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Read The Runaway Quilt (2003)

The Runaway Quilt (2003)

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Rating
4.08 of 5 Votes: 1
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ISBN
0452283981 (ISBN13: 9780452283985)
Language
English
Publisher
plume

The Runaway Quilt (2003) - Plot & Excerpts

The 4th book in this wonderful series, the Runaway Quilt could be read as a stand-alone or as part of the series. Due to this fact, I am not going to summarize the first three books as I don't think it would help any.Sylvia is the owner of Elm Creek Manor, a large place with grounds that plays host to a Quilter's retreat during the summer. Running the business are her good friends from the Elm Creek Quilter's circle. Since they run the business, she often spends her retirement traveling with her sweetheart Andrew around the country. It is on one of these travels that she is introduced to a quilt that connects to Elm Creek Manor. The only troubling part about this, is the fact that it came from a family who had former slave owners in their past.From her family's stories Sylvia knows that Elm Creek once served as a station on the underground railroad. Because of this, she is alarmed to think that maybe one of her family had branched off and owned slaves of their own, hence the quilt being made. She goes through the attic and finds three antique quilts and a memoir from a sister-in-law of Anneke, the original mistress of Elm Creek Manor.The memoir is told by Gerda and explains the travails and past of Elm Creek Manor. Most specifically it revolves around one escaped slave and the details of her flight. It also shows Anneke's and Gerda's relationship and some of the history of the family. The book takes us part in the memoir and part Sylvia's reaction to it. The more she reads the more she is disappointed in her family and she questions the people she once though they were.Chiaverini has made this novel very engaging. While its not documented history it does offer an explanation on how signals for the underground railroad were used. Like some of her other quilt books, there are no instructions in this one, but if one cared to look they could probably find the patterns mentioned in this book. Instead it tells the stories of a few specific quilts.The language in this particular book can get rough. While the cusswords are not spelled out, it is still easy to infer which word is probably meant. Aside from that, the language in the book is descriptive and as easy to read as ever. Chiaverini has a wonderful way of describing quilts so that you can see them in your mind.A lovely novel. I can't wait to continue on with the series.The Runaway QuiltCopyright 2002329 pages

I particularly like historical fiction, and I really enjoyed this. It features very strong but still vulnerable enough to be relateable female characters, which is a major draw for me. The main character, Sylvia Bergstrom, finds the journal of one of her civil war ancestors, Gerda Bergstrom, and what she reads in it makes her question what she always believed about her family. A good portion of the book is set during the Civil War as if you're seeing the events Gerda wrote about in her journal through her eyes. The events Gerda describes are depicted in a later Elm Creek Quilts novel, The Union Quilters, which I read before this and which I absolutely loved. When I saw that this was based around Gerda's journals being found, I had really hoped a question I had from TUQ would be answered, and while I was disappointed it wasn't, I really enjoyed the book. I've only read the two from the Elm Creek Quilts, but I definitely want to read more. I read another series that I loved(The Williamsburg novels by Elswyth Thane) which was the continuing story of one family, generation to generation from just prior to the American Revolution to just prior to WWII. I loved being able to see the same characters at different points of their lives going from being the young generation to the old generation, and the Elm Creek Quilts novels seem to be somewhat similar to that. Although, like I said, I've only read the two so far, so it may not be the same thing. While the books are linked through various characters, both TUQ and TRQ could definitely stand alone; you certainly don't *have* to read the whole series if the other books don't interest you.

What do You think about The Runaway Quilt (2003)?

I love historical novels, and I really enjoyed this one. I am planning to read the other books in the series. Sylvia, the owner of a home that predates the Civil War, discovers an old family journal in her attic. As she reads her ancestor's account, she learns that her family history is not quite what she thought it was. The journal's author explains that she feels the need to record her family's history, despite the possibility of the truth hurting her family. The protagonist learns of her family's involvement in the underground railroad. I really enjoyed reading about Sylvia's ancestors and their struggle to help a runaway slave. This book has some great twists, and I loved learning more about this time in our country's history. The love life of the protagonist is pretty uninteresting, and I kept wishing the author would stop telling me about that and spend more time on the story of the ancestors in the journal. There is a scene that explains that a slave was raped by her "owner." It does not go into detail, but lets you know that it did happen, that the slave fought back, and it is very important to the story.
—Ariana

DAMN HER.Judy brought me the first Elm Creek Quilters novel and I was kind of disgusted with it in the beginning, but the story turned gripping and I couldn't help myself. I wound up liking it. This has been the story with every single freakin' Elm Creek Quilts book I've read consequently, and number four was no different. I approached it with a "Here we go again" attitude, and yet couldn't help myself from reading it.In this novel, Sylvia Compson is approached at a lecture by a woman who has an antique quilt which she claims has significance to Elm Creek Manor. She claims that the quilt was passed down through her family and legend has it that it served as a signal that Elm Creek Manor served as a station on the Underground Railroad. Sylvia is disturbed and goes home to root through her attic, wherein she stumbles upon her grandmother's sister's diaries and 3 more quilts. As Sylvia reads through the diary, she learns about a troubling period in her family's past and comes to question her very existence. Ok, I must admit, this was my least favorite of the Elm Creek Quilt books so far. The best part of the book was the diary of Sylvia's relative. In this book, the dignified and revered Sylvia devolves into a needy, self absorbed idiot. The twist at the end, when it is revealed that Sylvia herself may in fact be 1/8th African-American, and wherein she calls the apparently one A-A person she knows, who responds with a tepid, "Welcome to my world" was just plain stupid. Sylvia meanwhile ignores and/or fights with her friends, ignores the campers, and ignores love interest Andrew. What's worse is that apparently at one point in the book, my favorite characters from the last book were at the camp and scarcely get a mention. This, to me, would have been a great time to provide a little series continuity, but instead, Chiaverini glosses over their attendance and focuses on Sylvia's despair over her family sellouts. UGH!! Not her best. I already hate myself for wanting to read #5, and it better be better than #4.
—Kate

I loved this series, and I can't remember all of the ones I read, but this must have been the first one in my reading spree (frenzy?) two summers ago. This one stands out in my mind because it talks about how slaves would communicate by creating quilts that were basically maps for the Underground Railroad during the Civil War. It fascinated me that something so seemingly simple as what most classify as a bed throw could be utterly and obviously subversive. I've made quilts, and it boggles my mind how intricately made quilts were pre-fancy computerized sewing machines. I tried my hand at hand-quilting one time, and it's enough to convince me these ladies were masters of their craft. The plots of these books are really good, and I think the only that detracts is the titles themselves. I'm always wary of series because the plots seem to get old, but Chiaverini tells each story from different main character's perspective, and she ties in the characters' personal histories to historical events. Good stuff! I would read any of these books again, just knowing how enjoyable they were the first time through (especially if you like to sew!).
—Lydia

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