December 8, 2007...1:54 pm
Ann Patchett’s ‘Run’ - Preview
When you read about Bernard Doyle, the former Boston mayor with great ambitions for his sons, you can’t help but free-associate: Kennedy. At least I can’t. Two of the sons are named Tip and Teddy!
And then I free-associate: Skeffington. Bernard Doyle and Frank Skeffington. Two Irish-Catholic mayors who loved their city, and were beloved by many. The voters turned on both of them. Doyle told a lie to protect his family and faded away without achieving his own ambitions. Skeffington stayed on too long. Again, I free-associate: William Donald Schaefer.
Ann Patchett reminds me of Edwin O’Connor. I discovered O’Connor’s 1956 novel, The Last Hurrah, in high school, and read all his other books. The two authors have insights about the same subjects – people, politics, family, God — and breath-taking writing talent, honed by attention and effort.
I’ve read only the first six chapters of Ann Patchett’s new novel, Run. I don’t know if my free-associations with the Kennedy family or the Skeffington family have any significance at all.  I don’t know what will happen to Tip or Teddy, or their older brother, Sullivan. I do know that Tennessee (like the state) and Kenya (like the country) are central to the family story.
And I know for sure that Patchett is reporting with keen understanding on life and family in America. More to come. — Bernie Hayden
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