Book Club Questions: Commonwealth by Ann Patchett (+ PDF Download)

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If you are looking for a book that will give you a lot to discuss at your next book club, I highly recommend Commonwealth by Ann Patchett. Below are more than 25 book club questions to support the conversation.

Why Choose Commonwealth for Your Next Book Club Read?

I did not go into Commonwealth with a book club in mind, but as I kept reading, I couldn’t help thinking there was so much I wished I had someone to discuss it with.

I think there are a few elements that make this book such a great book club pick. First, it is very sweeping. It’s not super long (just over 300 pages), but it manages to cover 50 years of a blended family starting in the 1970s. Second, the characters live in a stressful arrangement, and they make decisions that lead to several unintended consequences that I think will give a book club A LOT to discuss.

Commonwealth follows a blended family from birth to adulthood, but one thing that makes this blended family unique is that all parties live in California when the book opens, but one couple decides to move to Virginia. This sets up interesting and challenging situations for both the parents and, especially, the children.

Read my full review of Commonwealth here.

Commonwealth Book Club Discussion Questions

IMPORTANT NOTE: These book club discussion questions assume you have read the book, and therefore, they DO INCLUDE SPOILERS. Proceed with caution.

General Questions

1. Summarize the book in one sentence.
2. Do you think the title fits the book?
3. Did you like the book? Why or why not? How would you rate it?
4. Would you recommend this book to someone else? Why or why not? What kind of person do you think would enjoy this book?
5. What are the themes of this book?
6. What is the message of this book? Or is there one?
7. Do you think the book contains any cautionary tales? If yes, what do you think it is?

Structure, Format & Themes

1. Did you like how the story went back and forth in time? What about this format worked? What about this format didn’t work?
2. Did you like the format of the book how it spent time featuring each of the siblings and parents? Why or why not?
3. What’s a character you wanted to see more of?

The Parents

1. Who was your favorite parent, and who was your favorite child? And why?
2. Who was the best parent in the story? (Doesn’t have to be your favorite. Just who do you think had the best parenting skills?)
3. Who do you think was the worst parent in the story?
4. Do you think Bert and Teresa would have stayed married if Bert had never met Beverly?
5. What about Fix and Beverly?
6. Do you think Teresa and Fix should have moved to Virginia? Why or why not? How do you think that would have changed the story?
7. Are you surprised none of the parents had any more children? Why or why not?

The Children

1. Which child was the most adjusted as an adult, and which one was the least adjusted?
2. When Albie first reads the fictional Commonwealth (by Leon Posen), before he realizes it’s about his family, he says that it’s a story about the parents trying to get away from their children. Do you think the actual Commonwealth (by Ann Patchett) is about the same thing?
3. Who do you hold responsible for Cal’s death?
4. Do you think Cal would have died if the parents had been more present?
5. Do you think the same thing could have happened to him while he was under Teresa’s care?
6. Were you surprised Franny and Leon never got married? (The situation with Leon’s wife made this difficult, but why didn’t Leon fight it?)
7. Were you surprised Franny and Kumar ended up together? Why or why not?
8. If Leon had never entered the picture, do you think Franny and Kumar would have ended up together anyway?
9. Compare and contrast the Keating children (Caroline and Franny) to the Cousins (Cal, Holly, Jeanette, and Albie). Which set of kids had it harder? Which set of kids had it easier?
10. Did Franny do the right thing by letting Leon use her family’s story as the basis for his book Commonwealth? Why or why not?
11. This book starts in the 1970s, when Family Law worked very differently than it does today. If you have any familiarity with how the family court system works today, how do you think this story might have been different?