Peachy Reads

A chance encounter at a christening party radically redirects the destiny of two families for decades to come.  The dilemmas and issues that confront the two families are largely commonplace, but there is one defining event, the secret of which is painfully revealed in a very public way, that has repercussions that no one expected. The parts of this book, divided by the passage of time, serve almost as stand-alone short stories—the characters and situations are drawn so vividly and so expertly that it almost feels as if the reader has stepped into the scene and has become an active observer.   In Commonwealth Ann Patchett describes life as we know it, and yet, in her hands, the ordinary becomes extraordinary.

Ove is the self-appointed neighborhood overseer, making sure that residents and visitors follow the home owners association rules to the letter.  His daily routine includes checking to see that the recyclables have been sorted correctly, seeing that motor vehicles do not enter the residential area, and that bikes are properly stored in the bike shed.  He takes this role seriously, and it immediately becomes obvious that Ove is an insufferable curmudgeon.   After the recent death of his wife, he contemplates joining her by plotting to take his own life.  In a comedy of errors his attempts to do himself in are always foiled by a last-minute interruption that pulls him in closer to the circle of the living.  Bit by bit the neighborhood community embraces him, and he is no longer a loner, though he is just as grumpy.   The reader learns of Ove’s upbringing and his marriage via flashbacks, and these vignettes provide important glimpse...