Reviews

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Only show reviews with written explanations

timothycwon's review

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funny hopeful reflective slow-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

4.0

lesenderweise's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

bobbo49's review

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adventurous emotional reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

3.5, rounded up because the writing is that good. The story is well told, in the form of a mother telling her grown daughters the backstory of her life. I thought that there was a bit too much coincidence to make the story believable.

benita's review

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reflective slow-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

3.0

I had high expectations for this after seeing so many people rave about it. I don't do many audiobooks but decided to give it a try as Meryl Streep reads this one. I knew going in that this is a quiet, slow-paced story and I'm fine with that, but this was just dull and not interesting to me.

I really loved The Dutch House and I do like Patchett's writing but this really feels like it takes place in the 1940s or 1950s rather than the 1980s and 2020. It just reads very old fashioned, which is odd. Even the Covid plot didn't work for me to bring it into modern times. Lara is supposed to be 57 in 2020 but I feel like her voice is of a 75-plus woman talking about her life in the 50s. That may be because Meryl Streep reads older than 57 to me. It just felt so folksy. I also hated the weird husky voice she did for Maisie. It didn't help for that old-timey feel that these young women in their early 20s were named Nell and Maisie (yes, I understand they were named for important women in Lara's life.). The plot felt very contrived and forced with Covid forcing them all together in order for Lara to finally tell them her story.

Every character but Duke was just a little too cozy and "nice" for me, and even the surprises weren't all that interesting. I hate that I didn't love this because I fully expected to. Maybe reading it rather than listening to Meryl Streep would have worked better for me.