Trying to pick the best Ann Patchett book is like trying to choose your favorite Taylor Swift song — there are way too many good ones, which makes ranking almost impossible.
Patchett consistently writes compelling fiction that immerses readers in the lives of characters who connect under dramatic circumstances and thought-provoking nonfiction that explores family, friendship, and navigating the unknown.
She also writes children’s books starring animals (no surprise coming from the owner of the beloved indie bookstore, Parnassus Books, that’s all about their adorable shop dogs).
I’m in awe of her ability to, again and again, wow readers with a good book that’s 100% transporting and grabs the attention of celebrity book clubs and wins over critics.
This guide to Patchett’s books lists her most popular and acclaimed novels, memoirs, and essays. If you’re like me and hate it when whatever Patchett book you’re reading ends, this list will make sure you’ve always got another good one lined up.
1. Tom Lake
Deservedly earning a spot on tons of best books of the year lists, Tom Lake solidifies Patchett’s reputation as one of the leading literary talents of the century. Patchett laces beauty and meaning into every strand of this dual-timeline story.
At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lara’s three adult daughters return to the family cherry farm to quarantine. Lara fills the long hours by sharing stories of her early adulthood, when she had a brief acting career and a whirlwind romance with a rising film star.
The iconic Meryl Streep narrates this ode to family, destiny, and life before parenthood.
I could just say this is narrated by Tom Hanks and leave it at that.
But there’s so much more to Patchett’s touching story about the beautiful relationship between a brother and sister. As the two siblings navigate the disintegration of their family and the loss of their beloved childhood home, the novel feels like both a modern fairy tale — there’s even a wicked stepmother — and a Victorian work of familial greed and the cruelty of circumstance.
Layered with Patchett’s signature wit and incisive descriptions, it swept best books of the year lists when it came out. It’s a perfect pick for book clubs. And did I mention it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize?
3. Bel Canto
This lyrical and layered novel is an astonishing study of human compassion. Wowing critics and audiences alike, it won prestigious awards (the Orange Prize and PEN/Faulkner Award) and was adapted into a popular movie starring Julianne Moore and Ken Watanabe.
When a gala for the international elite devolves into a long-term hostage situation, opera singer Roxane Coss is among the captives. Roxane’s talent proves the power of music, as her singing transcends language barriers and unites everyone involved, despite their vastly different backgrounds and experiences.
Patchett has long been beloved for her novels, but this collection of essays confirms she’s just as brilliant in nonfiction. (Reese Witherspoon picked it for her celebrity book club.) From musings on the art of writing to a second chance at love after a disastrous marriage to her first husband, her essays are at once deeply intimate and universally relatable.
I’m in a state of awe over Patchett’s ability to write novel after novel that lands on multiple best books of the year lists, including this captivating tale.
Pharmacologist Marina Singh is sent deep into the Amazon jungle searching for colleagues who disappeared while conducting top-secret research into an indigenous fertility drug. Her dangerous journey is equal parts Heart of Darkness, Margaret Mead, and big pharma greed — and 100% what you expect from Patchett: a spellbinding story readers won’t want to see end.
6. Commonwealth
The Nashville author’s humor shines in this family saga which explores how actions, big and small, bind us through the decades.
Author Roxane Gay said Commonwealth was the last great book she read before doing her “By the Book” column for The New York Times in 2017. “[Patchett] is one of my favorite writers, and I loved the ambitious, almost too ambitious, narrative structure of the novel and these little worlds she kept building and tearing down to move the story forward,” Gay said.
Patchett’s debut novel remains one of her most beloved and critically acclaimed works of fiction, telling the tale of Rose, a pregnant young woman who ends up at a home for unwed mothers in Kentucky. But Rose isn’t unwed: She’s running from a marriage and the fate of motherhood all at once.
This moving story of healing and redemption unfolds among the nuns at St. Elizabeth’s, with Patchett’s poetic prose carefully revealing each character’s journey, starting with Rose and ending with her daughter, Cecilia.
Patchett’s first nonfiction book, Truth & Beauty, is notable among the writer’s works for its moving depiction of her fierce, decades-long friendship with the late poet Lucy Grealy (Autobiography of a Face). From forging family out of friends, to holding on while someone you love slips away, this is a tough, tender tribute to the loving bond between the two women, both talented artists.
A famous writer once told Patchett that having children was a prerequisite to learning about love and being a great writer. Patchett does not have children, and in this defiant collection of personal essays, she expounds upon the many relationships that have made her life deeply fulfilling. (Also, I think this list of Patchett’s bangers proves that other famous writer wrong.)
Patchett shows herself to be a master word magician by conjuring yet another enchanting novel. When Sabine’s magician husband dies suddenly, she discovers his hocus-pocus wasn’t just on stage. Her life becomes a house of mirrors as his shocking secrets are revealed, including the reappearance of the family he tried to make disappear with his lies.
11. Run
Like the best Patchett books, Run immerses readers in the lives of characters who forge moving connections with strangers when they’re thrown together suddenly in surprising circumstances. On Boston’s snowiest night in decades, a tragic accident forces a widower and his three sons (two adopted) to confront mysteries and secrets that could unravel their family.
12. Taft
Tennessee is the location of the author’s cherished independent bookstore (Parnassus Books) as well as the setting for this tale of John Nickel, a jazz musician-turned-bar owner. When he becomes obsessed with piecing together a mysterious stranger’s cryptic past — a stranger connected to John’s employee and her mercurial brother — another uniquely captivating Patchett story is set in motion.
13. What Now?
One of the most common questions new graduates ask is “What now?” Hence the title of Patchett’s acclaimed 2009 commencement address at her alma mater, Sarah Lawrence College.
The author offers inspiration and solace for grads (and anyone at a crossroads, unsure of what lies ahead): “Sometimes not having any idea where we’re going works out better than we could possibly have imagined.”
14. Escape Goat
The G.O.A.T. of novels that transport readers to exotic circumstances turns her attention to a backyard barnyard in this children’s book. Her target audience for this story might literally be smaller in size, but her storytelling mastery and humor are not.
Patchett creates a sweetly humorous tale about an actual scapegoat that will delight kids and adults alike. Plus, she narrates the audiobook herself.
