Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (Bibliolifestyle Book Tour)

 

Thank you, Partner @bibliolifestyle @harperperennial for the review copy of Tom Lake by Ann Patchett.

Do you have a special place you like to visit that makes you happy?  My Great Grandma’s house was my happy place growing up.

In the spring of 2020, the Lara and Joe Nelson’s three daughters have returned to their northern Michigan cherry farm to help at the orchard during the pandemic.  While there, they want the story from their mother of her romance with movie star Peter Duke.  How did it happen and how did she end up with their father Joe living in a cherry orchard?

My thoughts on this novel:

·       Tom Lake was a beautifully written novel that was a story that was meant to be read slowly and savored.

·       I loved how the past and present intertwined in the story.

·       I grew up in Michigan and I loved all the Michigan details.  

·       Thornton Wilder’s play, Our Town, was prominently featured in the story with Lara playing the role of Emily at two key points in her life.  It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the play performed and this made me want to see this play again.

·       I thought it was interesting how the girls learn about their mother and how she had an entire life before them.  The choices that she made led them all to the point of life they are all at in 2020.

·       I wanted to read an Ann Patchett book for awhile now, but this is the first book I’ve read by this author.  It was excellent and it won’t be my last.

·       I loved the family life of Lara, Joe, and the girls on the farm, but I also liked the story of young Lara getting discovered as an actress and becoming a star for a short period of her life.  I enjoyed her life as a stock actor on a summer production of Our Town in northern Michigan. 

·       The characters were all vividly drawn and unforgettable.

·       This was a quiet novel, but it was interesting how there were little snippets or surprises that changed the direction of the story. Some of these were items that Lara kept back from her daughters.

Overall, Tom Lake by Ann Patchett was a wonderfully written novel with great characters and setting.