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Tom Lake: A Novel Hardcover – August 1, 2023
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#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK
In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.
“Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature.” —The Guardian
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family's orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.
Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.
- Print length320 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherHarper
- Publication dateAugust 1, 2023
- Dimensions6 x 1.05 x 9 inches
- ISBN-10006332752X
- ISBN-13978-0063327528
"All the Little Raindrops: A Novel" by Mia Sheridan for $10.39
The chilling story of the abduction of two teenagers, their escape, and the dark secrets that, years later, bring them back to the scene of the crime. | Learn more
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Get to know this book
What's it about?
A family reunites at their Michigan orchard to hear their mother's story of love and loss, forcing them to reconsider their lives and relationships.Popular highlight
There is no explaining this simple truth about life: you will forget much of it.377 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
Memories are then replaced by different joys and larger sorrows, and unbelievably, those things get knocked aside as well, until one morning you’re picking cherries with your three grown daughters and your husband goes by on the Gator and you are positive that this is all you’ve ever wanted in the world.298 Kindle readers highlighted thisPopular highlight
Funnily enough, this turned out to be the thing that saved me: the knowledge that I could get back by myself.162 Kindle readers highlighted this
From the Publisher
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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
Review
"One of our greatest living chroniclers of love and marriage—and its resounding impacts over generations—is back. . . . Expect wonder; Patchett always delivers." — Elle
"Tom Lake is a book to be savored—the once-in-a-blue-moon type." — San Francisco Chronicle
“A swoony, luminous reminder about the endurance of love and happiness in a broken world.” — Oprah Daily
“A tender, absorbing tale about becoming who we are.” — People
"A searching reflection on the relationships between theater and life, romance and realism, Tom Lake is perhaps Patchett’s finest novel yet.” — Boston Globe
"Tom Lake is about romantic love, marital love and maternal love, but also the love of animals, the love of stories, love of the land and trees and the tiny, red, cordiform object that is a cherry. . . . This generous writer hits the mark again with her ninth novel." — Washington Post
"Wise. Beautiful. With an elegant soft touch….Brilliant, of course.” — Good Morning America
“A quiet and reassuring book . . . highly conscious of . . . [the] human failure to appreciate the little things.” — New York Times
"The perfect summer novel." — The Atlantic
"Tom Lake is about love in all its many forms. But it is also about death and the ephemeral and how everything goes by so damned fast. It is an elegy of sorts but also a promise that there will be magic no matter what.” — Los Angeles Review of Books
"Patchett’s intricate and subtle thematic web…enfolds the nature of storytelling, the evolving dynamics of a family, and the complex interaction between destiny and choice….These braided strands culminate in a denouement at once deeply sad and tenderly life-affirming. Poignant and reflective, cementing Patchett’s stature as one of our finest novelists." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"As this spellbinding and incisive novel unspools, Patchett brings every turn of mind and every setting to glorious, vibrant life, gracefully contrasting the dazzle of the ephemeral with the gravitas of the timeless, perceiving in cherries sweet and tart reflections of love and loss.” — Booklist (starred review)
"Patchett is at the top of her game." — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Patchett is a writer of enormous warmth.” — Wall Street Journal
"A compelling narrative about the secret lives of parents—and how to find happiness in the midst of a long life.” — Time
"[A] poignant novel from Ann Patchett, caring as ever." — Vanity Fair
"Tom Lake…[takes] its time to marvel over the quiet drama of ordinary living: a strong marriage, a loving family, a place to gather at the end of the day.” — Houston Chronicle
"Tom Lake is a beautiful, stirring book that sneaks up on you and makes a deep impression, partly because you’re left asking yourself: “What have I just read?” The moment I finished it, I wanted to go back and start again." — Sunday Times (London)
"Tom Lakeis a warm, funny book about kind people who do the best they can." — Minneapolis Star Tribune
“[Patchett] writes with deep attention to our country’s changing culture while never taking her eye off narrative. Each book uses a traditional storytelling structure — lyrics, midrash, folk tales — while pushing at the edges of what a form can contain, cramming it with modern human concerns, triumphs and tragedies.” — Los Angeles Times
“Who is better, more nuanced, or more surprising on matters of love and family than Patchett?. . . . A heady voyage into the past, with a delicately observed story that is also constantly shifting the ground beneath our feet." — Literary Hub
"Subversively wise and self-aware." — New Yorker
"Fans of The Dutch House and Commonwealth will be more than satisfied with Ann Patchett's latest novelistic exploration of love and family dynamics." — Harper’s Bazaar
"Patchett's prose is elegant, her wit abundant, her sense of family dynamics and the complexities of love subtle and insightful. Tom Lake is an enthralling story." — Tampa Bay Times
"Across her oeuvre Patchett has proven herself a generous, meticulous mentor, and Tom Lake is one of this year’s triumphs.” — Chapter 16
"Patchett, beloved bookseller and chronicler of people thrown together in patched families and hostage situations, turns her attention to love — youthful, marital, fleeting, enduring." — NPR
“Meryl Streep…is ideal for narrating Tom Lake…. Streep delivers with her signature whimsy, her cadence lilting from wide-eyed innocence to winking wisdom, blurring the nostalgia for small-town Americana with dashes of big-city dreams." — New York Times Book Review
"Tom Lake is Ann Patchett’s best novel." — Hudson Review
"With her latest novel, Patchett is unabashedly Chekhovian…. If you’re so inclined, Meryl Streep narrates the audiobook, which allows you to savor every word as only a consummate actor like Streep can deliver them.” — Broadway Direct
"Intelligent, poignant,…absorbing….It channels great literature…[and] showcases storytelling expertise." — Washington Examiner
“Best of all in my reading experience this year was Ann Patchett's Tom Lake….It's a beautiful, loving story. And its echoes of Our Town are spot on.” — Daily Kos
"Reading the book feels, deliciously, like slipping into 'Our Town' and having a conversation with it; it’s both tribute to the play and a moving story of its own." — Seattle Times
"Patchett is a consummate storyteller whose fluid, naturalistic writing style makes reading her novels an effortless journey….Tom Lake does not disappoint."
— Atlanta Journal-Constitution
“Ahh…Ann Patchett has a new read and we couldn’t be happier….It’s cozy, and feel-good, and we recommend reading with a bowl of cherries.” — The Skimm
"This rich and subtle tale is infused with insight into love, loss and the power of making the right decisions." — Woman & Home (UK)
"Patchett celebrates not just the smallest events of our lives, but “small” lives themselves." — Financial Times
"A new Ann Patchett novel is always cause for celebration... and Tom lake could be one of her best." — inews
“Patchett masterfully weaves an evocative story of love, hope, and familial bonds, offering a profound meditation on finding happiness amid life’s uncertainties.” — BookBub
“[This] quiet novel awakens gratitude for life’s lessons.” — Christian Science Monitor
About the Author
Ann Patchett is the author of novels, most recently the #1 New York Times bestselling Tom Lake, works of nonfiction, and children's books. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the PEN/Faulkner, the Women's Prize for Fiction in the UK, and the Book Sense Book of the Year. Her novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages, and Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. President Biden awarded her the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is the owner of Parnassus Books.
Product details
- Publisher : Harper; First Ed edition (August 1, 2023)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 320 pages
- ISBN-10 : 006332752X
- ISBN-13 : 978-0063327528
- Item Weight : 1.05 pounds
- Dimensions : 6 x 1.05 x 9 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #1,958 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #64 in Coming of Age Fiction (Books)
- #98 in Family Life Fiction (Books)
- #216 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Ann Patchett is the author of six novels, including Bel Canto, which won the Orange Prize for Fiction. She writes for the New York Times Magazine, Elle, GQ, the Financial Times, the Paris Review and Vogue. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
Customer reviews
Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.
To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.
Learn more how customers reviews work on AmazonCustomers say
Customers say the book has real emotion and humanity. They find the style enchanting, lovely, and well written. They also describe the characters as rich and vivid. Readers praise the writing quality as thoughtful, deft, and life-affirming. However, some find the entertainment value overly long and not that interesting. Opinions are mixed on the plot, with some finding it engaging and full of family and farms, while others say it's slow and plodding. Reader opinions are mixed also on the pace, with others finding it fast and entertaining while others find it slow for the first half.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book well-written, tender, and sweet. They also say it's a light read but still interesting, with flawless description of the scenery and daily life.
"...I love the way the author writes and describes things with a bit of humor around the edges...." Read more
"...All in all, Patchett’s writing is superb as always. Her way with words and her development of character is in a style all her own...." Read more
"...It just seemed so done before. The story was obvious and the characters were all meh...." Read more
"...Read this for:🍒 a multidimensional story within a story🌸 lovely prose, family dynamics, a love letter to a simple life, to small..." Read more
Customers find the characters captivating, masterful, and exquisite.
"...how it truly made the story come together and it gave the characters a sense of acceptance...." Read more
"...Ann Patchett nails it every time, her characters are complex and her graceful pace is measured even when events are brutal...." Read more
"...I found her main and subsidiary characters intriguing and well-developed. There are also a few delightful twists in the book...." Read more
"...It was well written and I found the characters mostly likable. There were a few surprises which I always love." Read more
Customers find the writing quality thoughtful, deft, and life-affirming. They also say the time spent at Tom Lake is beautifully described, rich in many ways, and intriguing. Readers also describe the book as a topical subject and great story, with a gentle and hopeful truth.
"...Tom Lake is thoughtful, deft, and life-affirming. (It isn’t a pandemic novel, even though it takes place during that time)...." Read more
"Ms. Patchett spins a tell of wonder and beauty. I can see the straight rows of cherry trees when I close my eyes. I want to live there...." Read more
"...The author has captured the beauty and feel of that place so well, I can almost taste the cherries!..." Read more
"...This is a subtle novel, with many layers to explore, but it requires the reader to be willing to sit and savor the experience of the storytelling..." Read more
Customers find the emotional content of the book heartwarming, heartbreaking, and tender. They also say the book feels like a wise friend, tender, and personal.
"...There’s comedy, tragedy, drama—a look-back-at-your- own-life kind of book. It’s classic Ann Patchett...." Read more
"...Meryl Streep is the perfect narrator for this novel. Her tone is the right balance of emotion and wry commentary, and her own life experience..." Read more
"...The humanity of the tale is searing and sad and beautiful all at once. I couldn’t wait to get back to the story and finished the book too quickly...." Read more
"I loved every moment of this book. It so clearly captures the emotion of youth and the wisdom of age." Read more
Customers find the book style engaging, lovely, and extraordinary. They also say the characters are unique.
"...Like the cherries, some parts are sweet, some tart, and all of it is juicy...." Read more
"...☀️ quiet, sweet, soft, slow homage to Our Town..." Read more
"This is a really lovely and subtle novel. Patchett brilliantly references the Covid pandemic without making the book about that...." Read more
"...Appealing characters. Short and sweet." Read more
Customers are mixed about the plot. Some find the storyline engaging, compelling, and full of surprises. They also adore the juxtaposition of thwarted young love and enduring mature love. Readers also mention the book is full of family and farms and easy to follow. However, some customers feel the plot is slow and lacking a compelling story line.
"...3. 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 - The strength of family is ever-present in this story...." Read more
"...So many seemed to find the book “boring” and lacking in a plot. I very much enjoyed it...." Read more
"...There’s comedy, tragedy, drama—a look-back-at-your- own-life kind of book. It’s classic Ann Patchett...." Read more
"...🌸 lovely prose, family dynamics, a love letter to a simple life, to small moments☀️ quiet, sweet, soft, slow homage to Our Town..." Read more
Customers are mixed about the pace of the book. Some mention it's fast and entertaining, while others say it'd be slow for the first half.
"...The books starts off very slow and becomes boring at times. I pushed through and I will say it gets better about half way through...." Read more
"I found the story slow to start but was glad I stuck with it as I ultimately enjoyed the book...." Read more
"...nails it every time, her characters are complex and her graceful pace is measured even when events are brutal...." Read more
"It seemed to get off to a slow start. Although it took awhile for me to get into it, it was a good story." Read more
Customers find the book not interesting, lacking plot and emotion, and disrupts the narrative.
"...The books starts off very slow and becomes boring at times. I pushed through and I will say it gets better about half way through...." Read more
"...There is no big action in the book and sometimes the dialogue is almost too Romantic/not realistic, but it works beautifully." Read more
"...They were vivid and beautiful. I thought it was hard to catch my interest and keep me reading." Read more
"...It’s a tolerable story, but not terribly engaging...." Read more
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Top reviews
Top reviews from the United States
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1. 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 - A testament to how easy it is to perceive things incorrectly if the truth is not shared. It is ironic that the Nelson family’s forced togetherness is what finally moved Lara to share her beautiful story.
2. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 - Both Tom Lake and the Nelson’s orchard are just idyllic environments. I felt like I was immersed in the beauty of both as the poetic words flowed off the pages.
3. 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 - The strength of family is ever-present in this story. The Nelson family in the present, the Nelson family in the past, and Lara and her grandmother in the past…the bonds
4. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧-𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐝 - This story is one that doesn’t really have any highs or lows. It is simply a smooth ride through the story of Lara’s past. Even though there are some sad parts of the past, the reader knows how happy she is in the present, so that sense of despair just doesn’t hit the same.
5. 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞 - Such an interesting twist of events at the end! I love how it truly made the story come together and it gave the characters a sense of acceptance.
Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2024
1. 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 - A testament to how easy it is to perceive things incorrectly if the truth is not shared. It is ironic that the Nelson family’s forced togetherness is what finally moved Lara to share her beautiful story.
2. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 - Both Tom Lake and the Nelson’s orchard are just idyllic environments. I felt like I was immersed in the beauty of both as the poetic words flowed off the pages.
3. 𝐅𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐲 - The strength of family is ever-present in this story. The Nelson family in the present, the Nelson family in the past, and Lara and her grandmother in the past…the bonds
4. 𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧-𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐝 - This story is one that doesn’t really have any highs or lows. It is simply a smooth ride through the story of Lara’s past. Even though there are some sad parts of the past, the reader knows how happy she is in the present, so that sense of despair just doesn’t hit the same.
5. 𝐅𝐮𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐢𝐫𝐜𝐥𝐞 - Such an interesting twist of events at the end! I love how it truly made the story come together and it gave the characters a sense of acceptance.
Lara is telling her three twenty-something daughters about her short stint as an actress in her twenties, and the brief romantic affair with Peter Duke, a famous movie star before he was a famous movie star. The gorgeous cherry farm backdrop is like a staid but vivid character, with Lara, husband Joe, and the three girls all together for the first time in a while. Due to the pandemic, they don’t have the usual crew to help pick the fruit, so the storytelling unfolds as the family works the orchard during harvest time. Like the cherries, some parts are sweet, some tart, and all of it is juicy.
I felt the air, inhaled the scents, the cherries, the land and the whole layout of the farm while reading. And there is the kindness, too, of this family, whose flaws are also part of their strengths. The chaos of Lara’s life as a young woman is juxtaposed with the serenity of her life now, and the two timelines fluidly alternate, sometimes gently, at other times with piercing intensity. And every storyline has at least two. So, when you read about Lara in the past, or present, you just can’t help sniffing around to see the connections, of what surprise is crouched in the corner or hidden behind the door. I verily slipped into Lara’s character and imagined what decisions I would make as her, given so many pressing options and dilemmas.
Ann Patchett nails it every time, her characters are complex and her graceful pace is measured even when events are brutal. Lara is a radiant work-in-progress during her young years, many readers will see themselves in her. I was a local stage actor in Austin during my twenties, so I immersed myself in Tom Lake, pretending to be Lara acting as Emily Gibbs and then back to Lara again. The two timelines showed the difference between the fiery summer love of youth and the deep, tender, and mature love of family that you helped to create. The high points were explosive, even when they were pin-drop quiet. Lara’s low points stirred me almost to tears; I could feel her pulse against mine.
If you’ve never seen a production or haven’t read Our Town, you’re about to get a spoiler’s worth in the novel. But I think Ms. Patchett has surmised that most of her readers are already familiar with Thornton Wilder’s play. She coalesced Our Town and Tom Lake together in a way that reveals her refined skill of integration. Tom Lake and Our Town were separate but conjoined. I know that doesn’t make sense, but it will when you read the book. She also quotes Chekhov at pique (and even peak) intervals; she shares the Russian writer’s work with spare but specific devotion.
I recently learned that Patchett has never owned a smart phone, and doesn’t herself do social media (she talks to the camera and her staff completes the rest). She has never used Google, or researched on Wiki—she does it the old-fashioned way. And perhaps she’s that slightly eccentric but lovely gentlewoman you see carrying paper road maps!
Tom Lake is thoughtful, deft, and life-affirming. (It isn’t a pandemic novel, even though it takes place during that time). There’s comedy, tragedy, drama—a look-back-at-your- own-life kind of book. It’s classic Ann Patchett.
There’s this passage that really tickled me from the book. It’s toward the end but not a spoiler, it’s thematic with the rest of the narrative. Lara was so busy recounting the past for her daughters that she forgot to make lunch, which she said she should have been working on while talking. “The past need not be so all-encompassing that it renders us incapable of making egg salad.” Priorities!
All in all, Patchett’s writing is superb as always. Her way with words and her development of character is in a style all her own. If you love her writing give this book a go, but if you e never read Patchett before maybe try one of her other books first.
This is a story of coming of age, even though you don’t know it at the time.
Top reviews from other countries
Reviewed in Mexico on January 19, 2024