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Run Far, Run Fast Hardcover – October 1, 2007
A story of hope during a time of desolation. The Pestilence has arrived. A young girl is hastened out of her dying town and told by her mother, "Run far, run fast." The child travels from village to castle, castle to countryside, in search of shelter. Wherever she turns, the Pestilence has already appeared. Scared and tired, she finally meets a stranger who knows something of this plague. He is kind and learned, but will his knowledge be enough to save her family? Timothy Decker explores the bleak yet breathtaking world of fourteenth-century Europe. Stark pen-and-ink drawings emphasize the realism of this romanticized period, and straightforward prose creates a truly haunting tale.
Hardcover
First published October 1, 2007
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29 people want to read
About the author
Timothy Decker
9 books10 followersI write and draw cool children's books.
That's pretty much all I think about for most of my waking hours. It's terribly time consuming, tedious and slightly maddening.
I'm quite proud of my books, even though I tend not to think about or look at them once they leave my desk. From that point on, they belong to you guys, I guess. Enjoy them or merely shrug and pass them along.
Meanwhile, I'll just continue to make more books because ink is cheap and I dislike sleeping.
That's pretty much all I think about for most of my waking hours. It's terribly time consuming, tedious and slightly maddening.
I'm quite proud of my books, even though I tend not to think about or look at them once they leave my desk. From that point on, they belong to you guys, I guess. Enjoy them or merely shrug and pass them along.
Meanwhile, I'll just continue to make more books because ink is cheap and I dislike sleeping.
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Displaying 1 - 29 of 35 reviews
February 20, 2011
Wow! This is an amazing book, as was The Letter Home by the same author-illustrator, but it’s very hard to classify.
I’m tempted to take it off my children’s and young adult shelves but I do think children and young adults as well as adults can all appreciate this book, and it is a picture book. The text is in a font definitely not early reader friendly. But most of the story is told via pictures, wonderful illustrations. They’re pen and ink drawings and they’re stunning.
It’s interesting that I recently read an adult speculative fiction-historical fiction book that took place during this same time period (fourteenth century Europe here and specifically near Oxford, England in the other book) and also was about the plague, Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, and I’ve always loved plague stories. Decker has a unique way of telling the story. From the illustrations I think, as with Willis’s book, it’s bubonic plague that’s spreading through the land.
A young girl is secretly sent by her mother to run away far and fast in order to get her away from a plague illness. The girl travels far in order to find safety and also to try to return to save her family. I love the girl and one particular man she meets. The story is wonderful. I thought its ending was special too, even though I felt frustrated by it. The ending gives readers a lot to think about. I’m not sure how I’d have taken it as a child; I might have wanted something more definitive, and I kind of did now too, even though I think that ending it the way it does is a brilliant choice. The story is very sad and scary, and beautiful and profound. I read it a few times and noticed new things in successive readings. It takes a surprisingly long time to read because there is so much to view on every page. Despairing & hopeful, bleak & uplifting. It’s a book to savor. It’s a treasure.
Thanks tons to Goodreads friend Melody who introduced me to both these Timothy Decker books.
I’m tempted to take it off my children’s and young adult shelves but I do think children and young adults as well as adults can all appreciate this book, and it is a picture book. The text is in a font definitely not early reader friendly. But most of the story is told via pictures, wonderful illustrations. They’re pen and ink drawings and they’re stunning.
It’s interesting that I recently read an adult speculative fiction-historical fiction book that took place during this same time period (fourteenth century Europe here and specifically near Oxford, England in the other book) and also was about the plague, Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, and I’ve always loved plague stories. Decker has a unique way of telling the story. From the illustrations I think, as with Willis’s book, it’s bubonic plague that’s spreading through the land.
A young girl is secretly sent by her mother to run away far and fast in order to get her away from a plague illness. The girl travels far in order to find safety and also to try to return to save her family. I love the girl and one particular man she meets. The story is wonderful. I thought its ending was special too, even though I felt frustrated by it. The ending gives readers a lot to think about. I’m not sure how I’d have taken it as a child; I might have wanted something more definitive, and I kind of did now too, even though I think that ending it the way it does is a brilliant choice. The story is very sad and scary, and beautiful and profound. I read it a few times and noticed new things in successive readings. It takes a surprisingly long time to read because there is so much to view on every page. Despairing & hopeful, bleak & uplifting. It’s a book to savor. It’s a treasure.
Thanks tons to Goodreads friend Melody who introduced me to both these Timothy Decker books.
July 19, 2019
Timothy Decker, whose
The Letter Home
was a picture-book tour-de-force, with its gorgeously detailed pen-and-ink illustrations, and understated poignancy of story, does it again with Run Far, Run Fast, a graphic-novel style picture-book examination of the Black Death in medieval Europe. Opening in an unnamed farming village in 1348, it follows the story - told sparingly, as it concerns the text, and unsparingly, as it concerns the artwork - of a young girl whose family are struck down by the Pestilence. Instructed by her mother to "run far, run fast," she tries to outdistance the illness, only to find it everywhere she goes...
As expected, the artwork here was immensely engrossing, expanding upon the text, and providing additional details for the story. The narrator, whose identity is revealed toward the end of the book, appears almost from the beginning, in the visual, although not the textual, narrative. His mask indicates his likely profession, and explains his role as something of a savior/benefactor to the girl, and her surviving family. A book that needs to be perused, as much as read, Run Far, Run Fast is a moving portrait of a very bleak time in history, but although its ending is ambiguous, it does not shut out hope altogether.
Despite my great enjoyment (I will be tracking down Decker's third offering, For Liberty: The Story of the Boston Massacre shortly), I did wonder, as with the first book from this talented author/artist that I read, to whom I would recommend it. Children learning about the medieval world, perhaps? This book does bring home the horrors of the Black Death in a uniquely engaging way. Fans of Timothy Decker, of course. Anyone who loves beautiful pen-and-ink work, as well, I think. It's just a beautiful, genre-bending book!
As expected, the artwork here was immensely engrossing, expanding upon the text, and providing additional details for the story. The narrator, whose identity is revealed toward the end of the book, appears almost from the beginning, in the visual, although not the textual, narrative. His mask indicates his likely profession, and explains his role as something of a savior/benefactor to the girl, and her surviving family. A book that needs to be perused, as much as read, Run Far, Run Fast is a moving portrait of a very bleak time in history, but although its ending is ambiguous, it does not shut out hope altogether.
Despite my great enjoyment (I will be tracking down Decker's third offering, For Liberty: The Story of the Boston Massacre shortly), I did wonder, as with the first book from this talented author/artist that I read, to whom I would recommend it. Children learning about the medieval world, perhaps? This book does bring home the horrors of the Black Death in a uniquely engaging way. Fans of Timothy Decker, of course. Anyone who loves beautiful pen-and-ink work, as well, I think. It's just a beautiful, genre-bending book!
September 8, 2010
The Plague has arrived. “Run far, run fast", cries a young girls mother, as she hastens the child to flee her infected town. The child obeys, and in turn, she is exiled from her father, mother and brother as she travels from village to castle, castle to countryside, in search of a dwelling devoid of poison.
From the moment that my eyes lay upon the opaque, nostalgic and labyrinthine drawings, my mind had already translated what the author calls ‘pestilence’ into what I understood to be a ‘plague of sorrow’; the sorrows of the world.
Whilst the writing is spare and temperate, the pictures are furnished with an insurmountable melancholy. I was struck by the animals that seemed to be placed like totems around the little girl, as she sets off on her journey. She stares, bewitched by a fox who seems to be running far, and indeed running fast along the mountain.
The fox is said to represent the importance of making yourself invisible, whilst the owls’ ability to navigate through the darkest night and find nourishment for itself is what the little girl so desperately needs at this time. Like the cat, the protagonist in this story is the littlest lion, and faced with the harsh realities of this world her perception sharpens. As it is written, “the girl learned as she traveled. She saw people do strange things, things she did not understand”.
As I read on, the plague becomes a clear metaphor for the ways in which the evils of this world act to contaminate, and sometimes quell our very souls. Images of soldiers shooting a bow and arrow at an already defeated scarecrow whilst cripples hop and hoist themselves toward safety, wrenched at my very core.
Along the road, the little girl sees a city up ahead. The manmade city, with walls to seal the pestilence within, is juxtaposed against the unruly forest that offers no protection. However, it is within the forest that the little girl feels safe. It is there that she meets a man, masquerading as a tall bird. He tells her of the many superstitions surrounding the plague, one of which is the rotation of the planets, tempting fate from on high. This reminded me of the old belief that Saturn held its dominion over the seat of melancholy. Whether it was an astrological assassination or God’s wrath spilling down, the strange man was quick to assure the little girl that just like the life of the forest, it was natural and therefore inevitable, just like death itself.
Yet it is here, in the flames and the ruins that we see what, for me, was the most poignant images of the book. Circles of children hand in hand, playing ‘ring-a-ring-o-roses’, and a man handing a woman a single rose. It was here that I could hear the faint chiming of the nursery rhyme, and imagine the color of the roses amongst the black and white of the images. The thing of nature, which sprang back up from the ruins. The innocence of some children, and the sorrow of others.
In the end the little girl is brave enough to make her journey to the ‘pest house’ in search of her family. It is from there that she rescues her little brother, and brings him back to the strange mans house. In the end, we are left with an image of the little girl and her brother wrapped safely around one another as they sleep. “We will discover what the world wishes to show us in the morning”, is where this beautiful story ends. I couldn’t think of a more perfect ending. Each and every one of us falls asleep at night, just as the little girl and her brother have, resting under the same unknowable fate. As each day is a balancing act between the sacred and the profane, between small bursts of life, and slow and steady deaths, we each have many plagues to run from. And we can never outrun the sadness.
What a beautiful, beautiful book from what I am certain must be a beautiful mind.
Read it.
From the moment that my eyes lay upon the opaque, nostalgic and labyrinthine drawings, my mind had already translated what the author calls ‘pestilence’ into what I understood to be a ‘plague of sorrow’; the sorrows of the world.
Whilst the writing is spare and temperate, the pictures are furnished with an insurmountable melancholy. I was struck by the animals that seemed to be placed like totems around the little girl, as she sets off on her journey. She stares, bewitched by a fox who seems to be running far, and indeed running fast along the mountain.
The fox is said to represent the importance of making yourself invisible, whilst the owls’ ability to navigate through the darkest night and find nourishment for itself is what the little girl so desperately needs at this time. Like the cat, the protagonist in this story is the littlest lion, and faced with the harsh realities of this world her perception sharpens. As it is written, “the girl learned as she traveled. She saw people do strange things, things she did not understand”.
As I read on, the plague becomes a clear metaphor for the ways in which the evils of this world act to contaminate, and sometimes quell our very souls. Images of soldiers shooting a bow and arrow at an already defeated scarecrow whilst cripples hop and hoist themselves toward safety, wrenched at my very core.
Along the road, the little girl sees a city up ahead. The manmade city, with walls to seal the pestilence within, is juxtaposed against the unruly forest that offers no protection. However, it is within the forest that the little girl feels safe. It is there that she meets a man, masquerading as a tall bird. He tells her of the many superstitions surrounding the plague, one of which is the rotation of the planets, tempting fate from on high. This reminded me of the old belief that Saturn held its dominion over the seat of melancholy. Whether it was an astrological assassination or God’s wrath spilling down, the strange man was quick to assure the little girl that just like the life of the forest, it was natural and therefore inevitable, just like death itself.
Yet it is here, in the flames and the ruins that we see what, for me, was the most poignant images of the book. Circles of children hand in hand, playing ‘ring-a-ring-o-roses’, and a man handing a woman a single rose. It was here that I could hear the faint chiming of the nursery rhyme, and imagine the color of the roses amongst the black and white of the images. The thing of nature, which sprang back up from the ruins. The innocence of some children, and the sorrow of others.
In the end the little girl is brave enough to make her journey to the ‘pest house’ in search of her family. It is from there that she rescues her little brother, and brings him back to the strange mans house. In the end, we are left with an image of the little girl and her brother wrapped safely around one another as they sleep. “We will discover what the world wishes to show us in the morning”, is where this beautiful story ends. I couldn’t think of a more perfect ending. Each and every one of us falls asleep at night, just as the little girl and her brother have, resting under the same unknowable fate. As each day is a balancing act between the sacred and the profane, between small bursts of life, and slow and steady deaths, we each have many plagues to run from. And we can never outrun the sadness.
What a beautiful, beautiful book from what I am certain must be a beautiful mind.
Read it.
October 19, 2007
Decker, whose transcendent The Letter Home is one of my most treasured possessions, has done it again with this deceptively quiet tale of a young girl in the time of the Plague. His stunningly detail-rich pen and ink drawings, as in his prior book, tell a much more heartbreaking story than his words. His words, though, shine with a clear and tender purity that lingers. I've read it 4 times and come away more entranced each time. There are layers upon layers here to be plumbed. Don't hurry through this tour de force. Highly recommended.
October 31, 2019
Not so sure this is a good book for children, at least not young children. Very frightening.
Read
November 23, 2012Bit of a hotchpotch this - difficult to know what to make of it, on a few levels.
Firstly it reads as a children's book, but its the story of a young girl attempting to escape the plague. Not that you can't deal with dark, serious topics in children's books, but it felt jarring.
Secondly, it _looks_ like a comic, but the panel order is very uncoventional. Typically there will be writing & a related illustration on the left-hand side. Then on the right there will be many panels depicting what was described (perhaps filling in the details too), although not necessarily in a linear way (in places its more aspect-to-aspect, to use McCloudian terminology). From a comics structure point of view, this is an interesting approach. I suspect that Timothy Decker would not identify this as a work of comics (but may well be wrong), but I would say that it does have many of comics distinctive characteristics.
Thirdly, it kinda feels a bit short and, despite the serious subject, a little inconsequential. It feels like all the illustrations - lovely pencil drawings, very evocative in places, and the most successful thing here, to my eyes - took so much time that there was little left to develop the story into something satisfying.
A curiosity, then, but an interesting and beautiful one.
Firstly it reads as a children's book, but its the story of a young girl attempting to escape the plague. Not that you can't deal with dark, serious topics in children's books, but it felt jarring.
Secondly, it _looks_ like a comic, but the panel order is very uncoventional. Typically there will be writing & a related illustration on the left-hand side. Then on the right there will be many panels depicting what was described (perhaps filling in the details too), although not necessarily in a linear way (in places its more aspect-to-aspect, to use McCloudian terminology). From a comics structure point of view, this is an interesting approach. I suspect that Timothy Decker would not identify this as a work of comics (but may well be wrong), but I would say that it does have many of comics distinctive characteristics.
Thirdly, it kinda feels a bit short and, despite the serious subject, a little inconsequential. It feels like all the illustrations - lovely pencil drawings, very evocative in places, and the most successful thing here, to my eyes - took so much time that there was little left to develop the story into something satisfying.
A curiosity, then, but an interesting and beautiful one.
November 1, 2008
I really wanted to like this book because of the illustrations--pen and ink drawings that resemble cartoon layout. I'm a sucker for black and white done well, but as it turns out, the flow of Run Far, Run Fast did not work for me.
It's the story of a girl who, during the Black Plague, is sent away from her family to protect her health. As she encounters different people, villages, and obstacles, readers are never given a lot of detail about her experiences--and in this case "show, don't tell" doesn't work, because the fragmentation of the illustrations doesn't weave a clear description. The text (on one spread) has to be correlated with one of the illustrations on the spread opposite of it by the reader. It also had an abrupt ending that [for me] lacked closure.
It's the story of a girl who, during the Black Plague, is sent away from her family to protect her health. As she encounters different people, villages, and obstacles, readers are never given a lot of detail about her experiences--and in this case "show, don't tell" doesn't work, because the fragmentation of the illustrations doesn't weave a clear description. The text (on one spread) has to be correlated with one of the illustrations on the spread opposite of it by the reader. It also had an abrupt ending that [for me] lacked closure.
Read
December 12, 2007Anything I write is biased, since I am friends with the author. That being said, I found it a fascinating approach to telling a very bleak tale of death and survival. No doubt, the strength of the book is in the artwork. I know that each word was carefully selected, but they are no where near as powerful as the artwork. It is the compelling images that draw me into the plagued world and urge me to find out more about this poor child. The drawings come across at first as simple, but upon closer inspection reveal so much more information. I highly recommend this book.
January 26, 2008
A "pestilence" is sweeping across the land bringing with it much death and fear. One unnamed girl is sent from her village to escape the disease, and she travels the countryside encountering others in a similar situation. There is a sense of hopelessness as she learns that not even sealed city walls can keep death at bay.
Decker's inks are spectacular in this volume! The back flap says Tim is currently working on a book about the Boston Massacre of 1770 -- I cannot wait to read this one when it comes out!
Decker's inks are spectacular in this volume! The back flap says Tim is currently working on a book about the Boston Massacre of 1770 -- I cannot wait to read this one when it comes out!
November 4, 2010
A very short graphic novel about the black death, or as it's refered to in the story, pestilence. A young girl is sent away to save her, but cannot find refuge anywhere as all of the other fortressed villages are closed-off because of pestilence as well.
My only comment is about the text and how the "penmanship" font blends with the penciled background, making it hard to read.
A very quick historical read. I just wish their was an author's note or historical context at the end to explain some of the background for the story.
My only comment is about the text and how the "penmanship" font blends with the penciled background, making it hard to read.
A very quick historical read. I just wish their was an author's note or historical context at the end to explain some of the background for the story.
April 22, 2008
Although I usually enjoy this type of book -comic-inspired, sketchy drawings, lots of small details to pour over- I found the execution lacking. I really didn't understand what was going on in the small frames, or who was who among the people (everyone looked the same.) Also, coupled with this style of art and spare story telling, I found the lack of mouths and fingers distracting. Beautiful font choice, however.
February 22, 2010
Don't get me wrong this is a gorgeous book, but the story has no character development, therefore, you frankly don't care about the girl's journey and then the story abruptly stops. It would have been better if it had just been drawings and the reader was left to create the story, because while the prose is beautiful NOTHING HAPPENS and it makes the book so dumb and it doens't ahve to be that way. It's a great work where some artistic decisions rendered it meaningless
July 18, 2014
This was a beautifully drawn picture book/graphic novel hybrid. Run Far, Run Fast could be a great text to introduce the Pestilence to students. Visually there is a lot to take in on the young girl's journey through plague infested Europe. A text like this one naturally causes a reader with little background knowledge to generate lots of questions. These questions could be used to research topics further using other sources.
October 15, 2014
I don't think many people understand the true meaning behind this book. "Run Far, Run Fast" represents the overwhelming fear pestilence brings to society, not just the little girl and the black plague. This is represented by many elements, such as the weather, animals (birds, rats), people, lighting and many others.
Timothy Decker masterfully suggests a frightening concept of how we act in our society, in this seemingly child-friendly book. Read it over again, think about it.
Timothy Decker masterfully suggests a frightening concept of how we act in our society, in this seemingly child-friendly book. Read it over again, think about it.
October 19, 2007
If anyone reads this, I've love to see a review that is a bit more personal than the stuff that I've found in newspapers and magazines.
It took me a year to reach this conclusion: that maybe, just maybe, this book makes sense and isn't just some fragmented ramblings of cloistered writer/illustrator disenfranchised with the lack of practical ethics in the modern world. Maybe.
It took me a year to reach this conclusion: that maybe, just maybe, this book makes sense and isn't just some fragmented ramblings of cloistered writer/illustrator disenfranchised with the lack of practical ethics in the modern world. Maybe.
May 18, 2008
I just randomly picked up this title when it came into the library. I loved the pencil drawings and the juxtaposition of a full scene next to a composite of smaller scenes.
The story itself was a bit sparse, but overall I think this book would pique further interest in to the subject of the plague during the 14th century.
The story itself was a bit sparse, but overall I think this book would pique further interest in to the subject of the plague during the 14th century.
August 12, 2010
In gorgeous black and white illustrations, this story shows what illness (like the plague) used to do to communities and families.
With very short text on each page, the story follows a girl's journey as she escapes her home and the illness that is slowly killing her father. A very beautiful book that gives a glimpse into the past in a very accessible format. I really enjoyed it.
With very short text on each page, the story follows a girl's journey as she escapes her home and the illness that is slowly killing her father. A very beautiful book that gives a glimpse into the past in a very accessible format. I really enjoyed it.
April 13, 2011
I read this book for my graphic novel book club in my literacy class. It contains beautiful black and white pictures along with text that tell the story of the Bubonic Plague in Europe. Although it may not be directly related to Social Studies elementary content, it can be incorporated into lessons on Europe or any modern warfare.
August 2, 2012
This caught my eye in the childrens' section of the library when I was helping my daughter choose books. I'm not usually drawn to graphic novels but the artwork on the cover drew me in. The story felt a overly simple - even for children's literature but the drawings are profoundly full of emotion and drama.
March 31, 2008
Yes Tim made this. Yes, I read it after many months of not. Yes, this book is really, really good. Excellent even. Yes, Tim was the best man in my wedding and I his. There, now go buy it and read it. Yeah you!
July 28, 2008
While the illustrations were great - the story was a little aimless. I kept waiting for the big "ah-ha" moment and it never came. Plus, some of the panels were just too small and it was hard to make out what was actually going on in the picture.
January 21, 2011
A dark, sad, and painful story that is full of amazing illustration and text. I really enjoyed the mix of fiction, history, and graphics. The story is bleak, but always has a little glimmer of hope for the protagonist. This is a quick read, but very powerful.
February 3, 2011
I liked the illustrations and the story line. It appears to be the start of a story I would like to see continue, but I had a hard trying figuring out the layout of the left-side, non-text page. I wasn't sure on the sequence of action?
November 29, 2015
Run Far, Run Fast attempts at poetic and emotional resonance, but fails. The book has lovely sketches and serves as an interesting portrait of disease in Medieval times, but the overall result is bland.
February 16, 2016
Haunting. A very difficult book to categorize. Ostensibly it is a children's picture book, but the subject matter and the illustrations make it more than that.
July 30, 2013
Might be good for gifted elementary school kids?
March 4, 2008
not a bad read, but you know, the writer paid me to say that.
September 5, 2009
The Black Plague; survival; siblings
November 20, 2009
Excellent pen and ink drawings that depict a young girls flight from her village after the plauge strikes.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 35 reviews