Reviews tagging 'Toxic relationship'

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

24 reviews

alyssapusateri's review against another edition

reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Infidelity, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

emilywemily6's review against another edition

reflective relaxing slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I adored this book. It was such a lovely treat to listen to, I could just dwell in the audiobook for as long as it would go on. It was a slow and calming read with a lot of nostalgia and romance (in the sense that life was romanticized, past and present, because of the good that came out of it in the end). It made me want to have more children and revel in their individuality and dreams and share with them my own past and dreams. It made me want to get involved with community theatre again. It made me want to move to Michigan and work on a cherry tree farm. There are definitely hardships/traumas mentioned, but not explicitly, since Lara is telling the story after years have gone by and she has a broader perspective. She also dictates how her story is told to her grown children and keeps a couple secrets to herself, though the reader gets let in on those secrets covertly. There isn’t really a climax or big reveal, though a few small twists and turns as you follow the story. I felt like Lara’s fourth daughter listening in on this story being told and I’m in a bit of a book hangover now that that world is over for me. It felt so realistic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Abortion and Classism

moack_5's review against another edition

hopeful reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

An interesting walk through the life of a young woman. Involving fame, career, family, and sickness. A retelling of a story of fame to a sweet family. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Abortion

Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Drug use, Infidelity, Racism, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

maceydowns's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

feeling a bit like this book taught me the same lesson as everything everywhere all at once — but maybe that’s just the lesson I’m seeking right now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Cancer, Rape, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death, Child death, Infidelity, Racism, and Grief

katietregs's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Quite sentimental. Not a lot of twists and turns. The writing is good, but most of the characters feel quite flat. Very pro farm. My main takeaway is that this woman loves farm. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Vomit

Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Animal death and Abortion

cibani's review against another edition

adventurous reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Pandemic/Epidemic

tashtasher's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Infidelity, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Animal death and Racism

hellokaley's review against another edition

emotional reflective relaxing medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Tom Lake is my first Ann Patchett book in recent years and it felt like a classic. The language was absolutely beautiful, painting a picturesque setting of a mother and her daughters harvesting cherries on the family orchard during the pandemic. The story is told through the mother’s perspective as she met her daughter’s pleas by telling the story of her past as a young actress. Meryl Streep’s narration and performance was absolutely brilliant and the audiobook was a delight.

The themes that resonated most with me were focused around the relationships with mothers and their adult children, the lives our parents led as young people, and the connection between the two. This one feels like a story that will be with me for a long time.

“I look at my girls, my brilliant young women. I want them to think I was better than I was, and I want to tell them the truth in case the truth will be useful. Those two desires to not neatly coexist, but this is where we are in the story.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death

Minor: Abortion

shae_reads's review against another edition

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

This was a book club choice. It was very boring. This novel is character driven but the characters were one-dimensional, unlikeable and uninteresting. In my opinion nothing interesting happens except

when Uncle Wallace throws up all that blood on stage but still finished the show!

There is also very little romance involved in this “romance” novel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Excrement, Medical content, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, and Abortion

deetabz's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Racism and Abortion