Reviews - Tom Lake | The StoryGraph

19k reviews for:

Tom Lake

Ann Patchett

4.06 AVERAGE

roleynicoley's review against another edition

3.75

emotional lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I thought there were really good moments in this book. I will say that the story is very heartwarming and comfortable. The idea of a mother telling her daughters the story of her life and sharing details about the beautiful things she lives through. However, I felt like there was not real character development between the young version and the older version of the protagonist. They just seemed like different people. And I did find some of the situations to seem super misogynistic. Lara's decision to stop her successful career to be a stay at home mom is lowkey preaching trad wife. And although the overall idea is "comfortable" it lacks nuance, acknowledgement of privilege or any real depth.

sammyxreads's review against another edition

2.0

slow-paced

ames_k_e's review against another edition

4.0

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

ryanco8's review against another edition

3.75

medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

april406's review against another edition

3.0

relaxing slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: N/A

bugsrcool49's review against another edition

5.0

emotional funny lighthearted

new favorite book of all time. this was so cozy and i am so invested in this family!! set in tc is a plus

andria_clark's review against another edition

4.0

Very sweet book. Took a little to get into but really enjoyed it in the end. Definitely recommend as a cozy read.

stephkocheung's review against another edition

4.5

emotional lighthearted reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Loveable characters: Yes

When I first started reading and realized it was a book set in the early days of the pandemic, I had a visceral reaction as I did not realize that and did not love that. But the story actually has very little to do with the pandemic, thank goodness.

I loved the young love, married love and family dynamics of the whole story. It was beautiful.

elviracoosemans's review against another edition

4.0

emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Loveable characters: Yes

uncreative_username's review against another edition

4.25

emotional reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

I’m not even sure what to say. I went into this book a bit blind, just recognizing I had seen the cover time and time again. I figured it was worth a shot. The story centers around a mother telling her daughters about her past with a famous actor one summer in her 20s. The daughters are in their early adult years now and have come home to help on the family cherry farm during the pandemic. Between the beautiful setting that is painted as a backdrop to the stories of these memories and the way the relationships between the characters in the past and present are explained, the whole book feels nostalgic. The writer does a wonderful job of interweaving the past and present, and Meryl Streep’s narration takes it all to another level when listening to the audiobook. This was a cozy read with more depth than expected.

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