The Many Lives of Lara Kenison: Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

Reading “Tom Lake” was going to be a no-brainer for me.

I’m a big fan of Ann Patchett (though full disclosure here, I still haven’t read “Bel Canto.” I know, right? Buried on the TBR list.) Her latest is the fictional tale of a one-time emerging actress, and her summer love story with a much more famous actor, as told to her three adult daughters over the course of a pandemic-era cherry picking season in Northern Michigan.

It’s a delicate, slow burn of a read — kind of like summer in Northern Michigan. Lara is telling this tale as part of their family origin story — long since married to the girls’ father, Joe. Her oldest, Emily, once thought she may be the product of Lara’s affair with Peter Duke, the Oscar-winning actor that plays her paramour here, so this tale is also Lara’s way of putting that urban legend to bed once and for all.

For those of us that spent any length of time in Michigan, there’s a special connection, of course — the girls’ attending Michigan State, the bay, Traverse City, cherries in bloom … these are all things that read and feel like home to me, even decades later. Northern Michigan is indeed a magical place. It’s an easy leap to imagine Tom Lake, an idyllic summer stock resort, where Lara played opposite Peter in their production of “Our Town.” (Maybe it’s “Our Town,” too, that often had me wrestling with the time period in which the book is set, which is the late 80s.)

But the story holds up even for those that might not connect that intimately with the scenery. Because it’s about first love and of course, the longer and deeper connections that come from also finding the love of your life, even if you don’t notice it right away. And it’s also about making life-changing decisions, for better or worse, and honoring the path you choose to take.

I also appreciate when an author doesn’t work overtime to redeem a character, even if your head and heart yearn for at least an apology. Patchett, I feel, keeps Peter true to his core, which enables Lara to live the life for which she was destined from the time she first stopped to buy napkins for Maisie. (Raise your hand if you love a little roadside antiquing!)

“Tom Lake” is a great quick-ish read — I blame my heavy-duty reality TV binging and a busier-than-usual schedule for delaying its completion for me — a good choice for book clubs when you know people might not pick up the book until a few days before the meeting. Plenty to debate as well. And, it’s Ann Patchett, so you know it’s well-written.

Here’s to cherries, summer theater hookups and finding your passion along the way.