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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved Bel Canto, and I'd really enjoyed her non-fiction work Truth and Beauty, so was eager to read another by this author. I wasn't disappointed. I really like the way she sees her characters and brings them into our vision.
What I particularly like about this book is how the straightforwardness of a child brings others into looking at the situation from a fresh point of view, or perhaps I mean into looking at the situation and themselves from a broader point of view than their usual.
I won't write any more. There are other reviews that talk about the book nicely.
What I particularly like about this book is how the straightforwardness of a child brings others into looking at the situation from a fresh point of view, or perhaps I mean into looking at the situation and themselves from a broader point of view than their usual.
I won't write any more. There are other reviews that talk about the book nicely.
Where I come down on the thing is that the premise is VERY interesting, plausible, and clever. The problem is that the execution is so pedestrian that I never really got engaged. The characters seemed one dimensional, barely fleshed out at all. When she ran out of steam, she just stopped.
A small book that takes place more or less over the course of just two days, "Run" has -- and sometimes manages to achieve -- epic ambitions as it tells the story of a white father who adopts two black boys as babies, his biological son, and a young black girl whose life intersects theirs in a tragic coincidence.
While I wish that the book had taken on some of the bigger topics at hand -- white privilege and economic/social/racial injustice -- there are several scenes in this book that are just perfect. The chapter with Tip and Kenya traveling to Harvard is flawless and inspiring, and much of the rest of the book is similarly compelling and uplifting.
While I wish that the book had taken on some of the bigger topics at hand -- white privilege and economic/social/racial injustice -- there are several scenes in this book that are just perfect. The chapter with Tip and Kenya traveling to Harvard is flawless and inspiring, and much of the rest of the book is similarly compelling and uplifting.
would give this a 3.5 if that was an option. Enjoyed reading it but felt like I was left hanging at the end.
This gentle family story – mostly about displacement and belonging – is good, although it’s much more modest than Ann Patchett’s other novels. It begins with an accident, and through the accident and its aftermath, the members of an extended family find each other. Two adopted young men find their birth mother, a young girl finds her lost brothers, and a father finds the daughter that will inherit the family heirloom.
There’s a patchwork quality here, with some of the characters black and others white, some well-off and others poor. Sometimes the author pushes things a little, to make the pattern fit. You occasionally get the idea that she’s herding the characters into place a little too forcefully.
But they are mostly interesting characters, especially the three youngest ones. They have their passions – the church, the classification of fish, and running. The descriptions of Kenya running are especially lovely. Ann Patchett has a gripping and very immediate way of describing emotional states and physical sensations.
There’s a patchwork quality here, with some of the characters black and others white, some well-off and others poor. Sometimes the author pushes things a little, to make the pattern fit. You occasionally get the idea that she’s herding the characters into place a little too forcefully.
But they are mostly interesting characters, especially the three youngest ones. They have their passions – the church, the classification of fish, and running. The descriptions of Kenya running are especially lovely. Ann Patchett has a gripping and very immediate way of describing emotional states and physical sensations.
Highly recommended by my aunt, Laurie.
I liked it, but not as much as her other books. Also, I listened to it on tape, so that always influences my opinion.
I liked it, but not as much as her other books. Also, I listened to it on tape, so that always influences my opinion.
I thoroughly enjoy Ann Patchett and "Run" is a good book. Strongest element for me was her multiple [believable] takes on what parents will do to protect their children. Not so strong were the Kennedyesque Doyle family. Patchett is a fine writer and this novel is lovely, if a bit slow-moving.
Always worth your time to read Ann Patchett, so far I love Bel Canto, followed quickly by State of Wonder, but I haven't read them all.
Always worth your time to read Ann Patchett, so far I love Bel Canto, followed quickly by State of Wonder, but I haven't read them all.
Again I listened on CD. A good story, thought provoking.