I don't know which Ann Patchett book I like more, "Tom Lake" or "The Dutch House." I enjoyed them both, but I can't pick a favorite. Patchett is good at writing about families and the dynamics that exist, and her writing is excellent, as are her characters.
As the country began to shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Lara and Joe gathered their three daughters on their Michigan farm to help bring in the cherry crop. Seeking to relieve the tedious work, Lara recounts her life before marriage when she was briefly a successful actress and had a fling with a now-famous actor. Typecast to forever play Emily in "Our Town," she reprieves the role at a summer theater production and quickly becomes involved with the handsome and talented Pete Duke. As the cherries get picked and her past is revealed, sometimes uncomfortably, Lara's daughters begin to see their mother in a new light and question some of the choices she made and, in turn, their own decisions.
This is a story about the different types of love we experience, the heartbreaks, and the families we surround ourselves with throughout our lives. It is an engaging read with characters who are flawed but whose redeeming qualities outweigh their negative aspects. Always insightful and sometimes heartbreaking, this is another winner from Ann Patchett.
5/5 stars.
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