‘I’ll Be Recommending This to Everyone’: 5 Family Saga Books Ann Patchett Raves About

Ann Patchett knows a good family drama when she reads one. The bestselling author has built her own career on unforgettable sagas—sibling rivalries, complicated homecomings, secrets that come undone—so when she recommends a book in the genre, readers pay attention. Over the years, Patchett has quietly built a running list of family saga favorites, offering glowing recommendations for novels that explore everything from menopause and motherhood to immigrant families and faith. Here are five books that earned her seal of approval.

‘Sandwich’ by Catherine Newman

In this novel by bestselling author Catherine Newman, 54-year-old Rocky finds herself caught in a painful middle ground: She’s no longer needed by her adult children for their day-to-day concerns, yet she’s constantly worried about her aging parents, all while navigating the unpredictable symptoms of menopause. When Rocky and her husband Nick embark on their annual beach vacation in Cape Cod with their kids Jamie and Willa, plus Jamie’s girlfriend, she finds herself flooded with memories—both joyful and heartbreaking—from a lifetime of unforgettable family summers.

What Ann says: “Sandwich is joy in book form. I laughed continuously, except for the parts that made me cry. Catherine Newman does a miraculous job reminding us of all the wonder there is to be found in life.” 

What readers are saying: “Catherine Newman has incredibly captured the rawness of family in every stage. The writing is incredible—descriptive, an easy cadence that ebbs and flows with the story. It’s as if you’ve sat at the feet of the storyteller and you are engulfed in their sharing. I long for a summer in a musty old house with my aging cat and my whole family piled up at the Cape. Newman took us there and I’m ready to go back.” 

Entertainment

Love Ann Patchett? These 8 New Books Have The Same Vibe

If you’ve been searching for books that deliver the same emotional depth, complex family dynamics and heartfelt storytelling Ann Patchett is known for, you’re in luck. We’ve found the eight best new family saga novels that capture that exact same vibe. From sibling rivalries to marriages in crisis, these compelling recently published reads are perfect […]

‘Good People’ by Patmeena Sabit

Suspenseful and filled with secrets, this debut novel is one wild ride. On the outside, the Sharaf family seems to be the perfect example of the American dream. Once refugees with nothing, they’ve built a life of wealth and status—and their brilliant daughter, Zorah, is the pride of the family. But when the unthinkable happens, the Sharafs’ carefully built world shatters, and soon their neighbors begin to wonder what life is really like for the family behind closed doors. 

What Ann says: “Good People is a thrilling tour de force of a novel. I’ll be recommending this book to everyone.” 

What readers are saying: “Good People is a quick read about many things. It’s a mystery, it’s about racism, it’s about being tried in the media and it’s about family. The book will stay with you for a long time.”  

‘This Time Tomorrow’ by Emma Straub

Bestselling author Emma Straub’s imaginative novel is about a family of two. It begins when Alice wakes up on what should be her 40th birthday and finds herself transported back to 1996 and reliving her 16th birthday. Suddenly, her father isn’t the ailing man she’s been caring for, but the vibrant, healthy 40-something from her childhood. Armed with decades of knowledge about what’s to come, Alice faces an impossible question: If she could change the past, should she?

What Ann says: “If I could time travel, I’d go back just far enough to start Emma Straub’s beautiful novel This Time Tomorrow again for the first time. The pages brim with tenderness and an appreciation for what we had and who we were. I could not have loved it more.” 

What readers are saying: “This novel features time travel from the present to a specific time in the past, but is really a love story. The special love between a father and daughter, and how it transcends time. I loved it because it took me back to places of love and loss where we all have been. Filled with great characters and interesting settings, this was a compelling read.” 

Entertainment

5 Books to Read if You Loved Ann Patchett's 'Whistler'

If you’re anything like us, then you probably devoured Ann Patchett’s newest novel Whistler. In the book, 53-year-old Daphne Fuller spots a familiar face in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It’s Eddie Triplett—her former stepfather. They haven’t laid eyes on each other in more than four decades, but as they begin to reconnect, Daphne and […]

‘Mothers and Sons’ by Adam Haslett

Readers who love stories filled with drama and second chances will devour this book. Asylum lawyer Peter spends his days isolated and alone with only his work to comfort him. But when his newest case forces him to remember difficult parts of his past, things change. Elsewhere, his estranged mother, Ann, runs a women’s retreat center and often thinks about her son. As time goes on, the two are forced to confront the secrets they’ve kept from themselves and each other, all in the hopes of seeing each other again. 

What Ann says: “Both moving and deeply compelling, a story about the search for your own humanity, and the lengths we will go to maintain it. Adam Haslett is one of our very best writers.” 

What readers are saying: “It’s been a while since I’ve been this moved by a novel. Adam Haslett’s prose was beautiful. He touched upon so many important topics: queer identity, familial relations, trauma, violence, immigration and ultimately, learning to face and accept your past.” 

‘Revival Season’ by Monica West

Every summer, 15-year-old Miriam Horton and her family travel across small Southern towns and hold faith-healing services for people desperate to be cured of ailments and disease. But this time, a service—which they call “a revival” —goes wrong, and a violent moment causes Miriam to question her father and her faith. These doubts are further heightened when they return home and Miriam is forced to decide if she trusts her faith and family, or if she’s better off alone.

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What Ann says: “Tender and wise, Revival Season explores a girl’s faith in both her family and in God. Monica West’s formidable talent is matched by her generosity of spirit, making the most winning combination a reader could wish for.” 

What readers are saying: “I wanted to recommend this wonderful debut novel, Revival Season, by Monica West. It is a coming-of-age novel about the teenage daughter of a Black Southern Baptist evangelical minister & faith-healer and her spiritual & feminist awakening as a result of the traumatic events she is forced to endure as a member of this particular family and the evangelical community at large. Run and buy this book because I could not put it down!” 

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