Cover Image: Tom Lake

Tom Lake

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Member Reviews

So I have to admit that this is my first Ann Patchett novel. What a beautifully written and deftly woven tapestry of a story. I couldn’t help but empathize with Lara’s 1st person narrative as she relays the story of her life before motherhood to her three daughters and how she navigated love and loss.


While I haven’t been to Northern Michigan before, I have family in the Grand Rapids area and will be adding Traverse City to my travel bucket list, Our Town to my theater must-see list, and Ann Patchett’s previous novels to my TBR pile!



Many thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC

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Ann Patchett's done it again! I always love her books and this one was no exception. The story itself was so good, and the description of the setting was really enjoyable. I love a book with multiple storylines, so this one fit the bill. I will definitely be recommending this to both patrons and friends alike. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper for this ARC!

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Check out Tom Lake...

If you like books featuring…
Character driven novels
Slow, meandering family drama
Summer in Michigan

Great for fans of…
Marilyn Robinson
Wendell Berry

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Ann Patchett is a wonderful writer. I found the story to be a little slow but the e ding was very satisfying.

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I didn’t get through this book at all. I found it hard to follow the plot. I didn’t know where the book was going. I really wanted to like this book.

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One of the best books I read last year. Sweet and cozy but such a rich story. I was transported into a story within a story. Beautiful and unique.

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I LOVE Ann Patchett, but for some reason (and I lay the blame entirely on me) I could not get past the first few chapters. There was something about the voice of the narrator that was, for want of a better term, off-putting. I'm absolutely sire that I am in the minority (based on Tom Lake's continued place on various bestseller lists), but I have to say that this is that rare piece of writing (fiction or nonfiction) by Ann Patchett that I did not finish.

A qualifying note: I am not giving up! I will try the audiobook.

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Tom Lake by Ann Patchett is a slow burn of a book. I can just picture myself among the daughters, listening avidly as I pick cherries & my mom tells me the story of her young adulthood. Ann Patchett has such a way with creating compelling characters and realistic family stories. I never knew exactly where the story was going or how it would end up, but I knew I was in good hands. Tom Lake touches on themes of young adulthood and the decisions both big and small that change our life. It's wrong loves and right loves. But my favorite thing of all was the cherry orchard as a setting. I listened to this on audiobook narrated by the lovely Meryl Streep and I thank NetGalley for the opportunity for an advanced reader copy.

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Absolutely loved this book!! While I have never seen Our Town, I have it on my list as I think it will help me understand this book a little bit better. Regardless, I thoroughly enjoyed this story.

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Ann Patchett is one of my all-time favourite authors, and Tom Lake did not disappoint. This quiet novel packed SO much in, and I savoured and enjoyed every page. I will treasure this story for a long time to come and will forever be searching for more contemplative novels like this.

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Best book I read in 2023. It was a beautiful and remarkable book. Pacing was perfect, although people who, like a lot of action in their reading, may not love it. The character development was stellar. I adored this book from cover to cover. I have been telling everyone to read it!

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I simultaneously enjoyed nearly every moment of this book and also wanted more to it. The premise of this story is a mother telling the story of her young adult life to her daughters who are around the same age she was at the time they told it. The idea is that we move beyond who we were then to the adults we are now (and the adult version is somehow better?).
It was told exclusively through the mother’s POV with just dialogue interjections from the daughters about their take on things. I wish the daughters were more fully developed characters.
Also a whole lot of this books focuses on the play Our Town. If I’ve seen/read our town it was when I was in high school but apparently I’m really supposed to care about it.

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Tom Lake is a timely read about family that many people will relate to. I would suggest this to anyone into literary fiction who is looking for something new to read.

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Another beautifully written story by a great author. She tells the story of three daughters who want to know about her relationship with a famous actor. It’s told in flashbacks in such a way that I couldn’t put the book down.

Well done, Ms. Patchett!

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I enjoy Ann Patchett's books. I always feel a little sad when I finish a good book with characters that feel like friends.

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Ann Patchett never disappoints. This is one of the best books I've read in a while, and it was one of the few my entire book club finished.

This is the story of Lara and the importance of past, present, and future in her life. It appears the focus of the story is her early life, her talents for the stage, and what could have been. But ultimately, it is about someone who has no regrets, despite the illusion that she gave up something wonderful, and is truly satisfied with her choices in life.

I did actually listen to the audiobook (although this review is for the print version), read by Meryl Streep. Meryl Streep is so good, I forgot I was listening to Meryl Streep. Now that is talent.

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Ann Patchett can do no wrong. The sheer brilliance of this book also lies in the language used, in the quirky dialogues, in the unique monologues, in the word repetitions, even in the extraordinary visual arrangements of words aimed to imprint the meaning of those words into our souls and leave us shivering in their wake. Nothing is accidental and everything is just right.

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This is a gentle telling of a relationship that was anything but gentle. Lara Kenison relates the story of her involvement with Peter Duke, a movie star, at a summer stock theatre when they were both young and undiscovered. She is sequestered at her family's cherry orchard in Michigan during the pandemic with her three daughters and her husband when the girls' dad lets news of Lara's earlier relationship slip, and from then on the book moves back and forth between modern (Pandemic) days and the past. As the past catches up with the present in a meandering way, Lara's relationships with her daughters are brought forward even as she relates details of her relationship with Peter Duke in the past.

There's a sense of languor in the telling of the story. Although the family works hard during the days to bring in a crop during a time when help cannot join them, their evenings in isolation allow them to revert to a sort of oral tradition of story telling. Patchett does a terrific job of portraying the Pandemic as both a time of frustration (particularly for the younger characters) and a time of joy (as Lara relishes spending so much time with her daughters).

Characterization is very strong, with the family feeling almost like the reader's own family by the end of the book. There are some scenes which, told in a different way, would be tough to read. But Patchett manages to brush her gentle hand over the words, diminishing the tragedy and allowing the lessons learned to shine.

I listened to this book, and highly recommend the audiobook. I cannot imagine a better reader for this than the actual reader, Meryl Streep. Patchett's world-building shines in Streep's voice.

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I loved this book. That is the review. I fell in love with Ann Patchett's Tom Lake because of Meryl Streep's narration. Do yourself a favor and listen to the audio version.

The story is about a mother sharing the story of her youth with her young adult daughters, which doesn't sound exciting but it kept me engaged and wanting to hear the next chapter.

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4.5*
Ann Patchett is a treasure. Her writing is effervescent and insightful. She has the ability to take readers inside the world of her characters and live their reality. Though not action packed, she makes the everyday life of her characters riveting and engaging.

Tom Lake is set during the pandemic. Lara and her husband have their three adult daughters staying with them at their cherry orchard. The girls want their mom to tell the full story of her youthful relationship with a famous actor. Lara agrees to recount how she met and fell for Peter Duke. She begins her story with her first acting role in the play Our Town. It launched her budding career as an actress which ultimately led to her living in Michigan and performing for a production company called Tom Lake. Lara was young and full of promise. She found the charming co-star Duke to be very enticing. The story of her romance was memorable and her children are fascinated with all the juicy details.

Just as the daughters are moved by the revelations of things they never knew, readers will also become captivated by the story. We are all part of Lara’s entranced audience, waiting for the next part of the story to unfold.

To read Patchett is to be invited into her fictional landscape that is beautifully brought to life by the narration of the phenomenal Meryl Streep. The writing is effortless yet stunning. This is another impressive title from a gifted writer.

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