Commonwealth a novel by Ann Patchett

Commonwealth

a novel by Ann Patchett is the story of marriage, divorce, happiness, death, love, survival and the unconditional love of family. In an attempt to avoid his growing family on Sunday, a family day,  Bert Cousins crashes Franny Keating’s  christening party, telling his wife it’s a “work thing”. He brings along, the only thing he had around the house that might pass as a gift, a big bottle of gin. Bert Cousin’s bottle of gin mixed with the juice from the Keating’s backyard orange tree changes the course of the two families’ lives.  Franny’s mom, Beverly, the most beautiful women in any room, catches Bert’s attention and when he finds himself alone with her, he kisses her. Beverly and Bert marry and move from California to the commonwealth of Virginia where Bert grew up.

The Keating children, Franny and  Caroline leave their dad, Fix, behind when they move to Virginia to live with their mother and Bert. The Cousin’s children: Calvin, Holly, Jeanette and Albie stay in California with their mother Teresa.  Despite Teresa’s protests,  the children spend the whole summer with their father in Virginia. Bern avoids the children as much as possible and Beverly is ill equipped to take care of six children. The siblings develop bonds that spread across family lines.   Their summers are spent mostly unsupervised wandering around their Grandparent’s farm and the countryside.   One summer day in the commonwealth of Virginia, tragedy strikes that changes everything.  The children stick together to create a cover-up of the day’s events.

Not until many years later does the truth about that tragic summer day come to light when Franny, working as a cocktail waitress, waits on Leo Posen.  Franny is a big fan of Leo, a famous writer, who is more than 30 years older than she is.  During their affair Franny tells Leo about her childhood.  Changing the names and some details Leo turns the story of Franny’s childhood into a best seller.  Franny feels used by Leo and tries to prevent her family from knowing that she betrayed their trust. It is inevitable that one by one they will all hear about the book and when the book is turned into a movie there is no hiding it anymore. Now that the family secrets have been exposed all the Cousins and Keatings must deal with the truth. This book celebrates family in all it’s different  sizes and shapes. For an inside look at the author, Ann Patchett , check out her web page.

Enjoy and Be Well!