Ultimately, Commonwealth is the story about harboring secrets and resentments and the the unbreakable bonds of even the most disjointed families. Not every 'Best of' book is for you, and for me it was Commonwealth. Lastly, and speaking of forced, the book is riddled with transitions that were awkwardly structured, leaving me pondering them rather than moving on with the story. This is a book about the interconnectivity of their lives, so without delving into the stories of each individual, I felt I was missing key pieces of their personalities and backgrounds. Without strong characters, the connections felt forced. Second, and related to the first, was that none of the characters felt fully fleshed out.
So instead of focusing on them as individuals, I spent too much time trying to figure out where they fit in. First, I had a difficult time remembering which children were born to which parents and where they ranked in birth order. That said, I’ve been able to narrow down the reasons for my inability to connect with this book to three things, and hopefully my issues will not be yours. This was disappointing because I generally love Patchett’s novels and went into this one with the expectation that I would love it, as well, particularly with the rave reviews it was receiving (it’s at the top of several Best of 2016 lists). Even when I found myself getting into the story, I never had that moment where I knew that I cared about the characters’ well-being or futures. It’s not that I don’t understand the underlying complexities within both stories, nor that I don’t appreciate the writing, but rather that I had a complete inability to connect with the characters.Ĭommonwealth started out promising but was never able to hook me.
In years past it has been The Book Thief, Fates and Furies, and The Luminaries, and this year it’s The Vegetarian by Han Kang and Commonwealth by Ann Patchett. Buy the book: Amazon/Audible (this post includes affiliate links)Įvery year there’s a bestselling novel that I can’t get onboard with.
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