Commonwealth is the 7th novel by award winning writer Ann Patchett. One Sunday afternoon in the early 60's in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up uninvited at Franny Keating's christening party. 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 as tragedy strikes and life unfolds.
