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Commonwealth
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
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Commonwealth
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Summary
It is 1964: Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating’s christening party uninvited and notices a heart stoppingly beautiful woman. When he kisses Beverly Keating, his host’s wife, he sets in motion the joining of two families, whose shared fate will be defined on a day seven years later.
In 1988, Franny Keating, now twenty-four, is working as a cocktail waitress in Chicago. When she meets the famous author Leon Posen one night at the bar, and tells him about her family, she unwittingly relinquishes control over their story…
Critic reviews
'The book that really stood out for me was Ann Patchett’s novel Commonwealth. It’s so beautifully structured, and the characters are subtle and three-dimensional.' (Jojo Moyes)
'Commonwealth is full of heart, and is Patchett’s most complex and emotionally suspenseful novel. She never hits a wrong note although she conjures with many deftly drawn characters.' (Louise Erdrich, author of The Beet Queen)
'Ann Patchett’s Commonwealth: A novel is a sprawling, but very precise depiction of two families exploding and coming together, exploding and coming together.' (Roddy Doyle)
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What listeners say about Commonwealth
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jane Music
- 16-11-23
Great story
Carefully crafted story which pulls you in. Well written and lovely performance. I’ll miss the characters in the story..
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 15-04-24
A Beautifully Written Family Saga
I don't know what took me so long to read a second Ann Patchet. I must have read State of Wonder about 10 years ago and also loved it but have only now picked up Commonwealth. Don’t think it will be leaving it another ten years
This novel is bookended by two parties 50 years apart, and we follow the Keatings and the Cousins' over those intervening years.
This is a meditation on how the briefist of moments can change the course of life entirely and how differing parenting styles can affect each child differently, both as children and adults.
I will say the plot does jump around somewhat without much signposting, but I think think this was intentional to make the reader route themselves in the story and encourage them to focus on character rather than plot.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- G TRUNDLE
- 08-12-23
The development of the story
Excellent A truly amazing book. Thank you
Such a good author The children’s characters development is so sensitive
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1 person found this helpful