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Commonwealth
- Narrated by: Hope Davis
- Length: 10 hrs and 34 mins
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Commonwealth
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On the last night of 1937, 25-year-old Katey Kontent is in a second-rate Greenwich Village jazz bar when Tinker Grey, a handsome banker, happens to sit down at the neighboring table. This chance encounter and its startling consequences propel Katey on a year-long journey into the upper echelons of New York society - where she will have little to rely upon other than a bracing wit and her own brand of cool nerve.
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Based on the extraordinary life of National Book Award-winning author Louise Erdrich’s grandfather who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, DC, this powerful novel explores themes of love and death with lightness and gravity and unfolds with the elegant prose, sly humor, and depth of feeling of a master craftsman.
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Publisher's Summary
The acclaimed best-selling author - winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize - tells the enthralling story of how an unexpected romantic encounter irrevocably changes two families' lives.
One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating's christening party uninvited. Before evening falls, he has kissed Franny's mother, Beverly - thus setting in motion the dissolution of their marriages and the joining of two families.
Spanning five decades, Commonwealth explores how this chance encounter reverberates through the lives of the four parents and six children involved. Spending summers together in Virginia, the Keating and Cousins children forge a lasting bond that is based on a shared disillusionment with their parents and the strange and genuine affection that grows up between them.
When, in her 20s, Franny begins an affair with the legendary author Leon Posen and tells him about her family, the story of her siblings is no longer hers to control. Their childhood becomes the basis for his wildly successful book, ultimately forcing them to come to terms with their losses, their guilt, and the deeply loyal connection they feel for one another.
Told with equal measures of humor and heartbreak, Commonwealth is a meditation on inspiration, interpretation, and the ownership of stories. It is a brilliant and tender tale of the far-reaching ties of love and responsibility that bind us together.
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What listeners say about Commonwealth
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Amazon Customer
- 2019-12-07
not good, not bad.
I wanted to love this story. I recently listened to the Dutch House and liked it quite a bit.
for me, this story just didn't really have a purpose. the story is trying to weave all the twists and turns that life takes over different generations into an outcome, but I think it's lacking entertainment. quite slow at times.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Isabelle
- 2019-10-24
Loved it! A tale of two families that become one
This is the second book I’ve listened to on audible by Anne patchett. The Dutch House was the first and to be honest I only did so because it was narrated my Tom Hanks and I’m a big fan but am I ever glad I did.
The character development is incredible and her style of jumping around the time line and blending the characters stories together paint a vivid picture for the reader.
The story is about two families and theirs lives as they grow up together. The imperfect characters are relatable made me very reflective of my own life.
Great book I’ll be listening to everything by her on audible.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Mel
- 2016-09-18
Patchett and Me--In-sympatico
I have a thorny history with Patchett. The origin of my dislike of this good writer's books (many prestigious writing awards tell me so) began with me reading State of Wonder. I thought it repulsive and ridiculous--please don't hammer me for this honest opinion--I just found the visual of naked tribal octogenarians sucking sap from slits in the bark of trees grotesque, bizarre, highly nonsensical, and extremely off-putting. I'm midway between 80 and when I gave birth, and even if I had the desire to be pregnant and have an infant again, where would I get the energy? It wasn't my first Patchett novel; I'd read the very satisfying The Magician's Assistant and Bel Canto, before I got the glowing review that I just had to read SofW. That is where an OK relationship turned into UGH.
Patchett is a very good writer, even in my H opinion, and obviously can carry a story through--I finished every book of hers I started; continued on even when the arthritic, saggy breasted women of SofW started gnawing frenziedly on trees. After that, I swore off Patchett, but here I am again and all because I know Patchett can write beautifully. I was hoping for more early experiences with the author, and got them. Commonwealth immediately draws in the reader with an opening scene that feels choked with sensuality and brass. The next chapter begins to tell the consequences of that day when a Cousins stole a kiss from a Keating in the nursery
The story spans generations with a full cast that takes some skill to keep in order, especially because the story changes narrators, and with those changes, jumps times back then forward. This is a story of what if...how a single action can change the trajectory of lives and fortunes; in looking back what would we change and in the hopes of what kind of outcome.
Good meandering story that looks at lives through a modern and realistic lens, and poses moments that will be identifiable with any reader.
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91 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Bette
- 2016-09-16
READ IT
Hmmmm...people seem reluctant to review Commonwealth. Day 2 and no reviews!
There's a reason for that.
One of my all time favorite audio productions is Ann Patchett's 'State of Wonder' read by Hope Davis. They are a the dream team of audio books. Both are the expected perfection in this production of Commonwealth but the story it simply not listening material- it is a far too intricately patterned novel. After listening to first two hours twice, I began to consider a trip to wiki it for a clue about what was going on. Before taking such a drastic step, I decided to read the text reviews on Amazon. They are, of course, raves. I was convinced to forego the wiki spoilers, return the audible version and buy a hard copy.
It's a nice effort, but some books are just meant to be read.
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65 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Jeanie M. Phillips
- 2016-09-19
A Must Listen for Patchett fans
Ann Patchett has written a gem of a book- a pared down family saga that will live in my imagination for a long time. Commonwealth delivers segments of an arc, some overlapping, mostly out of order. Patchett trusts the reader to fill in the blanks, to intuit the shape of the whole. This is a novel about the power of story and the gravitational pull of family, and it packs a punch.
I have loved everything I've read by Patchett, especially her nonfiction collection This is the Story of a Happy Marriage ( read it twice- it's that good) but this is definitely my new fave! Tremendous storytelling, wonderful characters, and some of the most well timed humor I've ever read in a novel. A must listen!
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57 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Rita T
- 2016-09-18
Return to sender
I tried and tried to listen to this, but it was slow and just awful. Maybe it gets better deeper into the book but ... who can bear it that long? I am returning it for my credit back.
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24 people found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Suzn F
- 2016-09-20
Hang in There
Initially I found this book to be disjointed and had difficulty staying with it. I'm not sure if it's just the nature of the audio version, but the going back and forward in time and the many characters and with which family they belonged, at times felt like maybe it just wasn't worth it.
Then the story came together and I found a pace and got into it. All progressed well until near the end when the plot unraveled and once again became disjointed. Overall this book certainly has redeeming qualities but I just couldn't commit.
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21 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Betsey
- 2016-09-19
Patchett masters the modern family saga
Ann Patchett veers from her usual life in a far off place to weave a story of the blended family of modern America, connecting the lives of all six children whose pasts and futures become entangled when an uninvited guest finds his way to a christening party. Each character is fully developed to the point where you could recognize them at a cocktail party if you spent only a few minutes hearing about their lives. Hope Davis should be the only performer to make Patchett's words come alive - and could even play Franny if this books become a film. This book and the Audible version are Patchett's and Davis's best works yet.
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21 people found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story1 out of 5 stars
- Joanne McMullen
- 2016-12-29
Don't waste a credit
What would have made Commonwealth better?
My rule of thumb, is after reading or listening to half a book and I don't have any interest in the characters then I stop reading or listening. Because I like other books Ann Patchett has written, I continued on with this one hoping it would get better. It never did.
Has Commonwealth turned you off from other books in this genre?
no
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
The narration was OK, not good, not bad.
What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?
Boredom
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20 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Mark
- 2016-12-31
Too hard to follow
This is a novel that moves back and forth in time, spanning different generations of an extended family. I found myself enjoying many of the scenes, but I got too confused about the many characters in different times, and so the pieces just did not come together for me. I listened to about three quarters of the novel, but did not care to finish it. I'm guessing that this is one book which I would have liked better had I read it instead of listened, as I could have reread more parts to avoid confusion. I can see why some people liked this, but it was my least favorite Anne Patchett novel.
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15 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Ruth M. Penson
- 2016-09-19
A must read for Ann Patchett fans
This is my favorite of all Ann Patchett's books!!!
I love her stories, but this is the best of them all. The narration by Hope Davis is perfection.
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10 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- green ice cream garden
- 2016-11-29
Soap opera with less drama
I'm rating this book a 4 start but feel it may be closer to a 3 for me. The writing is excellent, so well written that the story entraps you like a web. The problem for me was that the web was getting too long and drawn out. However, I loved the book within a book feel and the jumping around in time was done perfectly. I never got lost. The downside is that I'm not sure what this book is about. It's about how events (good and bad) change life's course but is where you end up that terrible after all? I wonder if the title is more than just the setting. And most important, I'll spend the next few days pondering the ending. In summary, it's a great book but at times a little slow and left me a bit unsettled. Maybe it is a 4+ rating after all of the above. Book club material without hesitation.
PS - The narration was superb.
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9 people found this helpful