The Last Runaway

By: Tracy Chevalier

Narrated by: Kate Reading

Length: 9 hrs and 51 mins

Publisher's summary

New York Times best-selling author of Girl With a Pearl Earring and At the Edge of the Orchard, Tracy Chevalier makes her first fictional foray into the American past in The Last Runaway, bringing to life the Underground Railroad and illuminating the principles, passions, and realities that fueled this extraordinary freedom movement.

Honor Bright, a modest English Quaker, moves to Ohio in 1850 - only to find herself alienated and alone in a strange land. Sick from the moment she leaves England, and fleeing personal disappointment, she is forced by family tragedy to rely on strangers in a harsh, unfamiliar landscape. Nineteenth-century America is practical, precarious, and unsentimental, and scarred by the continuing injustice of slavery. In her new home Honor discovers that principles count for little, even within a religious community meant to be committed to human equality.

However, Honor is drawn into the clandestine activities of the Underground Railroad, a network helping runaway slaves escape to freedom, where she befriends two surprising women who embody the remarkable power of defiance. Eventually she must decide if she too can act on what she believes in, whatever the personal costs.

©2013 Tracy Chevalier (P)2013 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

“A rich, well-researched novel - it’s the story of one young woman becoming an American.” (NPR, All Things Considered)

“Well-told and engrossing.... With compelling characters and swift pacing, The Last Runaway adds a worthy new chapter to a story that has consumed generations.” (USA Today)

“Irresistible.” (O, The Oprah Magazine)

Insightful and heart-warming

I truly enjoyed listing to this book. Being from England I understood some of the difficulties that Honor encountered when she found herself alone in a strange country, but Tracy Chevalier has drawn an absorbing picture of what life was like in the 1850s for a young women, alone and with few options and who had no experience with slavery, but who ultimately, quietly found her way.

Very Interesting Story

I enjoyed the build of this story and the power of the women in the story as well. I was surprised by the ending. Nice story - ended faster than I thought it would.

Waiting for the Quilt Code and it Never Happened

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

I usually enjoy Tracy Chevalier's books but I kept waiting for the connection between the quilt making and the use of quilts as a code* used by the Underground Railroad to help slaves find their way to Canada and freedom. Here's a quote from Sarah Ives in a National Geographic article: "Two historians say African American slaves may have used a quilt code to navigate the Underground Railroad. Quilts with patterns named "wagon wheel," "tumbling blocks," and "bear's paw" appear to have contained secret messages that helped direct slaves to freedom, the pair claim." I wonder why this was not part of the story? It would have made for a much more compelling tale, and because this use of quilts and symbols are fairly well known, I would think other readers would have been waiting for the same thing.*Jacqueline Tobin and Raymond Dobard Hidden in Plain View: A Secret Story of Quilts and the Underground Railroad

What was most disappointing about Tracy Chevalier’s story?

Waiting for Chevalier to make the 'quilt code' part of the story.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

Didn't enjoy the narration all that much and the use of 'thy' and 'thee'. We got it that they were Quakers and this was distracting. Maybe it worked in the book, but not as an audio book.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Probably not, unless screenwriters super charged it.

Who among us would stand for our principles.

And turn our lives upside down? Powerful book. Makes you think about what you would do.

Disappointing Surprise

Would you try another book from Tracy Chevalier and/or Kate Reading?
I've read nearly everything by Tracy Chevalier. She is among my favorite authors. I have listened to other books narrated by Kate Reading and I thought she was wonderful.

Would you be willing to try another book from Tracy Chevalier? Why or why not?
Yes, I would.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Kate Reading?
I would cast Kate Reading, but I would ask her not to add that questioning uplift at the end of every sentence. It drove me crazy. I don't know why she did it in this book, because it isn't her style.

Any additional comments?
I was so excited when I read that Ms. Chevalier was to write a book about a Quaker woman. I am a descendant of Quakers, and Chevalier is one of my favorite authors. I was also very happy to find that Kate Reading would be the narrator, because she did such a fine job of reading Sara Donati's books. However, "The Last Runaway" fell flat for me. What an unpleasant surprise! I didn't like most of the characters and didn't feel involved with the rest. I kept waiting for something interesting or unexpected to happen, but it never did. I finished listening to the whole thing, but I was relieved when it was over.

Terrible annoying narration

Can barely understand the story because the narrator is so annoying. I’ve never heard someone drop their voice at the end of every sentence like asking a question over and over. I’m about to find an new book.

Don’t Quilt? Don’t Read!

Quite possibly the most boring book I’ve encountered! I gave nothing else to say about it and won’t read another book by author.

Plot is slow and main character uninteresting

I was expecting more. This would’ve been a DNF had I been reading instead of listening. The first half of the book could’ve been one chapter. The second half was underwhelming.

disappointing

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

If you enjoy endless descriptions of quilts and detailed descriptions of everything, you might like this book.

What could Tracy Chevalier have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

The characters were too stereotyped - the nearly perfect, meek and mild Hannah, the bawdy Belle with a heart of gold, the tempting bad boy. I was hoping for more underground railroad adventure, but this was rather dull and plodding. I liked the story well enough, but it seemed to drag, with way too much repetition of how wonderful Hannah was as a seamstress. It made Quakers seem dull and boring.

It was not clear at all why Hannah would be the least bit attracted to Donovan, so this could have been fleshed out more.

What didn’t you like about Kate Reading’s performance?

She seemed to use the same inflection on nearly every sentence, rising unnaturally at the end. It became annoying after awhile.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Last Runaway?

I don't think I would cut any scenes, necessarily, but I would eliminate some of the redundant descriptions.

Really did not care for the narrator

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

A different narrator.

What was most disappointing about Tracy Chevalier’s story?

The main character Honor Bright Haymaker was not as strong as some of her other female characters in her other books. Honor was just a bit too whiney for me to enjoy this book.

What didn’t you like about Kate Reading’s performance?

Nothing. Every sentence sounded like it ended in a question. Her accent for Honor was not consistent. I almost didn't finish the book because of her narration.