Ann Patchett
Author
Publication Date
2019
Summary
At the end of the Second World War, Cyril Conroy combines luck and a single canny investment to begin an enormous real estate empire, propelling his family from poverty to enormous wealth. His first order of business is to buy the Dutch House, a lavish estate in the suburbs outside of Philadelphia. Meant as a surprise for his wife, the house sets in motion the undoing of everyone he loves. Cyril's son Danny and his older sister Maeve are exiled from...
Author
Series
Publication Date
2023
Appears on list
Summary
In the spring of 2020, Lara's three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything...
3) Commonwealth
Author
Publication Date
2016
Summary
"The acclaimed, bestselling author--winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Orange Prize--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...
5) Run
Author
Publication Date
2007
Summary
Struggling with single parenthood and a scandal that cost him his political career, Bernard Doyle fights his disappointment with his adopted sons' career choices before a violent event forces the members of his family to reconsider their priorities.
Author
Publication Date
2001
Lexile Measure
930L
Summary
First published in 2001, Bel Canto is possibly Ann Patchett's most beloved novel. Set in an unnamed South American country, at the home of the vice president, it is the story of a lavish birthday party honoring Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has enthralled the international guests with a mesmerizing performance. The evening is perfect--until a band of gun-wielding terrorists takes the entire...
Author
Publication Date
2026
Appears on these lists
Summary
The acclaimed, prize-winning #1 New York Times bestselling writer returns with a moving, luminous novel that reminds us of the sweetness and impermanence of life and the power of connection to defy time. When Daphne Fuller and her husband Jonathan visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, they notice an older, white-haired gentleman following them. The man turns out to be Eddie Triplett, her former stepfather, who had been married to her mother for a...
Author
Publication Date
1992
Summary
Rose, married for three years, decides she has made a mistake and leaves her husband, traveling from California to Kentucky to take up residence in a home for unwed mothers where she plans to have her baby and give it up for adoption, but she soon discovers life still holds some surprises.
10) Taft
Author
Publication Date
1994
Summary
The story of Fay Taft, a your white waitress, narrated by the black bar manager who gave her a job. The manager's feelings for her are paternal, but hers for him are sexual. What's more she has a brother who is a drug dealer and brings sleazy friends into the bar. By the author of The Patron Saint of Liars.
12) Lambslide
Author
Publication Date
2019
Lexile Measure
AD 540L
Summary
A flock of lambs mishears the word "landslide" as "lambslide" and begins a campaign to have one built for them on the farm.
Author
Publication Date
[2021]
Summary
"The beloved New York Times bestselling author reflects on home, family, friendships and writing in this deeply personal collection of essays"-- Provided by publisher.
""Any story that starts will also end." As a writer, Ann Patchett knows what the outcome of her fiction will be. Life, however, often takes turns we do not see coming. Patchett ponders this truth in these wise essays that afford a fresh and intimate look into her mind and heart. At...
15) What now?
Author
Publication Date
2008
Summary
An inspirational primer based on the author's 2006 commencement address at Sarah Lawrence College discusses how to manage life's crossroads, recounts times of struggle from her own life, and celebrates the benefits of not knowing what is to come.
Author
Publication Date
[2024]
Summary
Siblings Estie and Ivan Vert, one an extrovert, one an introvert, must learn what makes the other comfortable when Estie plans a big birthday party for Ivan without asking if it's what he wants, in this story about appreciating differences and being unapologetically yourself.
17) Escape goat
Author
Publication Date
2020
Summary
From the creators of Lambslide, comes a hilarious children's story about a scapegoat who escapes blame just in time. The Farmer family has a big problem! Every day their goat escapes, and every day, Mr. Farmer brings him back. So when things start to go awry on the farm, it must be the goat's fault. Who's to blame when Mrs. Farmer's petunias are trampled? Or when all the cupcakes for Archie's party disappear? And when the whole bucket of paint is...
Author
Publication Date
c2001
Lexile Measure
930L
Summary
Somewhere in South America, at the home of the country's vice president, a lavish birthday party is being held in honor of Mr. Hosokawa, a powerful Japanese businessman. Roxanne Coss, opera's most revered soprano, has mesmerized the international guests with her singing. It is a perfect evening -- until a band of gun-wielding terrorists breaks in through the air-conditioning vents and takes the entire party hostage. But what begins as a panicked,...
