Tom Lake – by Ann Patchett – independent book review – Fiction

TOM LAKE is a story about family — both the one that is an accident of birth and the one that comes together by choice, whenever one person forms a lasting connection to another. And it’s an exploration of the different kinds of love that we humans experience over the span of our lives. I gave this one three stars on Goodreads but 3.5 is more accurate, which still makes me a bit of an outlier in reviewing this best-selling novel.

Ann Patchett builds her story around protagonist Lara Kenison, in two different time periods, alternating passages between the two:

• First, there is the 20-ish Lara who, on a whim, tries out for a college production of Thornton Wilder‘s (1897-1975) OUR TOWN and is surprisingly cast in a lead role. Then, based on her formidable acting ability, she is quickly cast in a movie and winds up performing with a Summer Stock troupe in rural Michigan (adjacent to Tom Lake). Here Lara gets absorbed in the hectic world of juggling multiple roles while navigating a new relationship with fellow actor Peter Duke, a charismatic Robert Redford type.

• In the second time period, it’s 2020 and Lara is now in her 50s, married to a cherry farmer, and the mother of three daughters in their 20s. The daughters are sheltering with their parents during the pandemic. As the family works together harvesting the cherry crop, the daughters press their Mom wanting to hear stories of her acting career, and most particularly, they want details of her involvement with the now famous movie star Peter Duke.

For me, Ann Patchett’s great writing strength is creating rich, three-dimensional characters, whose relationships with one another feel completely real. Each daughter has a distinct personality. Lara’s relationship with each child AND with her husband is unique but believable. And the ways in which the daughters both WANT to know about their mother’s past and DON’T WANT to know rings true. The same is true for the Peter Duke and the characters sharing the Summer Stock experience with Lara.

So, why give it only 3- 3.5 stars? Because I did not find myself eager to return to the story. It was fine, but not compelling. As Patchett references in an Afterword, for her, Thornton Wilder’s play is a pivotal work, as is Anton Chekhov‘s (1860- 1904) THE CHERRY ORCHARD. Both of them are threaded throughout the novel. Perhaps, as someone not that familiar with either, I may have failed to recognize some of Patchett’s more sophisticated artistry. I just know I have enjoyed other novels by this author more, was glad to finish this one, and happy to move on.

More about the author, Ann Patchett.

You may be interested in my review of other novels by Ann Patchett:

STATE OF WONDER

THE DUTCH HOUSE

THIS IS THE STORY OF A HAPPY MARRIAGE