle of duty versus passion, all while exploring one woman’s discovery of herself through ancient myths, lost journals, impossible loves, and timeless souls.

Marathon is a richly imagined work that sets the conflict and intrigue of the ancient world against the reality of contemporary life. Compelling, thought provoking, and thoroughly engaging, Marathon is a powerful statement about the choices we make in life, and how to create a life worth living.

About this title

From the Back Cover:

Advance Praise for MARATHON "The shadow of ancient Greece gives uncommon power to this story of a modern woman's search for purpose. The result is a book which is both epic and intimate, a book about the things that truly matter in life." — James Cameron, Academy Award®-winning Director, Titanic "Greece’s tumultuous history comes alive in this moving saga of 20th-century redemption, with the heroic Ion Theodore at its center. Marathon is a dramatic first novel by a promising writer." — Arianna Huffington, syndicated columnist and editor of the HuffingtonPost.com "I’ve got to read ten to twelve hours a day. Mostly screenplays, all by pros—most are awful. When I read Marathon, I looked forward to my twenty-minute escape each day in its pages. It is one of the most magnificent books I have ever read—I could not believe it was written by a first-time author." — Michel Shane, Executive Producer of Catch Me If You Can and I, Robot "William Winokur’s episodic novel Marathon is insightful, deeply moving and a delightful reading experience... This is truly a deeply involving first novel by an extremely talented contemporary American author. I encourage anyone who can read to read Marathon." — Martin Landau,

Academy Award®-winning actor "In Marathon, a female power broker takes a soul’s journey into the unknown with a former marathon runner, scholar and slave—to Greece, where she finds his past, her future and timeless love. This book is an aphrodisiac." — Ron Camacho, author of Chicken Soup for the Country Soul

About the Author:

W. WILLIAM WINOKUR, who was a student of Ion Theodore’s at the Horace Mann School, retraced his mentor’s footsteps to the Greek village of Marathon on a quest for enlightenment. The essence of his odyssey has been infused into the heart of his first novel. Bill now lives in Malibu with his wife and three children, and is currently writing his next novel, The Third Miracle.

About this edition

• Publisher: Kissena Park Pr
• Publication date: 2006
• ISBN 10: 097685080X
• ISBN 13: 9780976850809
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 496