May 29, 2009

Run by Ann Patchett

After I read and loved Bel Canto, I checked my library for more books by Ann Patchett, and found this one. Run is the remarkable story of an Irish American family that adopts two African American boys. After only a few years of being a family, their adoptive mother dies, leaving them to be raised in an affluent neighborhood by the mayor of Boston. When the boys are grown, on one fateful night, they both find and lose their biological mother. This is an extraordinary book about familial relationships.

The most amazing thing about Patchett's writing to me is her ability to get the reader inside her characters' heads. She doesn't just make up characters and build a story around them. She puts on her characters' skins and becomes them, and they are the story.

I was surprised by Patchett's photo on the book flap. I was expecting a matronly middle-aged woman with short hair and knowing smile, but she looks like she's probably my age. I was not surprised however by the multiple awards and accolades credited to her in the bio.

5 comments:

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  2. I tried to Bel Canto, but could not get ito it at all. But, to be fair, at that time I was reading more non-fiction than fiction. I'll try it again and try this one afterward

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  3. Yet again another author you've introduced me to that I'm going to have to check out one of these days.

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  4. Looking forward to reading this, since I just finish Bel Canto. I agree with you in why she's a good author!

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  5. Thank you for the great recommendations, always! You've been awarded the Beautiful Blogger Award. Congratulations!!

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