Reviewer: @ockurrrt_can_read (Instagram)
“The past need not be so all encompassing that it renders us incapable of making egg salad.”
Motherly is the best description I have for Lara. It felt like I was drinking a cup of coffee with her. This was a heartbreaking and heartwarming read for me. And what’s better than starting the new year with conflicted feelings.
What truly had me hooked was the storytelling done by Lara. The way she made me feel like I was at Tom Lake, busy staring in Our Town. Truly made me want to look into the work of Thornton Wilder more deeply. It felt like my heart was shattered by my the people closest to me. Ann Patchett knows how to make me feel everything.
Reviewer: @roelia_reads (Instagram)
I will not keep you hanging, I am giving this book ALL the stars.
“The rage dissipates along with the love, and all we’re left with is a story”
Ann Patchett’s book Tom Lake is about a woman named Lara, who writes about her summertime romance with renowned actor Peter Duke.
The narrative is given from Lara’s point of view, as she tells her three girls about what happened that summer during the first COVID-19 lockdown.
The themes of love, grief, and regret are all explored in this book. This tale explores the influence of memory and how the past may affect the present.
The book also explores the concept of family and how our interactions with our parents and kids can impact our entire existence. Patchett’s observations on marriage, parenting, and the complex nature of love give the narrative depth and interest.
Readers will be drawn to Patchett’s endearing characters. Lara is a likeable and nuanced lead character who battles her allegiance to her husband Joe and her affection for Peter.
Peter is an endearing and enigmatic actor with his own shortcomings. Although Lara’s girls have their own thoughts and judgements, they are also inquisitive and ready to hear their mother’s narrative. The book also has a group of intriguing and charming ancillary characters.
Patchett writes in a simple, concise manner while conjuring up vivid scenarios that take the reader to many places and times.
I thoroughly enjoyed the behind-the-scene insights into the life of an actress and a theatre troupe.
This book was absolute perfection. If you want to experience perfection elevated, do listen to the audiobook, as narrated by Meryl Streep. Need I say more?
Reviewer: @marshallreads (Instagram)
Rating: 4/5
This was so different than what I usually read but I did really enjoy. I listened to the audiobook while reading the physical copy and Meryl Streep’s narrating was on point.
This was a story about a mother with three daughters and telling her daughters about her life before she had them and while dating a famous actor, I really loved the flashbacks and the whole story was just so comfy and fun and I could see it happening in front of my eyes.
The setting was so well described, the characters were very developed, the whole unfolding of the story was done beautifully and I think the author did an amazing job with this book.
Tom Lake is available at:
