“Exquisite… Commonwealth is impossible to put down.” — New York Times#1 New York Times Bestseller | NBCC Award Finalist | New York Times Best Book of the Year | USA Today Best Book | TIME Magazine Top 10 Selection | Oprah Favorite Book of 2016 | New York Magazine Best Book of The Year The acclaimed, bestselling author—winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize—tells the … New York Magazine Best Book of The Year
The acclaimed, bestselling author—winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize—tells the enthralling story of how an unexpected romantic encounter irrevocably changes two families’ lives.
One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating’s christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny’s mother, Beverly—thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families.
Spanning five decades, Commonwealth explores how this chance encounter reverberates through the lives of the four parents and six children involved. Spending summers together in Virginia, the Keating and Cousins children forge a lasting bond that is based on a shared disillusionment with their parents and the strange and genuine affection that grows up between them.
When, in her twenties, Franny begins an affair with the legendary author Leon Posen and tells him about her family, the story of her siblings is no longer hers to control. Their childhood becomes the basis for his wildly successful book, ultimately forcing them to come to terms with their losses, their guilt, and the deeply loyal connection they feel for one another.
Told with equal measures of humor and heartbreak, Commonwealth is a meditation on inspiration, interpretation, and the ownership of stories. It is a brilliant and tender tale of the far-reaching ties of love and responsibility that bind us together.
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I love Ann Patchett — Bel Canto is probably one of the most searingly beautiful books I’ve ever read. It’s taken me a while, but I finally picked up Commonwealth and am so glad I did. It wasn’t nearly as intoxicating as Bel Canto, missing the remarkable uniqueness that has kept Bel Canto on my favorites list for years, but Commonwealth was still beautifully written, and in some ways, it felt as hazy and easy to sink into as a Virginian summer afternoon. I actually really liked the multi-generational perspectives (though I agree with other reviewers that they could get a bit confusing), and I found the story, while subtle, to be compelling. If you’re a fan of Patchett’s other books, I’d recommend picking this one up as well!
I was particularly struck by how well Patchett captured her male characters. One would think she had been a cop in the 1950s! The voices were amazing and engaging.
Somehow, this was my first time reading an Ann Patchett book, and upon finishing it I added all of her other books to my TBR pile. Commonwealth’s plot and storyline matter, of course, but they kind of don’t because the characters and relationships that Patchett has created are vividly authentic—at times comically, at others heartbreakingly so—and her writing is transcendent. The blended family central to the novel is depicted from varying perspectives and differing locales. We readers move with them forward in time, sort of, but we also circle back to visit—and revisit—memories, both important turning points and illustrative anecdotes. As with an incredible meal, I went back and forth between devouring the book and savoring it. I found myself re-reading choice turns of phrase and sighing with an aching pleasure as I stared at the void between the pages of the book and my curtains. Even the title, with its myriad definitions on its own and handful of applications within the novel, is an apt representation of the interwoven threads that bind this family and their story together. My favorite read of 2017 thus far.
Ann Patchett’s latest novel is an unraveling of a story of two families that came together and drifted apart over the decades, both spurred by significant, life-changing events. Patchett once again weaves together multiple characters’ point of view, skipping back and forth through time as we discover how the Keating kids and Cousins kids became family, and then not, and dealt with their most personal and painful story coming to light through a bestselling novel and then movie.
While the jumps in time can get somewhat tiresome and confusing near the end of the novel, just when you think you’ve learned about everyone’s side of the story, you get another, and connect more dots. Patchett is one of my favorite authors, and remains so with Commonwealth.
Wonderful book – parts were sad and tragic, but so much a part of everyone’s lives. Characters, plot and settings were excellently portrayed. An intriguing family saga with beautiful writing.
Story told through multiple characters, at multiple points in their lives. Beautiful prose.
Ann Patchett is a wonderful author, love many of her books however this book is her worst one, in my opinion.
Amazing!
Ann Patchett is always a great read. And all her books are different.
Comunidad comienza con una de tantas casualidades de esta vida: Bert Cousins colándose sin invitación en el bautizo de Franny, la hija de Fix y Beverly Keating, en un intento por escapar de su propia vida doméstica junto a su mujer Teresa y sus cuatro hijos. Justo en ese ambiente de celebración la atracción entre Bert y Beverly es instantánea y solo es necesario un beso en la cocina para que el status quo de ambas familias se vaya al traste. Dos parejas deshechas, y una nueva creada, y entre ellos, un mundo de seis niños desubicados e intentando ajustarse a estos cambios.
“Si bien Cousins no buscaba una fiesta en la que colarse, la suya tampoco había sido una pregunta del todo inocente. Odiaba los domingos y, puesto que todo el mundo consideraba que el domingo era día para pasar en familia, era dificil que lo invitaran a algún sitio (…) El domingo no pudo repetir la jugada, pero tampoco podía aguantar a los niños, a su mujer o el trabajo, así que recordó lo de la fiesta del bautizo a la que no había sido invitado”.
A partir de aquí, Ann Patchett gesta una novela que transcurre a través de varias décadas, desde esos iniciales años 60 con el nacimiento de Franny, hasta la actualidad. Dos familias interconectadas por motivo de los dos divorcios y de la boda posterior: cuando Bert Cousins se casa con Beverly y se trasladan de California a Virgnia, tanto los niños Keating como los niños Cousins pasan automáticamente a reunirse en momentos concretos del año, sobre todo en verano en Virginia, dando lugar a todo un universo caótico familiar y que a su vez va formando lazos entre ellos en parte producidos por la desilusión que les produce el mundo de los adultos como por el afecto que va naciendo entre ellos.
“Los seis tenian en común un principio general que hacía que relegaran cualquier rechazo mutuo a un papel secundario: ante todo, no soportaban a sus padres. Los odiaban.”
“Franny estaba segura de que no solo era la hija favorita de su madre sino, además, su persona favorita. Excepto en verano, cuando su madre la miraba como si solo fuera la cuarta de seis hijos.”
Ann Patchett estructura su novela de una forma que a priori podría parecer confusa, como una especie de puzzle donde las piezas van encajando poco a poco. Es una estructura no lineal, en el sentido de que la historia va dando saltos en el tiempo contando momentos concretos de cada uno de los personajes en un tiempo determinado, adelantando el futuro y atrasando el pasado. Es una estructura narrativa interesante que a mí personalmente me ha encantado, porque el estilo de Ann Patchett con sus dosis de humor y su sútil entendimiento de los lazos emocionales, construye una novela repleta de momentos mágicos.
“Como se había hecho amigo de las recepcionistas de las editoriales en las que tenía que hacer las entregas y les preguntaba qué estaban leyendo, siempre tenía algún libro. En ningún otro sitio le hacian regalos, pero a las recepcionistas de las editoriales no les imprtaba darle un ejemplar a un mensajero en bicicleta., aunque pareciera el mismo mensajero de la muerte”.
This book so vividly describes the dilemma of being a human: man and woman want to be alone while at the same time they cannot escape from falling into relationships.
This novel doesn’t have the inherent suspense of the lovely BEL CANTO – I found myself thinking there’s no way it would sell as a debut for most authors – but it’s a beautifully written reflection on the ties we make over time across our families and step-families, beginning with a long, tense tour-de-force scene at a christening party and then skipping across decades in the POV of multiple characters, occasionally doubling back for another look at a central tragedy. Patchett’s prose is such a pleasure to read, precise and vivid and utterly accessible. It’s also kind of amusing, in one plot thread, to watch her skewer certain aspects of literary society, knowing that as an author and popular bookstore owner she surely knows of what she speaks.
COMMONWEALTH is not a light-hearted, feel-good book. It starts with a stolen and illicit kiss, which changes the lives of two families, and then explores the fallout over the next fifty years.
The plotline is challenging being non-linear with the story told from the perspectives of different people. There are no handy chapter titles to tell you who is narrating (or when). But the opening prepares you because the book begins with a christening party, which is a confusing mix of names and faces. However, this is information overload rather than an exposition dump; you really feel like a stranger who just wandered in off the street.
This unsettled feeling follows you through the novel as you pick up scraps of information and have to sort through the differing memories of shared events. The characters constantly re-write history and claim their version is the truth. But does anyone, family, friend or stranger, have the right to take ownership of the past and use it for their own ends? This major theme runs through the narrative.
Commonwealth is slow-paced, but Patchett’s sly humour and observations of domestic life make this an intriguing and sometimes frustrating read. If you are not into earthy reality with adultery, divorce, bad parenting, and disrespectful children, this is not the book for you.
I feel like I came late to the Ann Patchett party, but here I am, having a great time. This is a beautiful book in every way.
Ok you guys. I didn’t get it. At all. Based on the reviews I read from my fellow readers, I thought it wasn’t even going to be a question. I figured I would love it. Easily a five Star Read. I listened to the audio book of this.
I didn’t fully understand or know any of the characters. I couldn’t tell who was the main character. I couldn’t understand what the point of the book was. Was the whole point that two people met each other and their future was forever altered? Only how was it so different? Divorces? Because it didn’t seem like the couples really liked each other anyway. I just didn’t get it.
This is one of those books where I say, “I didn’t like it, but you may.” Or “I don’t recommend this book, but many people do.”
4 stars to Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth. I chose this book because it was about drama and relationships within a complex family, as it seemed similar the last book I had written, and it was written in a way that I hoped would align with my favorite styles: from multiple character view points but with a focus via a single character. It did not disappoint and I am glad I read the book, but I don’t think it was in my top favorite’s list.
Story
The book is told mostly from the character of Franny Keating, but several chapters cover each of her 5 siblings (some biological, some step). Her parents divorced after her christening in the 1960s, when her mother began an affair with Franny’s father’s colleague. When the two later married, his 4 children, Franny and her sister shared a home for most of their remaining childhood years alternating between Virginia and California, living with each set of parents and new step-families. Chapters focus on different friendships and relationships, spanning 50 years of Franny’s life until the parents pass away. Readers get to watch how each sibling interprets and experiences death, marriage, parenting, careers and general comfort with life. It’s a great commentary on the everyday happenings of a family touched by different realities in the course of life.
Strengths
1. Characters are vivid. With 4 parents, 6 children, countless spouses/partners and grandchildren, it’s a lot to keep up with. The author does a great job at showing who is important and who isn’t, which makes keeping track of everyone very easy. It’s a very character-driven story with lots of plot elements along for the ride.
2. Writing is good. There are a few lengthy areas with great descriptions when they are needed, and dialogue is on point. You feel like you are there with the characters.
Suggestions
1. Dates were a little important in this book, but they were mostly left out. Typically, when you cover 50 years of the life of 15 major characters, each chapter would have a date and location so you can follow along easily. The author chose not to include dates and jumped around throughout the 50 year period. At times, it took a few minutes to determine what was happening and in which time period. I liked this a lot, as it was different than most books like this one, but it was a little frustrating at times as I felt like I only had a piece of the puzzle and wasn’t even sure what I needed to know. It wasn’t bad, just different — and it may have been a little stronger with a little more structure in the how the book progressed.
Final Thoughts
It’s a definite read for anyone who likes family dramas, books spanning lengthy time periods, watching what happens to characters over important periods in their life, but it’s just 10 to 12 vignettes that are beautiful but don’t tell the whole story. Then again, in life, we don’t know the full story of all our friends, so this is like reading about an old friend. And that’s a good thing in my book.
Almost every one of my books is, at its heart, about family and the messy, poignant relationships we share with one another. Patchett’s book is an exceptional, multi-layered portrait of families and what binds us and tears us apart. Beautiful!
This book was wonderfully written and was hard to put down! The way that the author played with time and how each unanswered question was never directly answered made the book addicting. The characters all had interesting personalities and backgrounds that made me feel as if they were real people. The story itself stuck with me. However, as someone who likes books with a deeper meaning, I was not struck with a deep theme. Nonetheless, it was still a good book and I would recommend it to anyone looking for a relaxing read.
Such a well written story of family and all of it complexities.
Reading the book, I couldn’t keep the characters straight because of its going back and forth in time. Had I not been reading it for my book club, I would have put it down halfway through. Personally, I didn’t care for the book, but our book club has rarely had as lively a discussion as we did for this book. It was the most amazing experience! It encompassed family dynamics, blended families, siblings, personal relationships… And, for that reason, I highly recommend it for your book group.