Book Review: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Rating: 4.5⭐

Set in Spring 2020 amid the COVID-19 lockdown, Tom Lake by Ann Patchett revolves around former actress Lara Kenison who lives and works with her husband Joe Nelson in their family cherry orchard in Michigan. The pandemic has brought her whole family together as they shelter in place and help in the day-to-day operations of the orchard, making up for the shortfall in seasonal staff. Emily, the oldest of her three daughters, all of whom are in their twenties, is the only one who plans to take up running the farm in the future. Lara’s youngest daughter, Nell, aspires to become an actress, and her middle daughter Maisie is studying to become a veterinarian.

Her daughters press their mother for details of her short-lived romance with famous actor Peter Duke when she was in her twenties, while they were both part of the summer theater production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town in Tom Lake, Michigan. Peter wasn’t a famous actor back then and though their romance was short-lived, Lara’s experiences in Tom Lake played a significant role in the trajectory of her life.

The narrative follows Lara as she shares significant episodes from her past, her brief career as an actress – her childhood and foray into acting in Community Theater and the years that followed. The narrative is shared from Lara’s first-person perspective and we are privy to her innermost thoughts - her personal reflections on the important people, the significant events and the difficult choices that shaped her life- as she deliberates over what and how much to share with her family and the memories that she holds close to her heart. Their reactions to their mother’s revelations range from awe to humor to indignation on her behalf, enabling them to see and understand their mother as the young women she once was, not too different from themselves. Lara’s stories are spaced between present-day events, her family life on the family orchard with her husband and her interactions with her daughters wherein we get to know more about their dreams and aspirations, motivated to share significant memories and confidences inspired by their mother’s stories. This is a character-driven, quiet and relatively slower-paced novel with well-thought-out characters. Ann Patchett’s writing is beautiful and past and present timelines are woven seamlessly into a cohesive narrative that revolves around themes of family, love, ambition, choices, motherhood and mental health. The writing is sparse with minimal melodrama yet emotionally impactful with an ending that brings all the threads of the story together in the most satisfying way. I enjoyed every moment of this beautiful story.

I won a copy of Tom Lake in a Goodreads Giveaway. Many thanks to the author and publisher for the gifted copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Please note: The play Our Town is of great significance in both Lara’s short-lived career as an actress and her life, in general. Though it isn’t necessary to have read Our Town by Thornton Wilder to enjoy Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake, I feel having prior knowledge of the story would contribute to a rich reading experience and a greater appreciation of this novel.