“Commonwealth” by Ann Patchett
Commonwealth was published in 2016. I committed to tackling multiple works by Ann Patchett after enjoying her 2023 book, Tom Lake. (Check out my review for that here). Commonwealth was well received by literary critics and I made a rather arbitrary choice for my second experience with this respected author. I recommend the book. It is a textured read- the prose is clear, clever, sharp, accessible and, on occasion, powerful. I recognise her talent and ambition as a writer. A word of caution- I intellectually appreciated this book, but I did not LOVE it. Tom Lake is superior- more emotionally enriching for the reader. Commonwealth loses focus at times and the abundance of characters floating in and out of the story is disconcerting. Finally, there is no definitive narrator and no individual character drives the story or inspires avid affection or loyalty. Succinctly stated, I liked the people who inhabited Tom Lake better, much better actually!
The story features two families, artificially merged into one unit by acts of infidelity and betrayal by two consenting adults. A short familial guide is necessary. Bert Austin, a handsome if unfocused lawyer is married to Teresa. She is the frazzled mother of their four children (Cal, Holly, Jeanette and Albie). Fix Keating, a cagey LA cop is married to gorgeous and ethereal Beverly. They have two daughters, Caroline and Franny. The families collide in late 1960’s Southern California suburbia - pursuing the post WWII version of the American Dream. Bert, uninvited, attends Franny’s Baptismal celebration at the Keating home. We even meet the presiding priest. An Irish cop and Irish priest in the first chapter made me feel at home. After overconsuming gin, Bert kisses Beverly and she returns the favor. Sure enough, Bert divorces Teresa and Beverly divorces Fix and we now have an awkward family of six half siblings. Commonwealth is their story.
The book has wide geographic range. We travel from California to Virginia with stops by various characters in Chicago, Iowa City, San Francisco, and New York. We witness fifty years of relationships. Franny is introduced at her baptism and she is approaching retirement age when we turn the last page. The strength of the book is the unexpected, if uneven bonding that occurs between the six siblings. On the face of it, they don’t have much in common. Caroline becomes an hard nosed lawyer, Franny is law school dropout, a part time waitress who has an extended affair with a Saul Belllow type award winning writer. Cal dies early in a tragic accident. Holly becomes a Buddhist and lives in Asia. Jeannette is quiet, competent and marries a black African born physician. Albie is the classic problem child, an adolescent pyromaniac who graduates to heroin addiction and periodic disappearances. Bert cheats on Beverly and they get divorced. Bert has a third failed marriage. Beverly ends up with a rich auto dealer with three sons of his own. Fix marries Marjorie and gets cancer. Teresa never remarries, but has a successful career as paralegal at a big law firm.
The common theme among these characters is they are amazingly ordinary. They aren’t special and, for the most part, nothing particularly fascinating happens to them. The drama is generated by how they interact with one another-youthful and unsupervised experimentation, staying in touch and gradually forming connections. The trips between California and Virginia create opportunities for odd alliances- strange and unanticipated products of the dissolution of two marriages. Patchett makes choices- there is no way to give this many characters equal time. Bert and Beverly never come into focus. Their kiss is the domino which begins the narrative, but we learn very little about their underlying emotions or motivation. They are shallow bystanders for most of the book. Franny gets the most air time and Patchett, consistent with her writing in Tom Lake is very adept at presenting female characters with angst, unfulfilled talents and ambitions. However, most of the portrayals of the “kids” are snapshots and you are left with more questions than answers. I would have loved to hear more about the jilted spouses, Fix and Teresa. They make a late and poignant appearance in the closing chapter after going MIA for a couple of hundred pages. They, on limited evidence, have the most “character” of any of the characters in the book and more attention to them would have been a plus. Patchett made choices- I just don’t agree with them all.
Two interesting sidelights here. First, Franny has a serious relationship with a famous, if brain frozen, quasi alcoholic writer. They have the best chemistry of any couple in the book. I was rooting for them. She chooses to share her family’s rather unusual history with him, and presto, he begins to write again and his book Commonwealth, becomes an award winner. A Hollywood movie blockbuster follows- the family is underwhelmed by the exposure. Franny’s relationship with her siblings survives but her future with the writer does not. He is sent to purgatory with his long suffering, if stubborn wife who inherits a ton when he bites the dust. Overall, an interesting glance at how novels come from unexpected sources. The Commonwealth title of the offending book is identical to Commonwealth here suggests an autobiographical focus from Ms. Patchett. Secondly, why the title? Virginia is a primary focus in the book and Virginia’s political structure is a Commonwealth. The easy explanation! However, I hope Patchett was embracing a broader definition- the family unit, no matter how created- as a mini commonwealth. A collective effort by disparate individuals who share a common and long term purpose. And what is that purpose- well take things as they come and SURVIVE. A solid read. 3 stars!
