Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

 While I was at the St. George library hunting down Dutch House, I grabbed this one as well. It was similar to Dutch House in that it had great, unpredictable characters and great dialogue. It was also a shade depressing because of the difficult and selfish parents who divorced to marry each other. The fallout from that impacted everyone involved, and not for the better.

This story also had a somewhat of a mystery involved. One of the siblings died, and we only learn in pieces along the way how exactly it happened. There was lots of jumping between time frames as we follow the siblings to maturity, but I was able to follow it just fine. I really enjoyed and admired the tenacity of the main character, Franny, especially her relationship with the famous author. And the story of how that went bad was almost funny; no, it was funny. Pathetic, really, but she ended up with a much better prize. I enjoy stories where people are real and when their goodness is eventually rewarded. 

I also liked Franny;s father, Fix, who was loyal and kept his sense of humor. It was satisfying to see him enjoy his daughters at the end of his life, despite his cancer and pain. The selfish parents, who caused the breakup didn't fare so well... And that seems fitting!

Patchett's dialogue is fun to read, although this book's dialogues didn't have as much clever repartee as the Dutch House did.. On the other hand, this story was a little less dark. I'll take a break from Patchett now, and return to others of hers later, I think!

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

 I first heard about this book from June Apaza, but when I read the reviews on Amazon, it sounded kind of dark. Then at our Ridgeview Ward book club, Geri Aldrich mentioned she loved this book. I was between authors, and enough time had passed that it was now in the library downtown, so I decided to give it a try.

I am so glad I did! It is somewhat dark, because the parents in this family saga are so difficult, cruel, and even negligent. What glows, though, is the story of the two siblings, Danny and Maeve, and the way they navigate their difficult family situation. Maeve is so unselfish; Danny doesn't even realize it until he's older; he's a typical teenager, although much better than most! I really enjoyed their conversations; filled with love and humor. Patchett is brilliant at writing captivating conversations with interesting characters. 

The return of their runaway mother is interesting to read about. What makes it interesting is Danny's battle to forgive and welcome her. Patchett plays this out so realistically and beautifully. It was a fascinating and satisfying story with llots of twists and turns. 

The Book of Lost Names by Kristen Harmel

 The Ridgeview Ward's book club, Patti, in particular, chose this book, so I ordered it. I had high hopes after the first few interesting pages, and generally got into it and enjoyed it until I realized the characters were not going to develop, Eva was going to be tearful and cry through the whole book, and the romantic interest was going to be rather trite. Oh well. I hope I can be diplomatic tonight when we discuss it at our little meeting. I like interesting characters who develop and have nuance and shades of good and bad. These poor characters were flat, flat, flat, and Eva was plagued with guilt, and her mother was always negative and awful...it just got redundant.

The interesting part for me was the plot around the forgeries of papers for Jews and others seeking to escape Nazi Germany. They used a book, and put symbols above the letters on each succeeding page in a Fibonacci sequence so they could never be traced. Eva didn't want the names to be lost. It was also cool how her great lover, Remy, survived the war and how they were reunited years later. That was sweet. Otherwise...ho hum. I'm kind of over the World War II Nazi era....

As Jewish Eva became acquainted with the Catholic priest and other thorny issues, it could have been an interesting look into the kind of thinking and learning that goes on as one examines their religious beliefs. This was only done in the most superficial manner. I won't be bothering with this author's other books, although this one wasn't bad...just not that great, and not worth pursuing others...

Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve

 I picked this up at D.I, because it looked interesting. I almost put it down because it was a little weirdly sensual and told through the thinking and eyes of fifteen-year-old Olympia. It didn't feel healthy! And yet, I remember being unreasonable and weird at fifteen, and could relate to a LOT of what she thought and felt. When she started acting on her feelings, and awakened the passion of a man much older than she, I thought this isn't going to turn out well! It was fascinating to read how little honor this man, who should have known better, gave in! I continued to read to find out if it was going to be a cautionary tale or a story to encourage people to follow their passions.

Actually, it turned out to be a rather balanced rendition of what could happen in a situation like this, showing both the pain and the thrill of following the "natural man." The character most interesting to me was Olympia's father, and how he came to change over time, to support the daughter who so cruelly disappointed him. He, over the years, softened and forgave her. And she forgave him, it seems. It's really a story of understanding the pain you're going to inflict and going for it anyway. Both Olympia and Haskell turned out to be incredibly selfish, and yet also showed some incredible self-less ness. Not a simple story with a simple resolve, and one that has a lot of food for thought.

As for me and my house...I vote for honoring your covenants. Haskell's wife and children were irreparably hurt; for their sake alone, the honorable impulses should have prevailed! And isn't it far better to generate and find that passion in your mate? And when you're fifteen, isn't it better to bridle that passion until you understand the consequences better? Olympia never did seem to regret her choice, and that was interesting. Could one be so incredibly selfish??? Is that "grand passion" really so powerful and does it need to be answered? Or is it just a trick to trip up the vulnerable...