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There are currently 42 member reviews
for The Sunset Route
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Ashleigh P. (Springfield, VA)
A long trek
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.
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Elizabeth L. (Langhorne, PA)
Something is missing
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.
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Linda K Walker
Against all odds
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.
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Kimberly C. (Ypsilanti, MI)
Left wanting more
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.
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Dotty S. (Bloomington, IN)
Average
I truly wanted to like this book, and parts of it I liked very much. However I felt like it jumped all over the place and I had a difficult time staying interested.
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Emily C. (Naples, FL)
A disappointment
If you're looking for a true life adventure story, then The Sunset Route by Carrot (Jenni) Quinn is for you. Quinn grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, with her schizophrenic Mother and her brother in extreme poverty. Her absentee father had no contact with his family. When Carrot was 14, she went to live with her grandparents in Colorado. She lived with them for 3 years and then hit the road, traveling on freight trains in the American West. She felt "lost and confused": and throughout her travels was looking for "a way to be in the world". The only solace she got was from the "natural world, the incredible unknowable ever present machinations of the natural world..the wonder and the magic". Throughout her many travels, she seemed to be running away from herself rather than trying to find herself. She says that while traveling, "I wouldn't have to hear my own thoughts, wouldn't have to feel the rough waves of grief crashing against my shore, threatening to pull me out to sea".
At the end she comes to the conclusion that "life is suffering".
The writing style was amateurish, disjointed, and choppy.
The book disappointed me in that there was no meaningful character development-no sign of emotional or intellectual growth on Quinn's part. At the end she concludes that "you couldn't escape the darkness entirely, but you could learn to live above it". She says that, "I am new. I am as clean and empty as the wind". In my judgment, she may be "clean", but she appears to be as "empty" as she was in the beginning of her journey.
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Amy F. (Baton Rouge, LA)
A Train Ride Through Trauma
Carrot Quinn's The Sunset Route is filled with decadent language and settings that reflect upon the narrator's internal struggle, offering her a tie to the physical world as she sails through a whirlwind of emotions and trauma. A tale about a journey to not only find oneself but to find solace in the world, Quinn paints a rich picture of her travels across the United States in an attempt to find release in nature. Moving as fast as the train she travels on, Quinn delivers us through the darkness that pooled throughout her life to find the ever sought light at the end of the tunnel.
