My second Ann Patchett book (after Patron Saint of Liars), and probably not my last. With a large cast of characters, many jumps in time, and two main locations, this book was both challenging and somehow easy. It flowed in a way that felt true to life, with long, detailed scenes and not many "writerly" manipulations like breaks and cliffhangers. I felt like I lived with the characters, and I'm still thinking about them. The length of time made all the characters seem human and relatable, even those with terrible flaws and who made terrible choices. This will be an interesting book club discussion. 
 Incidentally, I really love the cover of this book: simple, graphic, memorable, ties to one of the key scenes literally, and metaphorically could represent a lot (family trees, the number 3, apple/orange falling far from the tree, etc etc). I half expect the paperback to come out with the typical fuzzy photo of a woman in a summer dress from the back, which wouldn't be fair to this book at all. 
 Favorite quotes: 
 "Bad habits were all a matter of perspective, and as long as the present was viewed through the lens of the past, anyone would say he was doing a spectacular job." 
 "All the stories go with you, Franny thought, closing her eyes. All the things I didn't listen to, won't remember, never got right, wasn't around for." 
 "She believed that most of the human population didn't avail themselves to their full psychic potential. They lived in a state of mental clutter, the bombardment of goods and services, information and striving. They wouldn't be able to recognize true happiness if it were standing on their foot." 
 "This was the pleasure of a long life: the way some things worked themselves out. Caroline and her mother had become very close."