This just became available in print at the library, but I think I’m gonna wait for the audiobook after reading this. Thanks!

I cannot wait for this. I have requested it from the library. I love accomplished writers. I feel I can nestle into a story and that I’m in good hands!

Anonymous wrote:I love Commonwealth. There are settings and episodes and characters from that book that are so vivid and have stayed with me -- the christening party that kicks off the story, Franny and her coworkers at the hotel bar, Franny and her sister visiting her dad while he's in chemo -- those are just a few. And the theme of taking what we can from our families, even at their most broken places, is so beautiful.

I had high hopes for The Dutch House, but it didn't grab me in the same way.

Another Commonwealth lover here. I love a sprawling family story over decades, where each chapter drops you into a different character/place/time. And was disappointed with The Dutch House also, it was mildly depressing to me. State of Wonder was just so weird. I read Tom Lake a couple of weeks ago for an upcoming book group and found it to be satisfying. There were a couple of tricks and surprises and not a lot of conflict within the family. The pandemic provided the backdrop for the story set-up, but fortunately didn't dive too deep.

Ann Patchett, like a lot of authors, can be hit or miss. Her essays for the most part are well written. I'm such a geek that I hope to visit her Nashville bookstore one day.

I love Commonwealth. There are settings and episodes and characters from that book that are so vivid and have stayed with me -- the christening party that kicks off the story, Franny and her coworkers at the hotel bar, Franny and her sister visiting her dad while he's in chemo -- those are just a few. And the theme of taking what we can from our families, even at their most broken places, is so beautiful.

I had high hopes for The Dutch House, but it didn't grab me in the same way.

It’s not much of a story, for sure, but it’s just a nice STORY. And Meryl Streep made it jump off the page. It was like drinking cider and being wrapped in a blanket. I loved it.

And it made sense because it was 2020 and the girls were home anyway with nothing to do.

They were also a very close family anyway.

And if my mom had had an affair with Brad Pitt in her 20s, I’d sit at her feet also for the details.

Anonymous wrote:I love her essay collection This is the Portrait of a Happy Marriage and also her nonfiction Truth and Beauty, about her friend Lucy Greeley, esp when read in conjunction with Autobiography of a Face.

I still think about both of those books so many years later.

I am reading/listening to it right now and love it. Meryl Streep as a narrarator is sooooo good.

I love her essay collection This is the Portrait of a Happy Marriage and also her nonfiction Truth and Beauty, about her friend Lucy Greeley, esp when read in conjunction with Autobiography of a Face.

Anonymous wrote:This book is so boring I am having trouble finishing it.

Maybe it's a lot better as an audiobook?

Also, as the mother of teens, I found it implausible that three young women (daughters) would gather at her feet eager to hear their mother tell stories from her youth. This seems like something out of Little House on the Prairie.

But wouldn't it be nice?

I read a review of it and decided not to add it to my "to-read" pile. It's been so heavily marketed to me online, though, that I was second-guessing myself. Now it seems I made the right decision.

I really liked Tom Lake, even though it wasn't my favorite Patchett novel (those are State of Wonder, Bel Canto, and The Dutch House).

I thought it really captured a moment well - that moment being almost adult children returning home during the pandemic. And those adult children starting to realize that their parents had lives before they were born.

Not a "wow" book, but I enjoyed it.

This book is so boring I am having trouble finishing it.

Maybe it's a lot better as an audiobook?

Also, as the mother of teens, I found it implausible that three young women (daughters) would gather at her feet eager to hear their mother tell stories from her youth. This seems like something out of Little House on the Prairie.

Anonymous wrote:As a book, I thought it fell flat, but I can imagine her reading being magical.

I agree, I thought it was very dull. I guess I'm sort of hot and cold on Ann Patchett. I loved, loved, loved The Dutch House but Tom Lake and Commonwealth were both unremarkable. I hardly remember Bel Canto since I read it 20 years ago, but I think it fell into the great category.

As a book, I thought it fell flat, but I can imagine her reading being magical.

Tom Lake, on audio narrated by Meryl Streep…it was absolute perfection.

I just finished it and I truly miss it. Anyone else?