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Runaway Joe
'Runaway Joe' is an enjoyable tale featuring the magic and power of theatre. Set in the summer of 1972, it is the story of a young drifter who has isolated himself from the rest of humanity both physically and emotionally, until in a tiny little farm town, he meets Laura, a young woman who introduces him to theatre. Together they set out to produce a play, ‘La Vie Apres le Pan’, or ‘Life After Bread’, about four women in France, shortly after World War II, who dream of a life outside of the bread factory that they work in. There’s a huge cast of characters that revolve around Joe’s story, and they’ll guide the reader through tragedy and sorrow, as well as triumph and joy, in a tale that is wonderfully, beautifully, transcendent.
304 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 8, 2014
6 people want to read
About the author
David Hight
7 books8 followersHmm... a biography, where do I start? Well, I'm 60 years old, live in South Texas, and have toiled away at a wide variety of occupations in the past 46 years, all of them short term, with the exception of serving as the house manager at a high school performing arts center for twelve years. There I developed an appreciation for the Arts, especially the Theatre Arts.
I enjoyed my part during the production of the plays, helping with the construction of the set, focusing the lights, and setting up sound equipment, but what I enjoyed most were the plays themselves. When all of the preparation for a show had been completed, and it was time for its performance, the students took over from there, leaving me to join the audience.
Plays that had woven through their story thought provoking glimpses of human nature were my favorite, and plays that caused me to think about the trial of being human, long after the show was over, were my most favorite of those. And there is the basis of inspiration and the goal for my novels, to tell an interesting and entertaining story, while also evoking thoughts about our fellow travelers maybe not commonly thought.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 5, 2014
Enjoyed this book and particularly some of the phraseology used - for example, the father, (speaking of the mother in the family)....... "for us, she reaches out and dips her brush in, then paints it onto the canvas that is our lives". with lots of other gems like this one. The way the Justice of the Peace cum Sheriff (and goodness knows how many other jobs in the small town), dishes out his own brand of the law is very straightforward and sensible. I enjoyed this book - hope you do too.
November 26, 2023
David Hight's 'Runaway Joe' attempts to delve into the complexities of Vietnam veteran Joe's life but ends up as an insufferable journey through overwritten, tedious conversations and a plot that struggles to find substance.
From the onset, the narrative stumbles with an attempt to intertwine Joe's present with flashbacks, offering a glimpse into his tumultuous relationship with his father. While the intention to explore the impact of a parent on a child is evident, the execution feels heavy-handed and lacks the subtlety needed to make it genuinely resonant.
The incessant philosophical discussions throughout the book weigh it down like a lead anchor. Characters engage in conversations that often feel forced and out of place, attempting to inject depth into the narrative but achieving only a sense of contrived pretentiousness. These philosophical interludes, whether between Joe and his father or with the town's residents, feel more like a chore than an exploration of meaningful dialogue.
The character of Joe, intended to be a reserved figure, often comes across as inconsistent, oscillating between wisdom and ignorance without a coherent rationale. The dialogue, particularly Joe's interactions with Tom, the multi-hatted small-town authority figure, feels stilted and patronizing. The attempt to infuse philosophical wisdom into every sentence only exacerbates the unnatural tone, leaving the reader with a cast of characters who fail to connect authentically.
The book's brief timespan is overshadowed by its excessive focus on minute details, leading to an overwhelming sense of over-description that tests the patience of even the most dedicated reader. The narrative becomes bogged down by mundane actions presented in laborious detail, transforming what could be concise moments into a laborious reading experience.
While the plot promises a transformation in Joe's character through his involvement in a play, the evolution feels rushed and lacks the depth required for genuine emotional investment. The attempt to convey a philosophical message is obscured by the heavy-handed dialogue and an overabundance of unnecessary detail.
In conclusion, 'Runaway Joe' stands as a testament to the perils of overwriting, with an abundance of philosophical discussions that fail to elevate the narrative. Despite its aspirations to deliver a poignant message, the book falls short, leaving readers grappling with a tedious reading experience that obscures any potential enjoyment.
From the onset, the narrative stumbles with an attempt to intertwine Joe's present with flashbacks, offering a glimpse into his tumultuous relationship with his father. While the intention to explore the impact of a parent on a child is evident, the execution feels heavy-handed and lacks the subtlety needed to make it genuinely resonant.
The incessant philosophical discussions throughout the book weigh it down like a lead anchor. Characters engage in conversations that often feel forced and out of place, attempting to inject depth into the narrative but achieving only a sense of contrived pretentiousness. These philosophical interludes, whether between Joe and his father or with the town's residents, feel more like a chore than an exploration of meaningful dialogue.
The character of Joe, intended to be a reserved figure, often comes across as inconsistent, oscillating between wisdom and ignorance without a coherent rationale. The dialogue, particularly Joe's interactions with Tom, the multi-hatted small-town authority figure, feels stilted and patronizing. The attempt to infuse philosophical wisdom into every sentence only exacerbates the unnatural tone, leaving the reader with a cast of characters who fail to connect authentically.
The book's brief timespan is overshadowed by its excessive focus on minute details, leading to an overwhelming sense of over-description that tests the patience of even the most dedicated reader. The narrative becomes bogged down by mundane actions presented in laborious detail, transforming what could be concise moments into a laborious reading experience.
While the plot promises a transformation in Joe's character through his involvement in a play, the evolution feels rushed and lacks the depth required for genuine emotional investment. The attempt to convey a philosophical message is obscured by the heavy-handed dialogue and an overabundance of unnecessary detail.
In conclusion, 'Runaway Joe' stands as a testament to the perils of overwriting, with an abundance of philosophical discussions that fail to elevate the narrative. Despite its aspirations to deliver a poignant message, the book falls short, leaving readers grappling with a tedious reading experience that obscures any potential enjoyment.
November 6, 2014
I was provided a copy of this book for review.
The story is about Joe, Vietnam Vet, now a wanderer who sells arrowheads and artifacts he finds in his travels. We're introduced to Joe as he is heading to the east coast of America, hoping to arrive alongside a mystery letter he has mailed. Through the early chapters we grow to understand Joe through his reflections and flashbacks on his father and his childhood and we begin to understand who he is and why he is in the situation he's in. These are very powerful chapters I felt, as they show the relationship and impact a parent can have on their child, as well as the lessons that stay with them years later.
Writing about the past is no doubt a hard task, trying to write about an era that has already happened with the knowledge and history of the years afterwards influencing how something is written. The social changes and opinions are established and by talking about it in the past the tendency to add a philosophical and prophetic tone to the narrative is tempting and it can also make it appear too reflective.
From early on there are many philosophical discussions and moments with characters, between Joe and his father, with Joe and strangers who offers him lifts, and eventually between Joe, Tom, and Laura, a father and daughter he gets to know after arriving in a town. These discussions were an interesting aspect, for some characters it suited the context and worked well, while others seems out of place, either because of the character speaking or the context.
Whether it is the 70s setting, the United States location, or the literary fiction genre, I found the dialogue on occasion slightly tedious. I thought that sometimes the characters were saying more things than were necessary and occasionally it sounded out of character or unnatural as a realistic conversational tone. Character conversations often sound like narrative rather than believable conversation, especially when it does not always uphold this tone throughout. In doing so it makes the characters seem more than what they are portrayed to be, and when it returns to normal conversation it reads as stilted, I never got comfortable with the conversation tone that was depicted, no matter how casual it was intended to sound.
Joe is usually very reserved but speaks with experience from what he has seen, and on occasion with an acceptable ignorance, Tom on the other hand speaks in a way that I thought didn't suit his nature, for a man who holds many jobs in a small town he was often preachy and spoke like someone who knew everything about the world. Though being Police Chief, Judge, as well as running a farm could be explained for Tom's manner, seeing what he does and having age and experience on his side, but with an air of judgement in his subtle lectures to Joe it always felt slightly patronising.
This highly philosophical and in-depth style of conversation worked well for Tom's daughter Laura though. I saw her as a girl who was very talkative and passionate, very much the philosophical 70s girl who was going to university to be a playwright and actor and was going to be a star. After awhile the intense dialogue and philosophy lessens and conversations become slightly more natural though remain occasionally stiff and stilted. I never felt entirely convinced that there was a casual nature in the conversations but this perhaps could just be a result of genre.
The plot covers a short space of time, slightly longer if you included the extensive flashback in the middle, and in this space of time the development and evolution of Joe's character is evident. Under the guise of Laura producing her play for the town we see changes in Joe, influenced by the theatre and the lessons learnt through Tom's guidance and see him on the verge of becoming the man we are greeted with in the opening pages. He is a seemingly calm person but there is a darkness about him that gets him into trouble and as we see him change there are no quick solutions but an eagerness to try and redemption is clearly visible.
With the understanding this is a literary fiction book, which of course comes with certain tropes and expectations, some of these were a bit too prominent I found. In terms of narrative there was a lot of description, not even necessarily about certain people and their clothes which is common, but more in terms of actions. Every action was mentioned, often in extreme detail, and what could be told in a sentence was dragged out, almost tediously sometimes.
Overall I enjoyed the story. I understand the intention Hight was going for and the nature of the message that was trying to be conveyed, and in some respects I feel these were achieved, but overshadowed perhaps by difficult dialogue expression, over description, and maybe too little plot expansion and quick fixes and easy explanations in some cases.
A longer version of this review was posted on my blog http://lostinagoodbk.wordpress.com/20...
The story is about Joe, Vietnam Vet, now a wanderer who sells arrowheads and artifacts he finds in his travels. We're introduced to Joe as he is heading to the east coast of America, hoping to arrive alongside a mystery letter he has mailed. Through the early chapters we grow to understand Joe through his reflections and flashbacks on his father and his childhood and we begin to understand who he is and why he is in the situation he's in. These are very powerful chapters I felt, as they show the relationship and impact a parent can have on their child, as well as the lessons that stay with them years later.
Writing about the past is no doubt a hard task, trying to write about an era that has already happened with the knowledge and history of the years afterwards influencing how something is written. The social changes and opinions are established and by talking about it in the past the tendency to add a philosophical and prophetic tone to the narrative is tempting and it can also make it appear too reflective.
From early on there are many philosophical discussions and moments with characters, between Joe and his father, with Joe and strangers who offers him lifts, and eventually between Joe, Tom, and Laura, a father and daughter he gets to know after arriving in a town. These discussions were an interesting aspect, for some characters it suited the context and worked well, while others seems out of place, either because of the character speaking or the context.
Whether it is the 70s setting, the United States location, or the literary fiction genre, I found the dialogue on occasion slightly tedious. I thought that sometimes the characters were saying more things than were necessary and occasionally it sounded out of character or unnatural as a realistic conversational tone. Character conversations often sound like narrative rather than believable conversation, especially when it does not always uphold this tone throughout. In doing so it makes the characters seem more than what they are portrayed to be, and when it returns to normal conversation it reads as stilted, I never got comfortable with the conversation tone that was depicted, no matter how casual it was intended to sound.
Joe is usually very reserved but speaks with experience from what he has seen, and on occasion with an acceptable ignorance, Tom on the other hand speaks in a way that I thought didn't suit his nature, for a man who holds many jobs in a small town he was often preachy and spoke like someone who knew everything about the world. Though being Police Chief, Judge, as well as running a farm could be explained for Tom's manner, seeing what he does and having age and experience on his side, but with an air of judgement in his subtle lectures to Joe it always felt slightly patronising.
This highly philosophical and in-depth style of conversation worked well for Tom's daughter Laura though. I saw her as a girl who was very talkative and passionate, very much the philosophical 70s girl who was going to university to be a playwright and actor and was going to be a star. After awhile the intense dialogue and philosophy lessens and conversations become slightly more natural though remain occasionally stiff and stilted. I never felt entirely convinced that there was a casual nature in the conversations but this perhaps could just be a result of genre.
The plot covers a short space of time, slightly longer if you included the extensive flashback in the middle, and in this space of time the development and evolution of Joe's character is evident. Under the guise of Laura producing her play for the town we see changes in Joe, influenced by the theatre and the lessons learnt through Tom's guidance and see him on the verge of becoming the man we are greeted with in the opening pages. He is a seemingly calm person but there is a darkness about him that gets him into trouble and as we see him change there are no quick solutions but an eagerness to try and redemption is clearly visible.
With the understanding this is a literary fiction book, which of course comes with certain tropes and expectations, some of these were a bit too prominent I found. In terms of narrative there was a lot of description, not even necessarily about certain people and their clothes which is common, but more in terms of actions. Every action was mentioned, often in extreme detail, and what could be told in a sentence was dragged out, almost tediously sometimes.
Overall I enjoyed the story. I understand the intention Hight was going for and the nature of the message that was trying to be conveyed, and in some respects I feel these were achieved, but overshadowed perhaps by difficult dialogue expression, over description, and maybe too little plot expansion and quick fixes and easy explanations in some cases.
A longer version of this review was posted on my blog http://lostinagoodbk.wordpress.com/20...
March 14, 2014
A wonderful story about a man called Joe who has at last found his anchor in life. I felt myself very drawn to Joe and loved reading about his encounters with others during his journey.
This book will definitely be recommended to friends and family, and I hope that Dave Hight is planning on writing some more books based on Joe and his adventures in life.
This book will definitely be recommended to friends and family, and I hope that Dave Hight is planning on writing some more books based on Joe and his adventures in life.
March 9, 2014
I got interested in this book right away.I loved the characters and the way the sherrif took to Joe immediately.I especially loved the ending and the sentence dished out to Joe.It ended perfectly for me but I'd like to see more of Joe and Laura.
I'm really looking forward to reading more books written by you Dave.
I've given it 5 stars because it deserves them.
I'm really looking forward to reading more books written by you Dave.
I've given it 5 stars because it deserves them.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews