Run

By: Ann Patchett

Narrated by: Peter Francis James

It's a winter evening in Boston and the temperature has drastically dropped as a blizzard approaches the city. On this fateful night, Bernard Doyle plans to meet his two adopted sons, Tip the older, and more serious and Teddy, the affectionate dreamer, at a Harvard auditorium to hear a speech given by Jesse Jackson. Doyle, an Irish Catholic and former Boston mayor, has done his best to keep his two sons interested in politics, from the day he and his now deceased wife became their parents, through their childhoods, and now in their lives as college students. Though the two boys are African-American, the bonds of the family's love have never been tested. But as the snow begins to fall, an accident triggers into motion a series of events that will forever change their lives.

Run is at its very center, is a novel about what truly defines family and the lengths we will go to protect our children. As she did in her best-selling novel Bel Canto, Patchett beautifully weaves together seemingly disparate lives to show how intimately humans can connect. Stunning and powerful, Run is sure to engage any Patchett fan and bring her even more admirers.

Don't miss our free Ann Patchett interview. Patchett is an Audible CelebrityListener - find out what she's listening to here.©2007 Ann Patchett (P)2007 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

" Run is a book that sets out inventively to contend with the temper of our times, and by the end we feel we really know the Doyle family in all its intensity and with all its surprises." ( Publishers Weekly)

Loose Ends

The story raised many political and humanitarian issues: racism and all of its negative effects on people of color - medical attention paid to Tennessee, allowing Kenya to remain behind at the scene of the accident and allowing Doyle to take Kenya home. All of these situations show how race “colors” our compassion. The book raises the questions. It is the readers’ job to strive for solutions.
I would have liked to know more about Sullivans - priest and son. Good book for discussion.

Story that is intriguing and humanizing

Read this one for a book club I am in. It's not typically part of my reading fodder. Having said that, I did enjoy the book. It was a bit convoluted, true. But it still retained a story line I was willing to go along with. The coincidental nature of some happenings was a bit beyond my scope of suspending disbelief but not enough that I quit reading or hated the read like some.

I liked the characters. I could appreciate both their self centeredness as well as their desire to support the family unit. The author did a great job of keeping the story to a flow that was both forward steps and look backs that explained the relevant information. I did not have a personal paradigm for much of the story but that didn't bother me.

In my opinion, the weakest point of the book involved the statue but I get the allegory that was at play. I just didn't feel like it forwarded the story as much as the author probably thought it did. I felt it was a bit of the author attempting to display how clever they were

Having said that, I'd say this book will probably do best with those who like angsty story lines where there are clashes of class and privilege.

Great story—but music? Gak

Loved the story, but the performance was so wooden and the musical button between each chapter served only to jar me out of the story. It added NOTHING. I hated it. Please don’t ever do this again.

Great story but why throw in the political slant

I enjoyed the characters so much and light that you never knew where the story would go. I was annoyed at the end when the author through in her political views and insinuated racism and sexism being the reason for the death of one of the characters. If you're going to make a political book call it that.

Not my favorite by this author

I had higher expectations for the author of Bel Canto and Truth and Beauty. I hesitated to buy her latest novel, but after listening to the Audible interview, I was intrigued. It was an ok story, but not my favorite. It was a bit slow, and I never really got attached to any of the characters. Patchett's gift for description was less apparent in this novel. It was a decent read, but not of the quality I expected from Ann Patchett.

Peter Francis James brings this to life

Have you listened to any of Peter Francis James’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This was my first "book on tape" and Peter Francis James was the perfect narrator. I can't imagine anyone else bringing these characters to life.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

no

Musical interludes

I found the musical interludes and the music chosen very irritating and jarring. While I understood the purpose, still I did not feel that they worked.

Beautiful in thought and execution!

Patchett is a master of intricate plot execution, character development, and story telling. James brings Patchett's characters to life and does more than justice to the beauty of her prose.

Just ok

This wasn't her strongest. Per the interview at the end, finishing the book wasn't easy for her. She should have taken this as a sign.

An emotionally satisfying, compassionate masterpiece

Once again, Ann Patchett gives us an amazing story that brings its characters full circle to achieve a kind of revelation & wisdom. The family members in Run are so deep & so real that they seem to have taken up permanent residence in my heart. I find myself wondering what they’re up to today. Excellent performance by the narrator … Especially by subtly differentiating among the characters’ dialogue. Five stars.