Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

35 reviews

moond4ncer's review

hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Abortion, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Mental illness

bella_cavicchi's review

emotional reflective relaxing medium-paced

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

4.0

I’m not convinced that TOM LAKE is Ann Patchett’s best, or even her second or third best. It feels to me too quickly edited, the structuring of the memory scenes forced, the coincidences too good to be true. But man, did I still enjoy it. Perfectly imperfect, it is the epitome of summertime. I loved too how it captured the stillness that fell upon the world at the height of the pandemic without ever giving it a name.

+1 for showcasing summer stock theatre, what I lovingly call the “wild west” of the theatre industry. My heart! With it always.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Infidelity, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Grief, Death, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Medical content

Moderate: Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Cancer

Minor: Child death and Abortion

thecandiegirl's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Child death, Vomit, Death, Medical content, Pregnancy, Abortion, and Sexual content

ressicajicks's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

Beautifully written and beautifully read by Meryl Streep. The pacing might have been too slow for me had I not listened to the audiobook, but I am so glad I did. Springtime in the year that I am the same age as Emily, the year that I will marry my Joe Nelson, was the perfect time in my life to have experienced this novel on walks around my neighborhood with my neighbors’ flower beds in bloom. I am so so lucky. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cancer, and Vomit

Moderate: Child death, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Addiction, Drug abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Drug use, Racism, Pregnancy, and Alcoholism

Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Abortion

thalia16's review

emotional slow-paced

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

2.0

I'm a ride or die Ann Patchett fan, but this book just didn't have the magic for me. Judging books by their cover is often misleading in a pleasantly surprising way, however this one unfortunately aligned very closely with its cover: outdated (despite taking place during an incredibly contemporary world event) and not very exciting.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Cancer, Child death, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, and Pandemic/Epidemic

bandcutee2010's review

emotional funny hopeful reflective relaxing medium-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? No

5.0

This book was delightful.  

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cursing

Minor: Abortion and Child death

hannahksc's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

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

3.75

I enjoyed this book, it’s well written and easy to read (or listen to, as I listened to some of it) however sometimes you have to guess at which character is speaking. The story itself was nice but it didn’t have a strong hook, and though I enjoyed reading it, I probably could have put it down part way and not thought of it again. (Though I didn’t because it was for my book club) There were a few random parts

such as Emily’s reason for not wanting children

.

It’s fine to not want children, but to have a small climate change speech out of the blue and then never mention it again was weird. I also thought “what was the point of that, other then to be randomly depressing” when the talked about Brian and then the abortion.

Overall I enjoyed the book other then the two mentioned parts, and am glad I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Abortion, Addiction, and Child death

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

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

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

adelita18's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective relaxing sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child death, and Infidelity

Minor: Abortion

This is the first book by Ann Patchett I've read and I was fully captivated by her storytelling and writing style. Lara and her family are absolutely enchanting and I thoroughly enjoyed the glimpse into their pandemic lock down world. Ann Patchett did a masterful job of weaving Lara's life story through modern conversations with her family and in doing so points out the beauty, magic, and extraordinary nature of the parts of our daily lives we take for granted. The storytelling is so layered and rich, I look forward to picking up this book again and again. I read this in audiobook format and I cannot rave enough over Meryl Streep's interpretation of the story. If you love audiobook editions, give this one a listen!

askmeokay's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol and Addiction

Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Pregnancy, Animal death, and Infidelity

Minor: Child death, Death, and Injury/Injury detail