COMMONWEALTH
Ann Patchett
Bloomsbury/Allen & Unwin
By PATRICIA THWAITES
Ann Patchett is a writer who can make the ordinary seem extraordinary. She writes about life as it's lived in a way that is recognisable enough for her readers to feel part of each scene. The problem with this sort of writing for anyone used to a plot-driven novel could be boredom; where is this story going?
It's also tempting to think, all this detail, what's the point? Then, as you follow the characters chapter by chapter, you do get the point, and realise the author's plot and intention have been meticulously planned to make every word count.
Read her carefully, and you find yourself grinning with recognition as she injects twists of humour into what has seemed like a very long descriptive piece. Hidden among the fun, too, is darkness and pain.
The book's beginning is illustrative of her style. On the surface, it's a humorous, perceptive and detailed account of a christening party, but it's much more than this, deftly setting the scene for what's to come, showing how odd twists of fate can have cruel long-term effects.
The far-reaching effects of a love affair begun by a chance meeting at the party have some devastating consequences for the four adults and six children involved. The two families' lives are intermingled for several decades, beginning in the 1960s, when the children are ferried back and forth between California and Virginia, unwilling pawns to their parents' folly. Patchett doesn't follow their lives sequentially, but that adds to the book's charm, with character revelations in each section.
I didn't initially engage with the book and its characters, but the more I read, the more I wanted to read, until I was swept along in their lives. This book is a clever example of why good works of fiction are so important. The intimacy of the narration provides evidence of how universal human needs and emotions can be.
Patricia Thwaites is a retired Dunedin schoolteacher.
Win a copy
The ODT has five copies of Commonwealth, by Ann Patchett, to give away courtesy of Bloomsbury and Allen & Unwin. For your chance to win a copy, email helen.speirs@odt.co.nz with your name and postal address in the body of the email, and ‘‘Commonwealth Book Competition’’ in the subject line, by 5pm on Tuesday, October 11.
LAST WEEK’S WINNERS
Winners of last week’s giveaway, Lara: The Untold Love Story That Inspired Doctor Zhivago, by Anna Pasternak, courtesy of HarperCollins, were: Bronwyn Hegarty, of Waitati, Gail Arthur, of Waldronville, and Chris Adams, M.H. Tripp and Lynne Ryder, all of Dunedin.
