Commonwealth

NBCC Award Fiction Finalist
New York Times Best Book of the Year
USA Today Best Book of 2016
Time Magazine Top 10 Selection
Oprah Favorite Book of 2016
Newsday Best Book of 2016 Selection
Kirkus Reviews Best Fiction of 2016 Selection
Washington Post Best Book of 2016
New York Magazine Best Book of the Year Selection


"Patchett brings humanity, humor, and a disarming affection to lovable, struggling characters... Irresistible." -Library Journal

"Exquisite... The questions Commonwealth raises are ultimately counterfactual, philosophical: Who might we be if our parents hadn't made catastrophic choices, and we hadn't responded catastrophically to them? Maybe better-adjusted people with easier days and nights. But maybe the poorer for it... Commonwealth is impossible to put down." -New York Times

"It's hard to imagine better execution than Patchett's... None of the 322 pages lacks a prize-worthy revelation in Patchett's vibrant prose-about parents and siblings and what it means to grow up and let go." -Time

"(A) rich and engrossing new novel . . . Patchett's observations about people and life are insightful; and her underlying tone is one of compassion and amusement. Ann Patchett is a novelist who knows what she's doing, and to read her is to feel that you're in good hands." -New York Times Book Review

"Indeed, this is Patchett's most autobiographical novel, a sharply funny, chilling, entrancing, and profoundly affecting look into one family's 'commonwealth,' its shared affinities, conflicts, loss, and love." -Booklist

"A funny, sad, and ultimately heart-wrenching family portrait...Patchett elegantly manages a varied cast of characters...[Patchett is] at her peak in humor, humanity, and understanding people in challenging situations." -Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The prose is lean and inviting... A satisfying meat-and-potatoes domestic novel from one of our finest writers." -Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"Wonderfully executed." -Marie Claire

"Commonwealth is a smart, thoughtful novel about the ties that bind us." -PopSugar

"Commonwealth is an all-American family saga, but [Patchett's] touching and even-handed approach to themes such as family politics, love, the role of literature, and the acidic nature of lies is buoyed by a generous sprinkling of matter-of-fact humor." -BookPage

"Commonwealth bursts with keen insights into faithfulness, memory, and mortality... [An] ambitious American epic." -Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"Patchett's storytelling has never seemed more effortlessly graceful. This is minimalism that magically speaks volumes." -Washington Post

"Commonwealth represents yet another victory for Patchett. Readers will fly through it, not because it is short or lacks substance, but because the tale is so rich and the plot is so wildly addicting, readers won't be able to put it down until they've turned the final page." -Hampton Sheet

"The genius of the way Patchett approached Commonwealth is that it's constructed like a puzzle... Maybe it's another case of the tried-and- true adage: 'Write what you know.' Because this book? It's pure gangbusters." -San Francisco Chronicle