I was concerned that I would have a hard time explaining this book so I looked at other reviews to see their approach. I was pleased to see that quite a few were as lost as I was. Imagine for a moment that you had to write a report or a review of a little-known story called “Alice in Wonderland”. How would you describe it? A girl goes down the rabbit hole and a whole bunch of crazy stuff happens but she learns a valuable lesson and finds her way back home. That’s not a write-up that makes a person want to run out and read the story, is it?

This is almost the same for The Hike by Drew Magary. Instead of Alice, we have Ben, a middle-aged married man, and father who’s on a business trip and decides to go for a walk before settling in for the evening. While on this walk he sees something disturbing and starts running. Little did he know that from that point on he’d be running for years to come. College girlfriends, dog-faced murderers, giant women, talking-crabs, and a litany of other things come to assist and give chase to Ben and keep him on the path … always on the path.  The path itself is not a straight path with rolling hills of green grass … it is mountain trails, icy waterways, desert dunes, and so much more. The twist and turns in this story keep you interested and perhaps at sometimes, disturbed.

I listened to this story as I commuted back and forth to work and home. This was a rare purchase that was Audible only as I typically purchase the eBook with the audio add-on. The voice actor did an amazing job of bringing Ben’s emotions to the surface and helps you feel the joy and fear right along with the protagonist. I cannot speak to how this would translate to just reading the book as a plain text in a book, but I’m sure it is fine. This book seemed a little long, but the pacing, twists, and changes keep you coming back. And the ending … GEEZ, a hard punch to the gut but oh so very satisfying.

I’d highly recommend picking up The Hike by Drew Magary. It’s an outstanding story with an amazing ending. Well worth the read … or listen if you’re so inclined!