Patchett is a great writer and this latest book is a wonderful story of what appears to be entirely dysfunctional families. A blended family with step-children united in their dislike of their parents, and each other, is described wonderfully. Then over 5 decades, relationships change and evolve. A favourite sentence that encapsulates how relationships change: “She had loved Bert Cousins, and then grown used to him, then was disappointed in him and then later, after he left her, with five small children, she had hated him with the full force of her life”. Wow.
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What David Read 
I loved this book. The beautiful Beverly, the deeply flawed Bert Cousins, the decent Fix, and the bitter Theresa. They all had an effect on their children who grew up into pretty decent adults (except for Cal of course) almost in spite of the way they were shuffled back and forth. Franny’s Relationship with Leo Posen results in a book about their lives which infuriates them, but helps them to gain perspective on what happened to all of them. This is a beautifully written book.
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