Book Review: Tom Lake

 

I think this may be my favorite book of the year. Ann Patchett's Tom Lake is read by Meryl Streep and I can't be sure that's not at least part of why this book edges out all others.

The story takes place in spring 2020 when Lara's adult daughters have come home to help pick cherries at the family orchard. She alludes to the pandemic without getting political. It just describes the experience of uncertainty and isolation, the way their lives are on hold and they don't know what it will look like when things start back up.

The shape of the narrative is the daughters pushing their mother to tell a story about dating a famous actor before they were born. Reluctantly, she tells it, but she gives her daughters a slightly different version than she gives the reader. She ruminates on the different person she was, how her younger self navigated the power dynamics of the time. She's cognizant of the fact that her daughters are close  in age to the women she was and it makes her wonder if they've had similar experiences.

Ultimately, it's the rich characters and the way they relate as a family that draws me in, as always.