Run by Ann Patchett

In Run, Ann Patchett shows how a single event can change your life forever. The book follows the Doyle family--former Boston mayor Bernard Doyle, his adopted sons Tip and Teddy, and his biological son Sullivan--for 24 hours, beginning with an argument over politics that leads to an accident. The accident brings the Doyles in contact with Tennessee Moser and her 11-year-old daughter, Kenya. The Doyles meet the Mosers for the first time at the scene of the accident, but they soon discover that the Mosers know them--and the secret revealed by Kenya causes Tip and Teddy to rethink everything they thought they knew about their family.

Patchett says Run centers on the issue of politics, but I don't see that as the main theme. There is Bernard's past as mayor, his insistence that Tip and Teddy accompany him to political events, and Tennessee's interest in political issues, but I don't think politics plays that much of a role in the story. (While the title Run might hint at running for office, Kenya excels at track and runs as a way to shed all the stress and troubles that plague her.)

Run makes you think about what it means to be a family. Tip and Teddy are African American brothers adopted by a white couple. Their mother, Bernard's wife Bernadette, is absent from the story, as she died when the boys were young. Bernadette, however, opens the novel telling Bernard shortly after their wedding about the Virgin Mary statue that is an integral part of her family's history and has been passed from mother to daughter for many years. Tip and Teddy are forced to confront their feelings for the adoptive mother who took them in, met their every need during her short life, and loved them unconditionally, as well as their feelings for the biological mother who gave them up.

Patchett's writing is beautiful, packing a lot of emotion into seemingly simple sentences. She cried from happiness, a concept that had previously never made any sense to her at all. So strong was her love at that moment she felt her heart knocking wildly against her chest as if the heart itself was leaping forward to the woman in the bed. (page 272) Though the story mainly chronicles one 24-hour period (aside from the scenes at the very beginning and the very end), there is enough back story to engage the reader. Patchett paces the story perfectly; it never seems rushed or dragged out. The characters of Bernard, Teddy, Tip, and Kenya are well developed, each clearly evolving during the hours following the accident. I enjoyed watching how Kenya is absorbed into the Doyle family rather quickly, and Patchett does a great job balancing Kenya's innocence with a wisdom beyond her years. She also expertly captures the pain of losing a spouse and mother and its impact on the Doyle men.

Patchett created such an interesting character in Sullivan, but she didn't flesh him out as well as the others. She hints that he was in trouble with the law in Africa, which led him to hastily and unexpectedly return home. She delves into Sullivan's past and his falling out with his father, but we never learn what happened in Africa. The spotlight clearly is on Tip and Teddy. Nevertheless, Run was a great, quick read that raises some questions about the definition of family, one's identity within the family unit, and a parent's desire to protect his/her children at all costs.

Run also was reviewed by:

Savvy Verse & Wit
B&b ex libris
Everyday I Write the Book Blog
A Girl Walks Into a Bookstore
medieval bookworm
Peeking Between the Pages
Fizzy Thoughts
Book Chatter and Other Stuff...
The Printed Page
She Is Too Fond Of Books


Disclosure:  I received a free copy of Run from the publisher for review purposes.