Commonwealth

I hadn't read any Patchett since State of Wonder, and the oranges on the cover grabbed my attention in a used bookstore - there are evocative vibes of several geographical areas in the novel, including descriptions that made me homesick for the stifling humidity of Virginia in August, which is quite a feat. Both Commonwealth and my recollection State of Wonder make me slightly curious about how I'd feel about Bel Canto upon re-reading, by which I remember being totally, positively stunned. Anyway, I very much liked but did not love this. This is a novel about family culture(s), the ties that bind (or don't), and how we each have to make peace with shared history in our own ways. Patchett clearly feels great affection for her characters, which engendered empathy in me as a reader, as well, but there's something about the structure (I suspect it may be too many “main” or “main-ish” characters to invest in any one too deeply, although I appreciated the chance to view the same family tragedy from different viewpoints) that made things feel slightly cursory when I wanted more depth. My primary feeling upon finishing was gratitude for novels in general, but a hankering to re-read some Marilynne Robinson or Richard Ford, not more Patchett.