ann patchett

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I honestly would have enjoyed just reading about what it’s like to be an opera singer

Bel Canto by Ann Patchett

June 13, 2021 by Mobius_Walker 2 Comments

A group of international businesspeople, government leaders, and ambassadors gather together in the house of the vice president of an unspecified South American country to celebrate the birthday of one Mr. Hosokawa, a Japanese businessman. The vice president and the businesspeople of the South American country are trying to impress Mr. Hosokawa and convince him to set up factories and invest in their county. Mr. Hosokawa is only there because he will get to hear Roxanne Coss, world renowned opera soprano, sing. Mr. Hosokawa is […]

The Ant and The Grasshopper Can Be Friends

Truth and Beauty by Ann Patchett

March 27, 2021 by AnnaCollier Leave a Comment

I was inspired to pick up Ann Patchett’s memoir Truth and Beauty: A Friendship after reading her essay These Precious Days, which was recently published in Harper’s magazine. The two works run in parallel, both telling the stories of Patchett’s friendship with someone whose life is arguably more interesting (and certainly more dramatic), who is sick, and who Patchett helps through that illness. Truth and Beauty follows the friendship between Patchett and the writer Lucy Grealy for nearly twenty years. They attend the same college […]

Once upon a time there was a house…

The Dutch House by Ann Patchett

November 17, 2020 by ElCicco Leave a Comment

The Dutch House is a novel that has a fairy tale vibe to it. The house is, of course, central to the story and it’s kind of like a castle — it has a history of its own and a presence in the community. The Dutch House is a sign of wealth and a connection to the main characters’ past. Author Ann Patchett also gives the reader an evil stepmother, a missing queen, and a father/king who seems caught up in his material wealth while […]

A Blended Family Drama Spanning Decades that Gets Bogged Down By It’s Numerous Characters

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

April 13, 2020 by Lisa Bee Leave a Comment

This novel ended up on my to-read list after being recommended by our library’s website after I finished Celeste Ng’s Everything I Never Told You. I really didn’t know what I was getting into though, to be honest, but I did assume that like Ng’s book, it would be some kind of personal family drama. That is certainly was, and this is a genre I usually quite like, but this time I find myself feeling a bit lukewarm about the whole endeavor. Commonwealth begins with […]

Steady state

State of Wonder by Ann Patchett

February 14, 2020 by octothorp Leave a Comment

I’m struggling to come up with much to say about this book. I really liked the ending and how Patchett took all the varying characters and plot threads and tied them together in a satisfying way, but the book seemed to take a very long time getting to where it was going. I’m half Brazilian, and have been back to the motherland several times, and this book was pretty much the equivalent of the plane ride there (I’m not one of those who hates air […]

Due mid-April 2020 a new celebrity offering

Escape Goat by Ann Patchett

January 17, 2020 by BlackRaven Leave a Comment

Escape Goat has the pun/metaphor of being a goat that is blamed for all the bad things that happen (they are the Escape Goat) and they are an actual goat that is always escaping their pen. Ann Prachett’s latest picture book is one that deals with the story of telling the truth. It is not overly subtle but also does not come out and say, “You are lying. Tell the truth!” as the characters are being beaten over the head. Yet, it is said that […]

Ellesfena on That Didn’t Really Happen.Yeah, before I finished volume 9 I fully intended to reread the whole series before volume 10 came out. Now I’m not sure I can....
narfna on “Wouldn’t it be dreadful if some day in our own world, at home, men start going wild inside, like the animals here, and still look like men, so that you’d never know which were which.”Voyage of the Dawn Treader is the one I think I might like more now especially. It was way too existential for me as a...
faintingviolet on That Didn’t Really Happen.I'm ALSO not over it (only 2 and a half years for me) and was hit with a tidal wave of not okay-ness earlier this...
Ellesfena on “Wouldn’t it be dreadful if some day in our own world, at home, men start going wild inside, like the animals here, and still look like men, so that you’d never know which were which.”This was always my second favorite as a kid (Voyage of the Dawn Treader was my fave), but I reread this a few years back...
LittlePlat on Penric and Desdemona, name a more iconic duoI loved this. A real proper, novel sized adventure for the two of them was exactly what I needed

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