#14 [2024/CBR16] Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

My book club chose Commonwealth (2016) by Ann Patchett ages ago, but it was a meeting I couldn't make. So when I ran out of time, I skipped the book entirely. However, because I've enjoyed other books by Patchett, I decided to pick this one up as an Audiobook.

I've enjoyed every book by Patchett that I've read, and Commonwealth is no exception. Although, this one is not quite at the top of my Patchett list, it is memorable. I appreciate Patchett's realistically drawn characters and nuanced family drama.

Commonwealth tells the story of two families that are torn apart by cheating and divorce. When Bert Cousins invites himself along to the christening of Franny Keating, it is Franny's mother, Evelyn who makes an impression. Not long after, Evelyn leaves her husband, Fix; she takes her two girls, Caroline and Franny, and moves to Virginia with her new husband, Bert Cousins. For his part, Bert leaves his four children: Cal, Jeanette, Holly, and Albie in California with their now single mother, Teresa.

Caroline and Franny resent their mother for breaking up their family, and they desperately want to get back to California. Cal, Jeanette, Holly, and Albie are undersupervised in California as their mother struggles to make ends meet. The four kids spend the summers with Caroline, Franny, Evelyn, and their father Bert in Virginia. 

The story jumps around in its timeline from Franny as an adult helping her father with chemotherapy, to her childhood. There is a fair bit of foreboding that something bad will happen to these kids after so much upheaval. The reader is able to see what they are like as kids, how the divorce changed them, and how they grew up.

One of the most interesting parts of the book to me was when Franny had a longstanding affair with a much older writer. It was fascinating to see how they came together. (She was a fan, of course, and they met in the bar she worked at). But it was also interesting to see how it slowly became clear to her that he was not good for her. I feel like this can be a common mistake when you are young--picking people who don't really value you, and Patchett did a good job with this relationship. 

I am behind on reviews, so I read this book ages ago. I also listened to it on Audiobook, which sometimes makes the details harder to recall. Yet, I still remember so many scenes from this book. It has stuck with me more than I expected. Patchett is definitely on my must-read list, and I think I'll eventually get to all of her books.