Tom Lake is a poignant novel centred around family, love, and coming of age in America. Audiobook lovers will not want to miss Meryl Streep’s performance.
Length: 11 hours 22 minutes.
Narrator: Meryl Streep.
Genre: Coming of Age
From The Publisher:
In the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters return to the family’s orchard in Northern Michigan. While picking cherries, they beg their mother to tell them the story of Peter Duke, a famous actor with whom she shared both a stage and a romance years before at a theater company called Tom Lake. As Lara recalls the past, her daughters examine their own lives and relationship with their mother, and are forced to reconsider the world and everything they thought they knew.
Tom Lake is a meditation on youthful love, married love, and the lives parents have led before their children were born. Both hopeful and elegiac, it explores what it means to be happy even when the world is falling apart. As in all of her novels, Ann Patchett combines compelling narrative artistry with piercing insights into family dynamics. The result is a rich and luminous story, told with profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, that demonstrates once again why she is one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents working today.
My Thoughts:
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett takes us on a journey with Lara, a woman reflecting on her life. Set against the backdrop of Northern Michigan, the story follows Lara’s years as an actor, her romances, and her family life. It’s like flipping through two photo albums: one showing young Lara, and the other capturing her thoughts as she looks back.
Lara’s passion for acting, especially her favorite role as Emily in “Our Town,” is a key part of the story. We get to understand what motivated her and why she loved it.
The book also explores Lara’s marriage and her relationship with her daughters. Lara talks about how falling in love is different from the love that comes after many years of marriage. She shares personal stories with her daughters, creating a special tradition they all enjoy in the cherry orchard.
If you enjoy audiobooks, you’re in for a treat with Meryl Streep’s narration. Her exceptional performance adds an extra layer of enjoyment to the story.
Tom Lake is a good choice if you enjoy stories about growing up and navigating adulthood. It’s also great for those who like reading about families and their dynamics. If you’re a fan of Literary Fiction and Coming of Age stories, this book should be on your reading list.
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