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Learn moreBookseller recommendation
“Not only is this a phenomenal book of generational story telling, but MERYL STREEP IS NARRATING!!! She brings the characters to life. From her laugh to her tone; her character as Lara is spot on. She is engaging and motherly but keeps secrets to herself. This book transforms you to the essence of Traverse City, Michigan with the breeziness and humility of a true Northerner. Even the father, who has a small part in the novel is brought to life, I absolutely adored him. Looking for the perfect read to listen to in a hammock...this is the one! ”
— Amy • Plumfield Books
Bookseller recommendation
“I just started Ann Patchett’s new book, Tom Lake, which opens at auditions for a community theater production of Our Town in a small New Hampshire town that takes the play very much to heart. I’m already in love with the book, and its nostalgic feel of young love, mothers and daughters, and the juxtaposition of past and present. Added bonus: Meryl Streep reads the audiobook! A beautiful and moving novel, Tom Lake is wonderfully set against the backdrop of Thornton Wilder’s 1938 classic American play. Ann Patchett is a one of my favorite contemporary American writers; this book doesn’t disappoint! ”
— Genevieve • A Great Good Place for Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Does anyone *need* to be encouraged to listen to Meryl Streep read Ann Patchett? Probably not. But Streep, you’ll be unsurprised to hear, does a magnificent job with the nostalgia, the nuance and the Our Town of it all, bringing Patchett’s vivid past-and-present story to unforgettable life. ”
— Abby • Booked
Bookseller recommendation
“The audiobook is perhaps one of the best I've listened to in a while. Meryl Streep is the *perfect* narrator because you feel like she is telling her own story, had it gone slightly differently (young actress, three daughters). Savored every second of it.”
— Kimi • Buttonwood Books and Toys
Bookseller recommendation
“Meryl Streep draws you into the family life beautifully portrayed by Ann Patchett as Lara weaves her story of a summer romance with a movie star. Meryl's narration is warm and engaging. ”
— Barb • Maria's Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“This story takes place in Michigan, which is always a bonus for me as a reader. The setting is during the pandemic but revolves around Lara's early life as an actress and her relationship with a man who later becomes a famous actor. Lara is retelling that experience in small doses to her three daughters. It is a story about relationships, disappointments, and the blessings of a good marriage. I listened to this story as an audiobook and what could be better than a story by Ann Patchett read by Meryl Streep?”
— Paula • Schuler Books
Bookseller recommendation
“I just finished listening to Tom Lake by Ann Patchett and I cannot say enough good things about this book! How I have not discovered Ann Patchett before, I will never know, but this book had me in so many feelings over the past 10 days. Set during the pandemic on a Michigan cherry farm, the family is working hard picking cherries and keeping the farm going during unprecedented times. As they work, the 3 adult daughters ask their mom to tell them the story of the famous movie star that she shared the stage and a relationship with back in her youth. Meryl Streep brings the characters to life and I felt like I was picking cherries right there with them, a part of the family. I felt nostalgia for a life that I never lived, for the life my own mother lived before me, and for my life before my daughter and how her understanding of me will change as she grows. I felt like I was the daughter, coming to the realization of the humanity of my parents in a way kids don't really understand themselves until they are older. If felt like I was the mother who lived, loved, lost, learned, and grew before my own daughter was born. I wanted to call up my mom and propose we go pick cherries so she can tell me about her young adult life and I could understand her soul the way I understood Lara's.”
— Jean • Books on Main
Bookseller recommendation
“I'm pretty sure we could listen to Meryl Streep read the phone book. Lucky for us, she is reading the latest novel by the incomparable Ann Patchett. Tom Lake is both a snapshot of time suspended during the pandemic, and a coming of age tale. I couldn't bear to speed up any of it, because the listening experience was so enjoyable. ”
— Kelli • The Novel Neighbor
Bookseller recommendation
“Remember the scene in Mama Mia where Meryl Streep is brushing Amanda Seyfried's hair as they get her ready for her wedding day? Nostalgic music plays in the background as they look through old photos and reminisce together. Watching it you feel cozy and warm and loved. Well that is EXACTLY how reading Tom Lake made me feel. Ann Patchett did a beautiful job of creating a story where you are entranced by the events of the past and engaged with the relationships of the present. In a world and time of stories filled with regrets and missed opportunities it was refreshing to read a novel where the heroine recognizes her life isn't what she thought it would be, but is so grateful it turned out the way it did. Perfect for mothers, daughters, and everyone else. ”
— Michelle • Quail Ridge Books
Bookseller recommendation
“Ann Patchett weaves a story like no one else. This audiobook is read by Meryl Streep takes you on a journey of past and present intertwined with memories and hopes of a family. Highly recommended. ”
— Cathy • Sorensen Books
Bookseller recommendation
“This beautiful story takes place during the pandemic, and during this time Lara's three daughters have returned home to the family farm. Lara begins telling her life story and her daughters' story weaves throughout. Beautifully written and Meryl Streep is a fantastic narrator. I loved this beautiful story! ”
— Dani • Bright Side Bookshop
Bookseller recommendation
“Once again, Patchett does her thing. Expertly read. ”
— Kristine • Buttonwood Books and Toys
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A REESE’S BOOK CLUB PICK • READ BY MERYL STREEP
In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again proves herself one of America’s finest writers.
“Patchett leads us to a truth that feels like life rather than literature.” —The Guardian
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.
Ann Patchett is the author of novels, most recently the #1 New York Times bestselling Tom Lake, works of nonfiction, and children's books. She has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the PEN/Faulkner, the Women's Prize for Fiction in the UK, and the Book Sense Book of the Year. Her novel The Dutch House was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages, and Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. President Biden awarded her the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture. She lives in Nashville, Tennessee, where she is the owner of Parnassus Books.
Meryl Streep has been nominated for an Academy Award® thirteen times, winning twice. Her numerous film credits include The Deer Hunter, Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie's Choice, Out of Africa, The Bridges of Madison County, Adaptation, and The Hours.