Run by Ann Patchett Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $3.98 You Save: $11.01 (73%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Run
Book Review: Run Ann Pachett
Summary: 5 Stars
Touching, memorable. I have read and re-read it this month. I do not want to part from these heart-warming characters.Book Review: Run where the heart takes you...
Summary: 4 Stars
A tender, lovely book, about Bernard & Bernardette Doyle who, after the birth of their son Sullivan are unable to have more children and decide to adopt. Teddy, an African-American infant is therefore welcomed into their family with open arms and soon after his older brother Tip joins the family too, much to their delight. Everything seems to be perfect until Bernardette dies prematurely.
Bernard finds himself to raise the three boys alone. He is very protective and has plans for them, however between his politically-oriented job and raising the family by himself, as the kids grow up some strain starts to develop between them. Sullivan, much older than Tip & Teddy, moves out very quickly and resurfaces only every now & then.
One snowy night, a stranger passing by with her daughter saves Tip from an accident, but she ends up badly injured. The Doyle's lives shall change forever after the accident.
My first book by Ann Patchett but I shall read more. The prose flows beautifully, despite the intricate backs & forths from past to present, from character to character. This shifting however is uncomplicated and it adds an interesting touch to the narrative style.
I gave it 4 stars (instead of 5) only because, despite my liking it a lot, I found some situations a bit far-fetched, and some of the characters with a goody-goody quality that I found a bit unreal given the circumstances.
All in all however, I would say that this book is quite a page-turner and I would certainly recommend it.
Book Review: Run- an engrossing but flawed novel
Summary: 4 Stars
"Run" is an engrossing novella with real characters that are nicely developed. It is not nearly as good as the author's previous novel, "Bel Canto", but is still worth reading, in parts it can even be described as a page turner. I enjoyed it very much, and my husband is reading it now and likes it very much.Book Review: S l o w read
Summary: 3 Stars
The story is about the Doyle family of Boston - former mayor Bernard and his wife had one son and then adopted two black sons named Tip and Teddy before her untimely death. Now, twenty years later, the eldest boy is an aimless disappointment while the younger sons are successful college students with very different personalities. On a fateful night, Tip is nearly run over by a car but is pushed to safety by a stranger who will come to impact their lives forever.
The first chapter told an interesting history of a beautiful religious statue that had been in the family for generations. The rest of the book, however, was completely different in tone. It's all about the night of Tip's brush with death, told in such excruciating detail that it was hard for me to keep reading. There is very little action and most dialog is followed by one or more paragraphs in which the speaker mulls over his words ad nauseum. This writing style got old fast for me. I grew impatient for something to happen and tried to skim the book, only to find that important details were tucked into the most boring private reflections.
The basic plot is a good one and would have been very successful as a short story, but for me, the novel is way too draw-out and dull.
Book Review: Slowly Reaches the Finish Line
Summary: 2 Stars
I wanted so much to like this book. It speaks to so many life-impacting themes - family, race, class, politics, science. But, the many enjoyable parts do not congeal into a satisfying whole. The prose is softly spoken even when describing pain and death, and follow-on grief. The writer turns some phrases so well that they warrant reading them aloud. In a natural, off-hand manner, Patchett centers the plot on a white politician's and his wife's adopting two black children to fill out their one-child family. The children's acceptance by the Irish extended family further defines the capacity to love those born outside our bloodline. This is a strong, well done element of the book. The first sentence tells us that Bernadette, the mother has died, and this sets the tone for how the all-male unit, including the uncle, Father Sullivan continues in her absence. Yet, she is never truly absent; her memory drives the men's thoughts and actions. Also, the writer uses the device of the mother to connect to the other females, including the statue of the Madonna. Two of these females are another mother and her daughter, who are introduced in a contrived scene (one of several that just don't ring true). All the characters, including walk-on parts, convey nearly total goodness. Perhaps, this is the critical weakness in the story: everyone is just too good. The inter-generational conflict, the appearance of the birth mother, everyone's quiet approach to loss (lots of losses here), are subdued to the point of robotic. Yes, the characters are likeable, even lovable, if too often flat. The research in history and science is apparent. There just isn't enough dramatic heat to fuel total interest in the story.