What readers think of Commonwealth, plus links to write your own review.

It all began because of an illicit kiss.

Bert Cousins kissed Beverly Keating at a family christening party, and that set in motion two divorces, a marriage and a Brady Bunch of six kids who get tossed back and forth from the state of California to the commonwealth of Virginia and yet become what one of them later describes as "a fierce little tribe." Their lives are forever marked by a tragic event, and the role they believe they played in it.

The story continues over five decades, focusing especially on one of those six children--Franny. By the time she is in her 20s, she has dropped out of law school and is working as a cocktail waitress at the swanky Palmer House in Chicago when she meets Leon Posen, a renowned novelist who hasn't written anything in decades. Even though there is a 32-year age difference, they begin an affair, and Leon writes a stunningly successful novel about Franny's childhood and family. The book forces the now grown-up and somewhat estranged siblings and stepsiblings to come to terms with their volatile, but deeply connected, relationships.

Author Ann Patchett has written a powerful and compelling story about love and family, death and heartbreak. Highly recommended.