I spent a couple of pleasant afternoons reading this book on the couch. The writing was fine, the plot was interesting enough, and the characters were diverse and entertaining. That said, our last book club book was Moonglow and it was just so brilliant and memorable that this Pathcett book was just not as exciting. I finished Commonwealth about a week before we were all meeting and I had to brush up on it before I went to see everyone because the details were already lost to me after only a week. The novel was fine. It was an enjoyable read and we had a great discussion about familial relationships at book club based off of it. But it won't stick with me and I doubt I'll put any more Patchett on my list of books to read.
It won't hurt to read this book, but with so many great books out there to read, including the entire Chabon catalog, I think you could spend your time better elsewhere.
I just read this one! It took me a day, and I enjoyed it enough that I kept reading it until it was finished. But thinking about it, I can't really say WHY I enjoyed it so much. Good writing, solid character development... but in the end it maybe felt more like a character study of the family rather than a story? Not sure.
ReplyDeleteI have Moonglow on my nightstand, waiting for me to crack it...