Published 1 Aug 2023
Oh, Tom Lake was a quiet yet powerful narrative. I am crying softly because Ann Patchett did such a good job weaving together characters, images, setting, and themes.
I am a middle aged woman, and this is a book about Lara, a middle aged woman, taking an inventory of her life by doing an oral life review for her three daughters. It's about the choices we make in life--particularly when we are in our 20s--and how those choices set us on a path for the decades to come.
The book has her three daughters asking her about the summer at Tom Lake when she dated Peter Duke (who went by "Duke"), a man who ended up being a big Hollywood film star. She explains how she ended up ending that relationship and starting one with their father, Joe.
The truth ends up being a lot different than what the daughters assumed by trying to piece together scant information. The novel also is about the desire people have to create backstories for others and the power of narratives--incorrect ones and correct ones.
Tom Lake is also about lovers, youth, adulthood, choices, character, parenting, purpose, and responsibility.
I do think that people in their 20s should read this, but I think people in the second half of life will have a different experience reading the novel than less experienced adults.
I love me a quiet and powerful book. They are sneaky and the get into the marrow of your bones more than those flashy books. (This is a "Joe" style book rather than a "Duke" style book. I always told my daughter to look for men who seem "boring" because they are actually usually more stable, mature, and substantial than the flashy guys. This is a stable, mature, and substantial book.)
Related:
