Melissa ~ Bantering Books's Reviews > Tom Lake

Ann Patchett is so wise. About love, about family, and about pretty much everything life throws our way.

I decided she was my new best friend after I listened to the audiobooks of her two essay collections, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage and These Precious Days, the latter of which is a true masterwork. Her intelligence, empathy for others, and logical way of looking at life drew me to her, and I have such admiration for who she is and all that she’s accomplished.

Now that my fangirling is out of the way, I’ll move on to the book. Tom Lake, her latest … I loved it. But I didn’t know if I would, seeing as it’s a homage to Thornton Wilder’s Our Town, a play I’ve neither seen nor read. I should’ve known, though, that all I adore about Patchett would shine through the story, allowing me to not be bothered by my unfamiliarity with the play.

The novel consists of Lara telling her three grown daughters the story of the summer she starred in Our Town and dated the now-famous movie star, Peter Duke. Patchett switches between Lara’s story of that summer with what is happening in the present day, where it’s the spring of 2020, COVID has invaded the world, and all three daughters have returned to the family orchard in Northern Michigan to pick cherries.

At first the story felt a bit too mundane. My attention wandered, and I worried that my foray into Patchett’s fiction would be a disappointment. But the beauty of her prose never allowed me to set the novel aside, and before I knew it, I was so engrossed in Lara’s tale that I forgot all else while I read it. It’s just the kind of book it is – it sneaks up on you.

There are surprising revelations throughout the story, along with warm meditations on marriage and children and love in all its shapes and sizes. And also present is a subtle urging to enjoy life in the moment and appreciate what is yours. Tom Lake gives so much to the reader, and because of the ease in which Patchett’s words flow across the page, it asks for very little in return.


My sincerest appreciation to Ann Patchett, Harper, and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions included herein are my own.