In early 2020 as a global pandemic unfolds, 3 daughters Emily, Maisie, and Nell return home to their mother Lara on their Michigan cherry farm for quarantine. While navigating the new world of lockdown and the impact it has had on the family farm, the three daughters ask their mom to tell them the story of the summer she was an actress in a summer theater production at Tom Lake. As she recounts a summer romance with a charismatic actor, she unveils the impact of this relationship on her life and choices. Amidst love and self-discovery both she and her daughters realize there are always things to be learned from the past.
Ann Patchett is an American author well known for works such as The Dutch House, Bel Canto, and Commonwealth. Born in 1963, Patchett has amassed many awards, including the PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction, the Women’s Prize for Fiction, and the Janet Heidinger Kafka Prize. Tom Lake is Patchett’s most recent novel, published in August 2023, and is a book she wrote during the pandemic. Patchett describes writing during quarantine and this experience as unusual, but also a blessing that was able to slow down her life and make it easier to reflect on her work. In an interview with NPR Patchett said, “I was so glad to not be running all over the place. I was glad my husband wasn’t going to work every day. And so it was very easy for me to make the leap, to imagine something good that came out of something so bad.” Aside from writing, Patchett spends her time running a bookshop in Nashville called Parnassus Books.
Patchett’s key strength in this novel is the ability to uphold a lovely and sweet atmosphere while still leveling the daunting pressures of our time with delicate nuance. Tom Lake is as much of a story about young adulthood and family as it is a look into some of the struggles today. The writing stands out as the backbone that brought the narrative to life with the tone as affectionate and sincere as the characters. With the book being told from the perspective of the mother, Lara, there is a complexity added to the story she tells her kids. It immerses the reader into the dynamic of the family along with the focal point of Laura’s time at Tom Lake.
The end of the book was the weakest part, as the story started to wrap up there were a couple of things that were left hanging and a bunch of new things introduced as well, making it feel a little random. These parts of the story were not necessarily bad by themselves but it ended up making the book feel a little rushed during the end. Certain things should have been more incorporated into the story rather than them happening right at the end of the book. It ended up talking away from the conclusion making it feel cramped.
Overall, Tom Lake is an extremely enjoyable read that entertains the joys, difficulty and timelessness of growing up. This book is recommend to someone looking for something serious but still fun, perfect for a summer day. With a full circle story and Tom Lake is a delightful daisy chain flower crown of a story.
