I receive an advanced reading copy in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to NetGalley, Bloomsbury Publishing, and the author Ann Patchett.
I've enjoyed every book of Patchett's that I've read, and this one is no different. She writes beautifully, painting a vivid and emotive picture of Lara's life both as a young girl and as a mother in her fifties. Characters and settings are vivid and involving, and as always I look forward to reading more of her work.

Glorious. I love Ann Patchett. This is a character driven novel that seamlessly weaves past and present. Beautifully written, hopeful and filled with the sense of summer.

A gorgeous, nostalgic and engrossing novel! I love Ann Patchett's writing and although I found TOM LAKE to be quite a different reading experience from THE DUTCH HOUSE (which I dearly loved), I enjoyed its gentle narrative and also the commentary on generational differences between Lara and her daughters.

I've always thought Ann Patchett is a wonderful writer, but after finding her last two novels, Commonwealth and The Dutch House, quite underwhelming, I'd started to wonder if I was really more of a fan of her non-fiction, even though I'd loved some of her earlier fiction (State of Wonder was my favourite). It's such a joy, therefore, to read something like Tom Lake, which I think really represents a step forward for her as a writer: I don't think it's necessarily better than the best of her early stuff but it's as if she's finally crystallised her more mature voice, moving away from the Anne-Tyler-esque family sagas in her more recent novels to something more reflective, beautiful and resonant.

Tom Lake is emotionally deep in the same way as a lake itself: you can see far down to the bottom, but that doesn't mean it's not a long way down. It's 2020 and Lara's three adult daughters have returned to pick cherries on their family farm in northern Michigan in the middle of the pandemic. Isolated from the world, they ask Lara to finally tell them the full story of the few months she spent with the famous actor Peter Duke in 1988. As it turns out, Lara is far less haunted by Duke than her daughters are, but she obliges, and the rest of the novel moves between life in the present day and the unfolding narrative of that summer, when Lara was playing Emily in Our Town at Tom Lake, a 'summer stock' repertory theatre.

Patchett's emotional honesty, and the gentleness she extends to all of her characters, really shine here. Tom Lake is a peaceful and heartening book, but it's not in any way 'uplifting' or falsely comforting. Patchett doesn't pretend that everything about the world is good, but she emphasises that Lara is not traumatised by the past, and that what really matters to her is the here and now. Her daughters worry about climate change (a topic that feels a bit less natural to Patchett than, say, Barbara Kingsolver) and Lara worries with them, but she can still hope there will be future children on the farm. From another writer, Lara's embrace of motherhood as the central defining thing in her life might have rubbed me the wrong way, but, given that I know Patchett is childless by choice, I found it interesting to see her explore this territory - and Lara's priorities are clearly not shared by all of her daughters. I also loved how Patchett moved away from the more straightforward storytelling of some of her own novels, letting Lara's daughters unpick and question her stories, while Lara amends or adds in her turn. It's sold as a novel about mature love but I read it more as about the relationship between parents and children, as Lara's daughters reconfigure their own identities against the backdrop of the quiet revelations she shares. An unexpected gem. 4.5 stars.

Overall an enjoyable book although I did find it over long at times. Set in USA centering around the play Our Town which is in the flashbacks to the past and the present on a cherry farm in North Michigan (during Covid lockdowns) with interesting family dynamics interwoven with friendships and relationships. Well written with wonderful descriptions. Interesting characters which developed over the course of the book

I'm a huge Ann Patchett fan so my expectations were really high for this novel and it did not disappoint (not least because I share a name with the lead character and that's only ever happened once before!). This is a beautiful family story that easily transitions back and forth between the 1980s and the height of the pandemic and it has a mid-novel revelation that made me want to go back and start again from the beginning with my new knowledge and I couldn't put it down. My one criticism would be that the central character comes across as somewhat smug at times but it's forgivable in a novel as beautiful as this. Highly recommended and many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Two half sisters, one a policewoman the other a con artist.

I found this book up and down. It starts with a classic sealed room murder - well the room is sealed and the victim fell from the balcony and had his throat slit.

Enjoyed some of the references and even ordered a book mention but overall it was a bit loose for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC

Obviously Ann Patchett is an incredible writer, so I expected to love this book, but I didn't expect to be so transported. It's dreamy and sexy, funny and charming and I didn't want it to end.

Ann Patchett is one of my very favourite authors so I was excited to read her latest book, Tom Lake, and I loved it. It’s a beautiful, cleverly-structured, impeccably-written novel that captured my imagination from the first page. The characters are memorable and realistic, the plot appealing. It’s a novel to be savoured. Lara, wife of Joe and mother of three grown up daughters who have come home to their cherry farm for the pandemic, looks back on her time in a play at Tom Lake and her relationship with a fellow actor who later became famous. It’s about decisions taken, twists of fate, all the small things (and big things) that happen in someone’s life. A wonderful, thoughtful novel. Fabulous!

Lara’s young adult daughters return back to the family fruit farm to see out the pandemic. As they all become tired of watching the depressing news, the girls turn to their mother and push to hear the full story of how she once dated a Hollywood actor who went on to win an Oscar.

I absolutely love Patchett’s writing style. It just feels effortless and friendly, whilst drawing you into the lives of the main characters. I ate this up, not wanting to put it down. Despite this, I personally had an issue with the main takeaway of the book. I really do get fed-up of books that only offer one and the same option for a happy life. The book is in many ways about the different paths that are available to us, and how such small things can alter which direction we take, so it would have been nice to have seen another version of happiness presented as well as the usual one.

So now I feel a bit conflicted as I loved the writing, I enjoyed 97% of the story, but just a bit disappointed with the takeaway.

I’m still massively looking forward to anything else that Patchett writes in the future and still planning on catching up on the back catalogue that I’ve not read yet. Please don’t let this review put you off reading this, as it really is very good.

Well, having turned the last page of this most wonderful novel I now need to write my review. Words fail me to describe how much I loved this book. Set in the pandemic in 2020, Lara tells her three grown daughters the story of her summer in Tom Lake and her romance with Duke, a fellow actor when she was just 24. The writing and feeling that this book gives you is just perfect and transports you into the novel and cherry orchards of Michigan. A book about mothers and daughters, hopes and dreams , love and heartbreak, but most of all about family, I’ll be recommending it to all my friends. Probably my favourite book of the year so far so just go and get yourself a copy. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARRC of this novel, in return for an honest review.

As with everything Ann Patchett writes, this is a beautiful, compelling and effectively paced story. Two parents and their three daughters are confined to their cherry farm during the covid pandemic, and work together to bring in the harvest, as their usual foreign workers are unable to get to the farm. The mother begins to tell her daughters the details of her past life - this turns out to have been pretty extraordinary and the daughters’ impression of their mother changes as the story moves on. Each of the characters is beautifully characterised and real, and the book draws the reader into this family and its past and present. Ann Patchett is a very fine writer indeed.

A beautiful, well-written, and must-read book about a couple and their three grown-up daughters, set during the COVID pandemic. The plot works well, moving seamlessly between two timelines, the pandemic, and the time when the mother was around the age her daughters are now. The novel considers the nature of family - and other - relationships, and how misunderstandings, false assumptions, selfishness, and climate change can affect people’s lives.

As with everything that the wonderful Ann Patchett has written - this was absolutely magical, absorbing, and compelling. I was instantly within the story - I thought about the characters when I wasn’t reading, and couldn’t wait to re-enter their world.

In spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family’s orchard farm in Michigan.
While cherry picking during lockdown they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shares a stage and a romance years ago at a theatre company called Tom Lake.
What follows is a mediation on youthful love and the lives patents led before their children were born.
Beautifully written and well observed, you feel emotionally connected to the book and characters.
Cosy literary fiction and another modern American classic by the author.
Thanks @annpatchett @bloomsburypublishing & @netgalley for the eARC

I adored this; it's one of my favourite books so far this year. It's set during the pandemic, but it doesn't feel like a 'pandemic book' or, actually, it's the 'hopeful' side of the pandemic with the MC feeling glad that her family is all around her and safe.

Lara, the MC, tells her 3 (grown up) daughters about her former life as an actress, her love affair with a famous actor, and how she met their father.

I had never heard of the play Tom Lake but I don't think that mattered.

I loved how this book took on huge topics/themes such as global warming, misogyny, COVID and yet nothing felt at all preachy, everything was so seamlessly interwoven as part of the plot that it worked perfectly. I really enjoyed the dual timeline. Often in dual-time lines I favour one story over the other, but I was equally hooked on both in Tom Lake.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book.

Loved that Tom Lake is set during the Covid lockdown which brought families back together. The story of when Lara / Laura spent a summer dating Peter Duke who went on to become a famous actor has kept her three daughters enthralled, after the unexpected death of Peter Duke they persuade her to tell them the full story for the first time. Ann Patchett weaves together the story of Lara's past with the story her life and family now, I love how you feel like you are discovering parts of the story along with her daughters.

Heartwarming, captivating and an all round lovely book to read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read Tom Lake.

Beautifully written, thoughtful and ultimately rather hopeful - a Covid-era novel that uses the time and space to reflect on the past. Telling the story of a youthful relationship with a future film star, Tom Lake brings an admirable balance of youthful excitement, mature reflection and the present day enthusiasm of the adult children. Immersed in both the worlds of theatre and cherry tree growing, the contrast and tension between the two is a major narrative driver, with the enforced solitude / restriction to family of the pandemic putting this in context.

Patchett writes with clear warmth for the classic American play Our Town - this was interesting itself as the pull of the play doesn’t readily translate for a Scottish reader. - it’s made me confident i won’t be seeing Our Town is shown near me…! The fact that the novel still captivates is indicative of how patchett makes you understand why the characters are so invested.

Another beautifully written, wise and thought-provoking novel about families and relationships by Ann Patchett. Set in the spring of 2020 at the outset of the Covid pandemic, all three of Lara and Joe’s adult daughters return to the family cherry farm in Northern Michigan. So far, so Chekov. However, it is the story of their mother’s first love with famous actor Peter Duke captures the sisters’ attention in ‘Tom Lake’ and, during the picking of the cherries and domestic scenes in the farmhouse, Lara gives her daughters a suitably edited rendition of her summer of love at Tom Lake.
This is a story which reminds us just how brilliantly Patchett focuses on family dynamics. She recognises the importance of the past on the present and the riches gained from sharing and reflecting on others’ experiences. Readers who are looking for a narrative full of action and events may not be satisfied by this quiet tale. Those who appreciate an intelligent, sensitive exploration of what it means to love and be loved, both in times of innocence and experience, will love this novel.
My thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury Publishing plc for a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review.