Tom Lake

A Novel

De: Ann Patchett

Narrado por: Meryl Streep

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • READ BY MERYL STREEP

“Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature.”—The Guardian

In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.

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.

©2023 Ann Patchett (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

Ann's best yet

I absolutely loved this novel! The reading by Meryl Streep is just perfect. It's a story about stories and it's just wonderful.

Thank God For Ann Patchett!

Just the most beautiful book ever! Read to you by Meryl Streep who sounds just like your own precious mother.

Outstanding narration, beautiful story

I downloaded this book having no idea what is was about, only knowing that it was written by one of my favorite authors and performed by one of the world’s best actresses. I loved every minute of it.

Beautiful!

Completely engaging! I usually shy away from audio books with famous actors narrating because I can find it distracting but not with Ms. Streep! Wonderful, beautiful story with a fabulous narrator. I was fully invested in the lives of Lara and her daughters from the very first chapter until the last word. I found myself looking for things to do so I could listen more and ended up breezing thru this in a day and half!

Truly beautiful

Ann Patchett clearly wrote this book for me. I'm happy to share it with everyone.

Story was nice, Streep way too dramatic

The story was a bit slow but ended nicely in the 4th quarter… Streep was just fine maybe even good in her main character voice but when she tries to have different voices for the girls, one all Gruff and manly sounded other times shrieking in a way that hurts the ears… just way too much drama for an audio book. It was distracting from the story, either stuck to acting or recognize this is different and show some range…. Kind of interesting that this was the same issue that Laura/Emily had in the story…

Questionable premise

Can’t imagine a group of twenty something daughters hanging onto their mother’s story so raptly, not wanting to miss a word. Also find it odd that they knew so little about their parent’s early relationship. I know this is blasphemous, but I did not care for Streep’s performance as Lara as she spoke to her daughters. Maybe she was supposed to sound pedantic and paternalistic since she was the parent, but still she was speaking to them (and us) as adults, telling an adult tale. I thought Lara’s experience with Duke at the end, when he was in the hospital was so important to help us believe that she was over him and truly loved and appreciated Joe. Liked the book - didn’t love it.

Another Ann Patchett winner

The story was very engaging, held my interest the entire time, finding myself wanting to know what happened all the way through. And of course with the top notch narrator, i was hooked.

Just lovely

What a wonderful story- and Meryl reading it- made it that much more delicious!
Go ahead and get this title. You will not be disappointed!

Thoroughly enjoyable!

The story was lovely. Peaceful. Meryl Streep’s performance - amazing. You won’t regret using your credit. Loved every minute!