Learn what happens in this Tom Lake summary. This is one absolutely mesmerizing Ann Patchett book — a #1 New York Times bestselling Reese’s book club selection. You’ll learn the basic plot and a character guide to help you read this literary masterpiece. Let’s “travel” to Tom Lake!
Quick Tom Lake Summary (Without Spoilers)
Quarantined together in Michigan in Spring 2020, the Nelson sisters (Emily, Maisie, and Nell) help out on the family’s cherry farm since their usual workers are scant.
To pass the time, they ask their mother, Lara, to tell them the salacious story of the Summer of her past in which she dated the now-famous Hollywood actor Peter Duke (“Duke”).
Thus, Lara begins the “story within a story” in this dual-timeline narrative.
Back in the Summer of 1988, a youthful Lara had performed the famous American play, Our Town, on the stage with a theater company named Tom Lake. There, she played the lead, Emily, and twenty-eight-year-old Duke played her father. Off stage, they shared the kind of intense relationship that is so often characteristic of youth.
Through the telling of this story, Lara reflects on the past, including what she remembers, what she does and does not want to re-tell, and how she feels about how her life has unfolded since that pivotal time. Meanwhile, her daughters learn that there are things about their mother they never knew.
Tom Lake Ending Explained (With Spoilers)
Warning: There are spoilers in this section.
Lara finishes her story about Duke, but she omits that she saw Duke, who was struggling with addiction, one last time during the period in which she lived in New York. He impregnated her, and she had an abortion, which she has never revealed.
In the present, Sebastian visits the farm and tells Lara that Maisie and Ken had sold Duke a plot in the family cemetery. They bury his ashes there.
Lara tells Joe she’s only ever truly been in love with him. She thinks about the past, and they look forward to the future.
Analysis of Tom Lake’s Characters
Below is an image of the Tom Lake characters, which you can save or share, followed by more detailed character descriptions.
It’s the Spring of 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic has left the world quarantined, when three young women and sisters, Emily, Maisie, and Nell, hunker down at the Northern Michigan cherry farm of their parents, 57-year-old Lara (formerly Laura Kenison) and Joe Nelson.
Tip: The audiobook is narrated by actress Meryl Streep as Lara. It’s one of the best audiobooks to which I’ve listened.
The three Nelson daughters are distinct, and their unique qualities are as worthy of discerning as the March sisters in Little Women.
- Emily: The eldest daughter is 26, a farmer with a fiery side, and she’s set to inherit the family farm. She lives on the farm with her boyfriend, Benny, whose family owns the farm next door.
- Maisie: The middle sister is 24 and is a strong and self-sufficient veterinarian in training.
- Nell: The youngest is 22 and a fragile and emotional aspiring actress, reminiscent of her mother.
Patchett exquisitely describes them further:
Emily is tall like her father, strong enough to hoist full lugs all day long. Maisie is smaller than her older sister, though by no means small, and her curls gave her extra stature. Nell is like me, or Nell is like I was. It’s as if the genetic material from which these girls were made diminished with every effort, so that the eldest daughter is strapping and the middle is middling and the youngest is a wisp. They might as well have been three birds.
The Nelson sisters ask their mother, Lara, to tell them the salacious story of the summer of her past in which she dated the now-famous Hollywood actor, Peter Duke (“Duke”), when she was 25.
I recall learning somewhere that Duke was inspired by the actor Russell Brand.
Back in the Summer of 1988, a youthful Lara had performed the famous American play, Our Town, on the stage with a theater company named Tom Lake. She played the lead, Emily, and twenty-eight-year-old Duke played her father.
Off stage, they shared the kind of intense relationship that is so often characteristic of youth.
And Duke was everything you may expect from a famous actor: outwardly charming but a mess behind the scenes. He was a man of many demons, including alcohol.
At this theater company, Lara’s husband, Joe Nelson (also known as Nelson), was the play’s director during that fateful summer. He is a stable force who is basically the opposite of Duke. Lara’s and Joe’s cherry farm was his family’s.
Frequently Asked Questions
Tom Lake by Ann Patchett is about three adult sisters who seek entertainment by asking their mother to tell the story of the summer she dated a now-famous Hollywood actor. It becomes a story of choices, the pursuit of happiness, and the things people don’t know about their parents.
No. It is a fiction novel by Ann Patchett with fictional people and places reminiscent of real places, including a Michigan cherry farm and a theater company.
Sebastian is Peter Duke’s brother. He is a coach and former tennis star who visits Tom Lake and has a relationship with an actress there. He remains part of Lara’s life.
Tom Lake is worth reading if you enjoy literary fiction, family dramas, and/or Reese’s Book Club. It works especially well as a character-driven novel with luscious prose.
The plot twist in Tom Lake is that Lara saw Duke one last time, which she never told anyone about. He impregnated her, and she had an abortion.
Conclusion
This Tom Lake summary dove into the stories and lives of multi-dimensional characters created by Ann Patchett. One of the best books for mothers, this novel showcases Patchett’s ability to share the complex beauty of the human experience through words.
