Summary of Commonwealth: by Ann Patchett | Includes Analysis

By . IRB Media

Summary of Commonwealth by Ann Patchett | Includes Analysis

Preview:

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett is a story of two families that unfolds over the course of 50 years. At the center of the novel is a traumatic loss that profoundly affects each family member in a different way.

The novel opens on a summer day in the quiet Los Angeles suburb of Downey. LA cop Francis “Fix” Keating and his wife, Beverly, are hosting a christening party for their infant daughter, Franny. When Bert Cousins, Fix’s acquaintance from the district attorney’s office, shows up uninvited with a bottle of gin, the two men’s lives become forever intertwined.

By the end of the party, everyone’s a little drunk from the gin Bert brought. Fix asks Bert to find Franny, and Bert wanders around until he finds the baby in a bedroom with Beverly. Bert offers to take Franny and leans in toward Beverly, and they kiss….

PLEASE NOTE: This is summary and analysis of the book and NOT the original book.

Inside this Instaread Summary of Commonwealth by Ann Patchett | Includes Analysis

• Summary of the Book

• Important People

• Character Analysis

• Analysis of the Themes and Author’s Style

About the Author

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• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Oct 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781683785217

. IRB Media

With Instaread, you can get the key takeaways, summary and analysis of a book in 15 minutes. We read every chapter, identify the key takeaways and analyze them for your convenience.

Book preview

Summary

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett is a story of two families that unfolds over the course of 50 years. At the center of the novel is a traumatic loss that profoundly affects each family member in a different way.

The novel opens on a summer day in the quiet Los Angeles suburb of Downey. LA cop Francis Fix Keating and his wife, Beverly, are hosting a christening party for their infant daughter, Franny. When Bert Cousins, Fix’s acquaintance from the district attorney’s office, shows up uninvited with a bottle of gin, the two men’s lives become forever intertwined.

By the end of the party, everyone’s a little drunk from the gin Bert brought. Fix asks Bert to find Franny, and Bert wanders around until he finds the baby in a bedroom with Beverly. Bert offers to take Franny and leans in toward Beverly, and they kiss.

After the kiss, Bert and Beverly start an affair. Bert leaves his wife, Teresa, and Beverly leaves Fix. Bert and Beverly get in a car and drive to Arlington, Virginia, where Bert’s wealthy family lives, and where they get married. Even though her family is in Virginia too, Teresa insists on staying in Torrance, near LA, and it’s decided that their four children—Cal, Holly, Jeanette, and Albie—will spend summers in Virginia with Bert and Beverly.

Fix and Beverly’s two daughters, Caroline and Franny, live in Virginia and travel west each year for only two weeks, one of which they spend with Fix and the other with