Tom Lake by Ann Patchett ★★★★★ and ❤

[John]

I fell in love with Ann Patchett's writing when I read Bel Canto and I have read almost every book since. Her current book doesn't disappoint. It was as refreshing as the first warming breeze after a cold winter. It was as comfortable as sitting with a book by a babbling brook. Although this book was enjoyable in print form, it truly came to life as an audiobook narrated by Meryl Streep. After two actors, Tom Hanks and Meryl Streep, have read her last two books, I wonder who Ann Patchett will entice to read her next book.

Tom Lake is a quiet and serene book which goes down as sweet and smooth as honey. It is a story about a mother who tells the story of one summer as an aspiring actress to her three adult girls, who have returned to the family's cherry farm in Michigan to assist with the harvest and to escape the 2020 pandemic. The story alternates seamlessly between two time periods. The three daughters, Emily, Maisie, and Nell, are eager to hear the story of their mother's early romance with Peter Duke, before he became a famous Hollywood actor. Both had roles in Thornton Wilder's Our Town in summer stock at the fictional Tom Lake. Other characters who have an appearance during this summer which are well-fleshed out by the author are Pallas, Lara's friend and understudy as well as a dancer in the concurrent production that summer, Cabaret, and Duke's older brother, Sebastian, who hoped to be a professional tennis player.

The book is nuanced as it answers the following questions: How did Lara, an aspiring actress, become the girl's mother assisting her husband, Joe, on his family's cherry farm? Did Lara ever regret her life? How did she meet her husband and what happened to Duke, as well as Pallas and Sebastian? I would encourage you pick up a copy this book and discover the answers yourself. You won't regret doing so.

[Jgrace]

I'm so glad you enjoyed it. this book tops the charts for me.

[Joy D]

I loved this one, too!