The Last Runaway: A Novel
5 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by conto from Lisboa (city), Lisboa (distrito) Portugal on Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Synopsis:
"Ohio 1850. For a modest English Quaker stranded far from home, life is a trial. Untethered from the moment she leaves England, fleeing personal disappointment, Honor Bright is forced by family tragedy to rely on strangers in an alien, untamed landscape. Drawn into the clandestine activities of the Underground Railroad, a network helping runaway slaves escape to freedom, Honor befriends two exceptional people who embody the startling power of defiance. Eventually she must decide if she too can act on what she believes in, whatever the personal cost."
I loved this book and just couldn't put it down.
Not just the story (although the characters are strong and very well crafted, I think), but all the background on the Fugitive Slave Act and the Underground Railroad, which I knew nothing about, the Quakers, which I barely new existed and quilts, one of my own passions.
I don't think it's a great piece of literature, but it definitely is my kind of book.
Much, much better than "Falling Angels", though not as much as "The Lady and the Unicorn" (my favorite) or even "Girl With a Pearl Earring", maybe.
[the pic shows an antique Ohio Star pattern quilt, from around 1880, one of the patterns appearing in the book and, to my taste, much better looking than the Star of Bethlehem ones I could browse through in various sites]
"Ohio 1850. For a modest English Quaker stranded far from home, life is a trial. Untethered from the moment she leaves England, fleeing personal disappointment, Honor Bright is forced by family tragedy to rely on strangers in an alien, untamed landscape. Drawn into the clandestine activities of the Underground Railroad, a network helping runaway slaves escape to freedom, Honor befriends two exceptional people who embody the startling power of defiance. Eventually she must decide if she too can act on what she believes in, whatever the personal cost."
I loved this book and just couldn't put it down.
Not just the story (although the characters are strong and very well crafted, I think), but all the background on the Fugitive Slave Act and the Underground Railroad, which I knew nothing about, the Quakers, which I barely new existed and quilts, one of my own passions.
I don't think it's a great piece of literature, but it definitely is my kind of book.
Much, much better than "Falling Angels", though not as much as "The Lady and the Unicorn" (my favorite) or even "Girl With a Pearl Earring", maybe.
[the pic shows an antique Ohio Star pattern quilt, from around 1880, one of the patterns appearing in the book and, to my taste, much better looking than the Star of Bethlehem ones I could browse through in various sites]
I just registered this book so I could send it over to C. in Germany.
I'm not sure it's the best idea, once she's trying to learn german, but she'll tell me! :)
(Meanwhile Nin-guem also read it and loved it.)
I'm not sure it's the best idea, once she's trying to learn german, but she'll tell me! :)
(Meanwhile Nin-guem also read it and loved it.)
Journal Entry 3 by AnonymousFinder at Lisboa - City, Lisboa (cidade) Portugal on Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Estou a ler neste momento. Assim que acabar farei o meu comentário.
“The Last Runnway” começa em Inglaterra no ano de 1850. Honor é uma rapariga calma e sensata, educada dentro da religião Quakers. A vergonha pelo noivo a ter deixado para se casar com alguém fora da sua religião, leva-a a aceitar o convite da sua irmã que vai partir para a América para se casar.
Mas quando a sua irmã morre nos primeiros dias de chegada à America, Honor fica sem saber o que fazer. Acaba por encetar a viagem até ao fim, para comunicar ao noivo da irmã a triste notícia da sua morte e espera encontrar um espaço para si própria dentro da comunidade, uma vez que não deseja regressar a Inglaterra.
A trama adensa-se quando percebe que existe o drama da escravatura e da “caça” aos fugitivos. Se por um lado Honor quer ajudá-los, porque foi educada segundo o princípio de que todos são iguais, por outro lado vê a sua comunidade, completamente passiva perante este drama.
Só achei um bocadinho irreal quando, perante a sua total inadaptação em viver com a sua nova família, por questões de princípios, ela resolve fugir acompanhando uma escrava fugitiva. Não foi o acto de fugir que achei irreal, mas sim o fugir grávida de nove meses, sem saber minimamente para onde ir, a correr por montes e valas por causa dos cães e dos caçadores e sem dinheiro ou comida… Não sendo ela uma escrava, poderia ter planeado melhor a sua fuga, principalmente numa altura em que as mulheres sózinhas e sem nada, acabavam por depender em muito da bondade de terceiros ou então acabar em sítios piores, como os bordéis.
Mas no seu todo, o livro é mesmo muito interessante e já estou a pensar em ler outro livro da mesma autora, “Girl with a Pearl Earring”, o qual curiosamente nunca vi o filme e pouco sei da sua estória, pelo que será muito interessante ler este livro em inglês.
Back home. Now available for anyone wanting to read it.
Journal Entry 6 by conto at Wishlist Tag Game, A RABCK -- Controlled Releases on Sunday, March 31, 2019
Released 4 yrs ago (4/1/2019 UTC) at Wishlist Tag Game, A RABCK -- Controlled Releases
CONTROLLED RELEASE NOTES:
On my bookshelf for too long and finding it on brunton11's wishlist, decided to tag her and send the book forward.
Hope you like it! ;)
Hope you like it! ;)
Arrived safely today. Thank you for the tag.
I enjoyed the style of this book and found the subject interesting.
Sending to poodlesister- wishlist tag.
Sending to poodlesister- wishlist tag.
Journal Entry 9 by Poodlesister at Walthamstow, Greater London United Kingdom on Thursday, July 11, 2019
Thanks brunton11!