A review by hellokaley
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

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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