[Steeplechase and BWF] Tom Lake by Ann Patchett - 4 stars

[Jen K]

It is spring 2020 and the three Nelson daughters have their early adulthood interrupted by isolation of Covid. They return to the family cherry orchard for family and to help on the orchard with so many of the migrant workers unavailable. To pass the time, they ask their mother to tell her story of becoming an actress, Hollywood and most importantly her summer romance with a beautiful boy who became a huge celebrity. The story winds back and forth between the present storytelling with mother daughter relationships and sisterhood on the orchard and the story of Lara, the mother, and how she came to be on the orchard. It is a coming of age story for Lara but also her daughters a bit as they make sense of the story and the world. It is one of first loves and independence as well as the theater life.

I enjoyed the storytelling aspect especially as narrated by Meryl Streep. She is hard to turn off. While not a lot happened, I loved the thoughtfulness of the story as Lara reflected on herself trying to figure out the world and herself as well as the lovely relationships with her family and the Duke boys. It must take a good understanding of oneself to walk away from acting after starring in a hit movie. I quite enjoyed this latest from Patchett.

Steeplechase: Slice of Live x 8; 5 stars x 115
BWF Tenacious Trailblazers: Letter T