Run
by Ann Patchett
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Book Reviews of Run
Book Review: Beautifully written
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was a home run. It had everything in it that makes me want to keep reading: Beautiful writing, emotional complexity, intersecting lives, culturally relevant issues expounding, and complete and total engagement. Patchett is definitely a cerebral writer and for me, that was the appeal.The second half of the book I finished in one sitting and like the Miami Herald proffered, I was in tears by the last few chapters, especially when the narrative focused on Kenya. I love the touch of magical realism in the book, but more so, Patchett's writing demonstrates she's an expert in the craft of storytelling. She captures the emotional depth, range, and affectual understanding needed to make these stories successfully told. In doing so she demonstrates the complexity of people's lives intersecting. I loved it and I can't wait to read more of her work. This will be a book I will continue to revisit and think about.Book Review: Patchett is better than this book
Summary: 2 Stars
I am a big Ann Patchett fan--to my mind Bel Canto is nothing short of a masterpiece. But this novel feels pale and forgettable. I agree with many other reviewers who say there is no heat here, no urgency that makes you want to keep reading. Moreover, the characters seem hopelessly contrived, and the plot lacks cohesion and believability. I'm not sure exactly why, but this book feels like a story someone made up, rather than events that actually occurred. The seams that hold "Run" together are completely visible to the reader so that it feels much like when the boom mike pokes into the frame when you're watching a movie.
It's sad to say this, but to me, this novel fails on a fundamental level. I gave it two stars rather than one only because Patchett can turn a phrase like no one else, but unfortunately, that isn't enough to carry a book.
Book Review: A Classic Example of Literary Fiction
Summary: 4 Stars
I first read Ann Patchett in "Truth and Beauty," her non-fiction work about her friend Lucy Grealy. When wandering through the library and saw her name on "Run," I had to read it. I remembered Patchett's clear, beautiful prose and felt her fiction would be a worthwhile experience.
I was not disappointed. The writing is as good as I expected, with sentences that read like a cool glass of water. Patchett brings us into the world of Doyle, Sullivan, Tip, Teddy, and Kenya slowly, subtly, until you're surprized to learn how involved you are in their lives, how much you want it to all work out ok.
"Run" is an excellent story touching on interesting social issues. Thought provoking in a casual, almost sneaky way I found this to be very enjoyable. If you enjoy good fiction, you won't be disappointed in this novel.
Book Review: Family, There is No Greater Bond
Summary: 5 Stars
In RUN, Ann Patchett writes about one day in the life of two African American brothers, Tip and Teddy, who were raised by Boston's white mayor, Bernard Doyle. It's also a story about their biological mother Tennessee Moser, who had given them up for adoption and about Doyle's older son Sullivan and Moser's young daughter Kenya.
Doyle drags his sons to see Jesse Jackson speak at Harvard on a snowy night, Tip steps in front of a speeding car, Tennessee jumps from a crowd of bystanders, pushes Tip out of the way, but is hit by the car. Eleven-year-old Kenya tells the Doyles who Tennessee really is and the Doyles take the child home with them and thus begins a day of discovery for them all in this heart warming story of family loyalty that is packed with characters who will be with you long after you finish the story.
Book Review: Can I give it 3 1/2 stars?
Summary: 3 Stars
I've been very torn about how to review this book. I don't want to discourage anyone from reading it because she is truly an incredible writer, but I'm not sure the overall effect added up to the sum of the parts. I liked the story and the characterizations were beautiful. I also appreciated the hopeful nature of the tale. The book is broken up into chapters that tell the story from different perspectives. On one level this format works and on another level it doesn't. Some of the chapters/perspectives were some of the most beautiful things I've ever seen written (the uncle's perspective on God as an expample) and some of the perspectives were plodding and almost distracting from moving the story forward. So in the end, I guess the synergy required to make the whole more than the sum of the parts, just wasn't there...