TOM LAKE

Last night, I finished the new novel "Tom Lake" by Ann Patchett. I had recently finished her last book, a collection of essays called, "The Precious Days," that I loved. Therefore, I was overjoyed to see that she had a new novel out set in Northern Michigan near Traverse City, of all places!

The book is about the life and coming of age of the main character Lara. Lara is married to a cherry farmer with three daughters, all of whom are back home in the summer of 2020 due to the COVID pandemic. This is an opportunity for the girls to learn more about their mom, and they are ever so curious to hear about her first first summer in Michigan when she was acting in "Our Town" and where she met their dad. 

During that summer, Lara also fell in love with a young actor named Peter Duke, who went on to become one of the foremost actors of his generation. Unsurprisingly, the girls want to hear all about it!

Lara narrates the story. Despite it being her origin story, in so many ways, she is surprisingly unsentimental about it. Perhaps that is because she had to make some tough decisions along the way and endured quite a bit of loss. She was clearly thoughtful enough to know that sometimes practicality trumps glamour when it comes to happiness. There are, indeed, very few glamour queens in a Michigan cherry orchard!

I will not spoil the story, but I was struck by the author's descriptions of this state I now call my home and of the cherry farming business. Most of all, I was struck by how relatable all the characters were and how lucky I am to have the family I have  - especially during a once in a century pandemic that taught us what was truly important. I hope you enjoy Tom Lake as much as I did!