Book Review
From Chelsea Weibley at the Library

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

“The stories that are familiar will always be our favorites.”

It’s springtime in Michigan during the year 2020 and Lara’s three daughters have returned to the family’s cherry orchard. During long hours spent picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of the summer she spent in summer stock theater in the role of Emily from Our Town. This was the summer she had a romance with Peter Duke, or Duke as he became known when he became a famous movie star. Her daughters want to hear all her stories about the summer she dated Duke and how she came to marry their father, a cherry orchard owner.

This book is from Lara’s perspective and changes between present-time with her family and past from teenage years through her mid-twenties. Ann Patchett has such a way with words and storytelling. It is a real-life story without drama and large plot points. It’s just a beautiful story taking place in beautiful settings. It’s about hope, love, happiness, and finding your place in the world.

If you enjoy a good family story in the literary fiction genre, I highly recommend this book!

Check out Tom Lake by Ann Patchett for yourself from the Library (https://catalog.lclibs.org/polaris/search/title.aspx…) or listen through the eLibrary at https://lclibs.overdrive.com/media/9350882 (I highly recommend this option, Meryl Streep narrates and is truly incredible!).