Book Release for Marathon by W. William Winokur
	Title: Marathon Author: W. William Winokur Publisher: Kissena Park Press Date of Publication: January 2006 ISBN: 097685080X Price: list price $24.95 Description: hardcover, 496pp Availability: Barnes and Noble, Borders
From the concrete canyons of lower Manhattan to the ruins of Ancient Greece, Marathon is a tour de force by a new voice in American fiction. In this impressive, multi-layered debut, based on a true story, W. William Winokur takes the reader on a journey that is at once historical, philosophical and spiritual in order to learn exactly what gives a life meaning. 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 Queens, NY nursing home, Marianna finds herself entranced by “Uncle” Ion’s quiet life force. Soon after their meeting, Marianna accompanies Ion on a pilgrimage back to his homeland of Greece. There she learns that an orphan holds the key to a decades-old mystery. She stumbles upon Ion’s hidden journals; and she sets out to find a lost obol, once worn by a woman whom Ion loved, that scholars believe to be priceless. 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 from Marathon to Athens, the novel is steeped in mythology and mystery. 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 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. Visit www.MarathonTheBook.com.
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