What do readers think of The Sunset Route by Carrot Quinn? Write your own review.

When I received this book for "First Impressions", I was disappointed by the sub title, "Freight Trains, Forgiveness and Freedom on the Rails in the American West" I had a vision of a slow, plodding narrative filled with the word "I". I was delighted to find that the book is well paced and very interesting. I learned about "riding the rails" from Carrot Quinn and about her search for explanations about why her schizophrenic mother was sick and how Carrot could find her again after years of absence. Carrot Quinn shared her life with a variety of people and could never quite conquer her loneliness. This book is an excellent read. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoyed, "The Sound of Gravel" and "Educated". The book would be an excellent choice for a book club. Happy reading!

I typically like memoirs, and it is tough to be critical as the authors are writing their own story. Carrot's story has some unique elements, as she is a current day version of the romanticized freight train riders of years past. Her writing is engaging, and she makes the scenes visible to me , though I cannot "feel" them as I do in the best memoirs. I was left with questions about the years living with her grandparents and the development of her writing interest and talent. Just how did she get from all the early trauma to her current state? It took more than dangerous trips on freight trains and the few sister/fellow travelers she introduces.
Comparisons to "Educated", "Wild" and other recent memoirs came to mind as I read this.

Like a jigsaw puzzle, the chapter pieces fall into place as Carrot Quinn slowly develops over the years from a victim of a tragic childhood into a strong, independent female. The memoir creates word photos of her experiences which often leave the reader smelling the herbs, hating the taste of a can of cold beans, or the grime of hobo travel on the rails. Quinn's adventures build her character, values, and the love of Nature with it's ability to restore peace in a troubled soul. I will be introducing this book to my Book Club as the themes promote discussions worth exploring. The story leaves you rooting for Carrot and her quest and it keeps you wondering what comes next…

3.5 stars Thank you to BookBrowse for giving me this book to read and review. Published on July 6, 2021.

Carrot Quinn was running. Maybe not running from, but trying to run to.

Carrot - born Jenni - had a miserable childhood. A schizophrenic mother, a brother raised apart from her, and grandparents who were cold and unloving. In her early teens Carrot had had enough. She took to the rails. She spent her next eight or so years mostly living on other peoples couches, eating from dumpsters, and hiding in tree lines waiting for the next train to take her to where she thought she needed to go. Carrot saw a lot of the US and felt the freedom of confinement, but she also felt loss. The loss of a mother, the loss of family, the loss of a home. She was always searching. Those losses stayed with her.

This is a raw exposure of a memoir, offset by the beauty of both nature and mankind, as seen by one young woman trying to outrun her troubles. The life of Carrot Quinn has been one of heartbreak wrapped in self discovery.

The Sunset Route was a grueling memoir recounting the troubled life and travels of a young woman. The childhood trauma and descriptions of her journeys were both raw and honest. That being said, there was little to no plot (was not always sure where I was in the grande scheme of her life) and the stories were sometimes so pedantic that they were too boring to want to finish.

Carrot Quinn writes from her experiences growing up in Alaska with a mentally ill mother and an absentee father. Her childhood is marred by hunger, abuse and deprivation that is gut wrenching, but she recalls these events as a kind of flashback while telling the tales of her wanderings across the country by hitch hiking and riding the rails. Her search for love and acceptance are never quite fulfilled, but she comes to find a place in the world where she can exist.

I cannot say this story is uplifting or entertaining, but it is a look into a segment of our society that struggles daily with survival. Children can be amazingly resilient and Carrot manages to survive the neglect and challenges of a totally dysfunctional family.

Having enjoyed non-fiction "survival" stories in the past such as Wild and Educated, I eagerly dove into Carrot's story and was immediately intrigued and scared by the details of riding freight trains. Her raw and honest details of her abusive and terrible childhood gave me a "I can't look away" feeling similar to watching a horror movie. However, her writing style was choppy and disjointed at times. Descriptions of nature and daily activities seemed to come out of nowhere, and I felt that her need to tell us about all the times she needed to take a st was unnecessary. I learned much about the perils of riding freight trains, the value of dump diving, and the ease of shoplifting; yet, I was disappointed that the last 10 years of her life were omitted. I celebrate that she survived and went on to write about her life to date despite having only a sketchy high school education. I also hope Carrot got the counseling she clearly needs, and she finds the love she is seeking.

An engaging look at a young woman dealing with abandonment, homelessness and a desire to find her place in the world. Her story is well written and interesting, but then it becomes repetitive ... hop train, sleep under tarp, scavenge for food, get busted by train cops, repeat. I found it very hard to warm up to the author despite her saga.