“TOM LAKE,” BY ANN PATCHETT

If ever there was a novel that had me loving it and disliking it throughout, it is this novel. Which is kind of funny because Ann Patchett is one of my favorite writers and I have loved all of her books and, whereas I might be the only person who thinks so, I think her novel, “The Magician’s Assistant,” is a near perfect novel.

“Tom Lake,” literally takes place during the pandemic era…or in other words in the present. Lara, the mother of three daughters all in their twenties, and her husband Joe work and live on their beautiful farm in Michigan. The farm has been handed down for generations on Joe’s side of the family and because of the pandemic has seen all their workers leave and their three children come back to the farm to live and work.

It is during this time when all the girls are out picking cherries that their mother, Lara, tells them about the time she was an up and coming actress in Hollywood and during one summer which she did summer theater in a place called “Tom Lake.” A place where she acted in the play, “Our Town,” and at the same time carried on a romance with the male lead who later became a future Hollywood star named Duke.

Duke in many ways reminds me of a number of actors I had the pleasure to know. Duke is handsome, talented, ambitious, and if given the choice between taking his girlfriend, Lara, to the hospital after she breaks her Achilles’ ankle or going to rehearsals he naturally chooses rehearsals, doing the play that night, and then hooking up with Lara’s understudy in the play.

It is through the telling of her story, which dominates the novel, that we learn the contrasts that exist between her daughters’ (now) generation and Lara’s generation of the 1980’s. It is also a confirmation of marriage and love. Despite her failed romance with Duke, she nevertheless finds true love with her husband Joe and their three children and doesn’t regret ditching her aspiring and rising Hollywood career and possibly becoming as famous as Duke.

Ms. Patchett’s brilliance shines intermittently throughout the novel, especially at the very end where her narrative structure and analysis is so beautiful and life affirming that I was left somewhat dazzled.

If only Duke didn’t remind me … ??