01783cam a2200241 4500 275891335 TxAuBib 20161012120000.0 161012s2016||||||||||||||||||||||||und|u 9780062566874 0062566873 TxAuBib Patchett, Ann. Commonwealth : LP, (pbk.). Harper Luxe, 2016. Commonwealth tells the enthralling story of how an unexpected romantic encounter irrevocably changes two families lives. One Sunday afternoon in Southern California, Bert Cousins shows up at Franny Keating s christening party uninvited. 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. Spending summers together in Virginia, the Keating and Cousins children forge a lasting bond that is based on a shared disillusionment with their parents and the strange and genuine affection that grows up between them. When, in her twenties, Franny begins an affair with the legendary author Leon Posen and tells him about her family, the story of her siblings is no longer hers to control. Their childhood becomes the basis for his wildly successful book, ultimately forcing them to come to terms with their losses, their guilt, and the deeply loyal connection they feel for one another. 20161012. Large-type books. Family secrets. Families. Man-woman relationships. Domestic fiction.