Running the Light

'The best novel I've ever read about comedy' Megan Nolan

By: Sam Tallent

Write A Review

Hardcover | 15 May 2025 | Edition Number 1

At a Glance

Hardcover
352 Pages

Dimensions(cm)
24.3 x 16.3 x 3.3

Hardcover

RRP $55.00

$47.75

13%OFF

or 4 interest-free payments of $11.94 with

Ships in 15 to 25 business days

'A thrilling, nauseating and painfully real depiction of what happens as youth, talent and charisma sour' MEGAN NOLAN

'Anyone wondering where The Great American Novel went: this is it on bail' DBC PIERRE

Debauched, divorced and courting death, Billy Ray Schafer is a comedian who has forgotten how to laugh. Over the course of seven spun-out days across the American Southwest, he travels from hell gig to hell gig in search of a reason to keep living, in this bleak and violent glimpse into the psyche of a thoroughly ruined man. Ex-inmate, ex-husband, ex-father - comedian is the only title Schafer has left.

Trapped in the wreckage of his wasted career, Billy Ray knows the answer to the question: What happens when opportunity doesn't come - or worse - it comes and goes?

In 'a majestically bleak, hilarious and bruising tour of regret, delusion and the detonation of the soul' (Sam Lipsyte), Tallent hurls you into an absolute mess of a man's life as we search for the mercy he does not want.

Industry Reviews

Thrilling, nauseating and painfully real . . . Running the Light is the best novel I've ever read about comedy . . . Sam Tallent is that rare thing: a funny person who can convey his funniness in fiction and do it alongside prose that will break your heart too. - Megan Nolan

Chaotic bliss . . . vivid, electric . . . reads like cinema - The Denver Post

Running the Light is a majestically bleak, hilarious, and bruising tour of regret, delusion, and the detonation of the soul . . . If there is a comedy club in hell and they have a merch table, this is the only book on it - Sam Lipsyte, author of The Ask and No One Left to Come Looking for You

A gripping, raw, brutal, messy portrait of the life of an out-of-control road comic, full of drugs, booze, blood, sex, and a few jokes - Marc Maron, stand-up comedian and podcaster

Shipping

	Standard Shipping	Express Shipping
Metro postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Regional postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95
Rural postcodes:	$9.99	$14.95

Orders over $89.00 qualify for free shipping.

How to return your order

At Booktopia, we offer hassle-free returns in accordance with our returns policy. If you wish to return an item, please get in touch with Booktopia Customer Care.

Additional postage charges may be applicable.