First Impression Friday- Commonwealth

Hey ya’ll! I am coming at ya with a brand new “weekly” meme thanks to my friend Joe over @ Storeys of Stories! I really liked this idea because it is less commitment on my part (I don’t have to do it EVERY week, only when I start a new book).

Straight from the horse’s mouth (if you will):

First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther.  Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.  Did you think you’d love it and ended up hating it? Or did you think you’d hate it and wound up loving it? Or were you exactly right? I think what will really make this meme a lot of fun, is linking back to it from your review to say, “Look at how wrong I was!” OR “See? I knew it all along!”

This week I started:

Commonwealth by Ann Patchett

Goodreads

Again, at this point in the week, I am just a little less than half way through this book. I happen to have the paperback copy of this, with deckle edges (are we familiar with this term?- because I had to look it up) and my goodness it is so satisfying to both pick up and flip through. I will say that I honestly did not think I would push through this book. The first chapter is fine enough BUT the author jumps around time periods and characters so it gets a bit hard for my simple mind to follow. Unfortunately I did NOT take notes when I started this book, so I do have to flip back a forth a little to refresh my memory. However, now I am invested. I need to know how the author ends this type of book. I really dislike the parents so far, aside from Fix, whom I have a little more patience for. Both Bert and Beverly, I feel, are selfish, and kind of irritate me. Based on the writing and the format of the story, I predict 3 out of 5 stars at the end of this.

Commonwealth is an intricately woven story of two families whose lives have been splintered and haphazardly tied back together. It explores the relationships between family members and now that I am actually reading the description (because I try not to do that anymore) forces the two families to come to terms with what they have been through.

If you would like to participate in this meme, please make sure to link back to Joe, since he is the creator :]