Mailbox Monday

Welcome to Mailbox Monday, a meme started by Marcia and now hosted on its own blog.

Commonwealth

by Ann Patchett

On sale September 13, 2016

I've been trying to refrain from bringing more books home from work, but this one caught my eye and after reading the first two pages, I knew it was futile to resist the urge to tuck it away in my backpack. Goodness, will I miss working at B&N! Yes, I have great coworkers and I enjoy chatting up my favorite books with the regulars, but the ARCs are such a treat!

So, did you all know that Ann Patchett has a new book coming out in September? Anyone want to lay odds on how close to that release date I'll have it read? ;) Here's the blurb:

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 the four parents and six children involved. Spending summers together in Virginia, the Keating and Cousins children forge a lasting bond based on a shared disillusionment with their parents and the strange and genuine affection that grows 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, guilty, and the deeply loyal connection they feel for one another. 

Told with equal measures of humor and heartbreak, Commonwealth is a mediation 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. 

I liked Patchett's novel The Magician's Assistant, loved Bel Canto (a full review here, back in the day when I actually reviewed the books I read!), and have State of Wonder (yes, an ARC) lurking on a shelf somewhere. I think this may be a winner. What do you think?

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