Reviews tagging 'Racism'

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

24 reviews

author_d_r_oestreicher's review

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-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

In Tom Lake by Anne Pratchett, Lara Kenison Nelson begins life with her grandmother in New Hampshire where she learns to sew everything from alterations to wedding dresses and ends up married with three grown daughters on a cherry farm in Michigan. In the interim, she stars in a movie, and as Emily in Thorton Wilder’s Our Town. She has a summer romance with Peter “Duke” Duke before he becomes a famous actor. The book is set during the cherry harvest where she recounts her life to her grown children. A beautiful romance of family, love, and finding your place to stay. 

 

For my extended notes: https://1book42day.blogspot.com/2024/05/tom-lake-by-ann-pratchett.html 

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Check out https://amazon.com/shop/influencer-20171115075 for book recommendations. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Vomit, Drug use, Sexual content, Death of parent, Abortion, Addiction, and Racism

marioosa517's review

emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Infidelity

Moderate: Animal death, Forced institutionalization, Pandemic/Epidemic, Toxic friendship, and Blood

Minor: Abortion, Suicide, Sexism, Racism, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Self harm, Death, Death of parent, Cancer, Excrement, Violence, War, 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

emilywemily6's review

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

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

Minor: Abortion and Classism

mdavis26's review

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Abortion, Alcohol, Vomit, Racism, Cancer, Blood, and Drug use

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: Abortion and Alcoholism

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

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

katietregs's review

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

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

Minor: Abortion and Animal death

aylaspages's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective slow-paced

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

4.5

rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

format: audiobook (Libby)

I’ve spent the last few days picking cherries with Lara, Joe, Maisie, Emily, and Nell. 🍒 Meryl Streep’s performance as Lara in Tom Lake truly transported me to the Nelson’s cherry farm, Tom Lake, and everywhere in between. 

We join the narrator, Lara, during the pandemic on her families cherry farm, as she tells her three adult daughters the story of her summer romance with movie star and actor Duke during the summer stock theater season in Tom Lake. 

I loved Lara - her actions, good and bad, felt so real throughout the book. While she’s sharing a story about a summer romance, we learn so much about her character, her relationship with her friends, and her early history with her husband, Joe. 

Joe and Lara’s daughters, Emily, Maisie, and Nell were supporting characters, but even through their reactions to Duke’s story I learned so much about them and felt like I related to much to different parts of their personalities. 

No major traumatic plot events, honestly no huge plot points at all, but wonderful storytelling and characters. A very enjoyable lit fic read!

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Abortion, Vomit, and Racism

tabear's review

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Infidelity, Medical content, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Abortion, Racism, Vomit, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Mental illness