Review of "Tom Lake: A Novel" by Ann Patchett

Lara Flynn began her acting career as a teenager in New Hampshire, when she starred as Emily Webb in a community theater production of Thornton Wilder's play 'Our Town.'



Lara went on to do a Hollywood movie and take other roles before she portrayed Emily Webb once again, in a summer stock production of 'Our Town' in Tom Lake, Michigan. That season, 24-year-old Lara had a torrid romance with her co-star, handsome charismatic Peter Duke, who went on to become an Oscar-winning, tinseltown superstar.



Jump ahead 30+ years to 2020, and 57-year-old Lara and her husband Joe Nelson own and run a cherry orchard in northern Michigan, not far from Tom Lake. The farm also grows apples and pears, and is a year-round enterprise.





Lara and Joe have three grown daughters, all of whom have come home, to stay together during the Covid pandemic quarantine.

The Nelson siblings have very different aspirations: Emily studied horticulture in college, and plans to take over the management of the cherry orchard when her parents retire;



Maisie is in veterinary school, and helps the neighbors with their animals while she's in Covid lockdown;



and Nell is an aspiring actress, yearning to get a start in the profession.



As a teenager, Emily was the firebrand of the group, a difficult adolescent who had the entire family walking on eggshells. When Emily learned her mother had dated Peter Duke, Emily insisted Duke was her real father, and railed against being kept from the famous celebrity.

As an adult Emily backed away from this notion, but she's still an expert on Peter Duke, having read every word written about him, watched every interview, seen every movie, and so on.



Due to the pandemic, most of the usual migrant workers can't come harvest the fruit, and - because the cherries are ripe - Lara, Joe, and their daughters must do most of the work themselves. (These scenes of picking and sorting different kinds of cherries are interesting and informative.)



During rest intervals between picking cherries, Emily, Maisie, and Nell insist that Lara tell them the story of her affair with Peter Duke, who recently passed away. Lara agrees to tell the tale, but she begins when she was in high school, with her first acting role. Thus the story encompasses Lara's total professional career, including the people she met, the experiences she had, the highs and lows along the way, etc. The exposition is spread over several days, but as the reader learns, the tale is not complete, because Lara keeps some secrets to herself.

Lara's husband Joe, who knew many of the same people as Lara, throws in the occasional comment, but he's mostly concerned with keeping the farm - with its cherries, apples, and pears - solvent during these difficult times.



This is a quiet novel about ambition, family, love, betrayal, friendship, loyalty, egoism, and more. I found the story moved a bit too slowly for my taste, but author Ann Patchett is a master at character development, and the main protagonists, as well as the side characters, are well-crafted and believable.

Covid pandemic novels are coming out at a fast and furious rate, and this one centers on family togetherness rather than the horrors of the disease. Thus it's a less harrowing treatment of the Covid crisis.

Rating: 3.5 stars