Bayou Pages | “Tom Lake” by Ann Patchett

review by Meredith McKinnie

“Good marriages are never as interesting as bad affairs.”

It’s rare that I indulge books that I know my mother-in-law will love, but Ann Patchett’s new feel-good novel is definitely one of them. It’s technically a pandemic novel, but not in how you might think. Lara Nelson and her husband Joe operate a cherry orchard, and due to the shutdown, their 3 adult daughters are back home to help harvest. Oldest Emily is set to inherit the family farm, while middle daughter Maisie is training to be a veterinarian. Youngest Nell is an aspiring actress, longing for opportunities her mother once had.    

As a teenager, Lara is cast as Emily Gibbs in the local production of Our Town, a 3-act play set in imagined Grover’s Corner, New Hampshire. Though not an aspiring actress, Lara is perfect for the part and receives critical acclaim for her performance. After a brief stint in Hollywood, Lara joins a small summer production in Tom Lake in northern Michigan, where she meets and falls for Peter Duke who played her father in Our Town. As Duke goes on to dominate Hollywood, winning Oscars for his performances, Lara settles down with Joe at his family’s apple orchard. 

The novel is told in alternating chapters that focus on Lara’s time in Tom Lake and the Nelson family harvest. The daughters are interested in their mother’s history with the celebrity and perplexed by her choosing to live a simple life on the farm. Patchett’s novel explores storytelling and generational legacy, alongside the appeals of simple domesticity. While painting rich, vivid scenery, Patchett fashions deep-feeling characters who seek to understand the nuances of life, the choices that determine our futures, and the paths not taken. She writes, “We clump together in our sorrow. In joy we may wander off in our separate directions, but in sorrow we prefer to hold hands.”

One word to describe Patchett’s work is warm, as indulging her novel is akin to cozying up with a woven blanket. While it might be tempting to describe the novel as wholesome, and it is, Patchett does not shy away from the often desperate and tragic circumstances that accompany young love affairs. The women dominate this story, beginning to end, and this female-forward narrative perspective is both refreshing and heartfelt. 

Ann Patchett has authored nine novels, including the critically-acclaimed The Dutch House, as well as five works of nonfiction. Some refer to Patchett as “America’s author,” as her titles sell out shortly after hitting the shelves. If you happen to love or are curious to try audio books, I cannot recommend this one enough, as it is narrated by Meryl Streep and simply a delightful experience.

“There is no explaining this simple truth about life: you will forget much of it.”