I read the Memory of Running (or rather listened to it via audio books) and fell in love with it. I purchased Art in America because I wanted to read more by this author to see if his same creative writing style remained but it fell a bit short for me. Art in America is story of Steven Kearney who is an overweight man who doubts his abilities, talents and self worth (hmmm, sounds like Memory of Running). He takes on a momentous job of writing and directing a play about the history of a town -- to be played by the townspeople and in turn finds himself (hmmm, sounds like Memory of Running). There are some colorful characters (my favorite being the most elderly couple Ticky and Minnie Lettgo who can't seem to let go of the past) but I just felt I could never really connect with any of them. Throughout the book, I just kept feeling like I had read a similar story, that was leading in a similar direction and in the end, had a similar closure as something I had read before. I think it was the author's other book, The Memory of Running. Needless to say I was a bit disappointed that I spent as much time as I did to read basically the same story but in a different setting. Oh well, I can't say I didn't give the author a chance.