Since 1992, Ann Patchett has given us strange, compelling novels that throw together disparate people who strain against and long for and accidentally form ersatz families. Her latest offering, Commonwealth, is one of this year's best reads.
Late one night, the manager of a Belfast hotel receives an unexpected visit from the IRA. They’ve come, guns drawn, with an ultimatum: if Michael Dillon doesn’t smuggle a bomb into the hotel parking lot the next day—an act that will kill and maim dozens—the IRA will murder his wife.