Ann Patchett: Commonwealth, Harper Perennial US, 9780062491831, paperback (beautiful rough cut edition, perhaps not everyone’s taste but definitely mine) German Edition: Die Taufe, Berlin Verlag, hardback

I had never read anything by Ann Patchett’s but I had followed news about her involvement with independent bookselling and her own bookshops Parnassus Books in Nashville when I was still in publishing. And what a fine writer she is, I totally fell in love with “Commonwealth” which won the 2016 Best Book Award by the New York Times, Washington Post. San Francisco Cronicle, Time etc. “Commonwealth” is one of these books you long to return to, it goes on my shelf of all-time favorite books.

When Bert Cousins shows up uninvited at Franny Keating’s christening party and kisses her mother, the beautiful and irresistible Beverly Keating, he sets in motion life changing events affecting four adults and six children. Without giving too much away, Bert and Beverly fall in love with each other, leave their spouses Fix Keating and Teresa Cousins , starting their married life with six children to raise:  Caroline and Franny Keating,  Beverly’s daughters ,  and Bert’s tribe,  Holly,  Cal, Albie and Jennifer.  The kids become a fiercely loyal little tribe, something they hold onto their entire lives. This could have all turned out a terribly kitschy story but Ann Patchett’s creates a jewel of a novel, a masterpiece.  Each chapter sheds light on past and present happenings by ten individuals and follows them for many years of their lives.  It is as much a story of what could have happened if the fork in the road would have been taken differently and how every action we take has consequences for others, the famous ripple in the pond.  322 pages of sheer reading joy, often funny, sometimes deeply touching and sad, but mostly an uplifting book, all told in her lean, beautiful language.  I had a great time reading “Commonwealth”, definitely checking out more of her work. I love the cover of the US edition, a beautiful bibliophile edition with a rough cut and superior paper.