First Impression Friday will be a meme where you talk about a book that you JUST STARTED! Maybe you’re only a chapter or two in, maybe a little farther. Based on this sampling of your current read, give a few impressions and predict what you’ll think by the end.

Synopsis:

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 daughter examine their own lives and their relationship with their mother, and are forced to reframe their understanding of the world they thought they knew.

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 daughter examine their own lives and their relationship with their mother, and are forced to reframe their understanding of the world they thought they knew.

Happy Friday everyone! It is Christmas weekend! Let me wish everyone a Merry Christmas, at least for those who celebrate. To everyone else, I hope that the remaining days of 2023 will be brimming with good news and blessings. This week has been rather slow at the office. I just came off a ten-day holiday and I am still feeling a little sluggish. This is even though I have quite a lot of things to do in preparation for statutory compliance for the current year. January, I foresee, will be a busy month even though I am no longer with the accounting department. Nevertheless, I am looking forward to the new challenges and the new learnings that I know will come along with them.

With 2023 slowly drawing its curtain, I hope your year has been amazing. Woah. Time does fly fast. Within a couple of days, we will be welcoming 2024. But before we greet a new year, I hope everything you worked hard for during the year has been or will be repaid. I also hope you will achieve everything you want to achieve this year. I hope that the coming year will usher in more hope and more blessings. For those who had a bad one, I hope that 2024 will give you the reversal of fortune you need. More importantly, I hope everyone will be healthy, in body, mind, and spirit, during the rest of the year and in the coming year.

The outgoing year is literally a year for the books. During the year, I made several accomplishments, at least where reading and books are concerned. Earlier in the year, I read my 1000th novel, James Joyce’s Ulysses. Later in the year, I read my 1,100th novel, Thomas Mann’s The Magic Mountain. Moreover, I read at least 100 books during the year, the second year in a row I have done so. Not only that, I reset my personal record for the number of books read in a year. I ended 2023 with 103 books. Meanwhile, I am currently reading my 128th book for the year. Finishing the year with at least 130 books is within the realm of possibility. However, partly due to the holiday rush, my reading has slowed down. I am still trying to finish as many books as I can.

My return to the familiar landscape of American literature next brought me to a familiar name, Ann Patchett. It was midway through the year when I learned that Patchett was releasing a new work, Tom Lake. I first came across the American writer way back in 2015 when I was perusing must-read lists. Some of her works were part of said lists. Sans any iota on what her works were about, I read Bel Canto back in 2017. While I was barely impressed by the novel, this did not stop me from immersing myself in Patchett’s oeuvre. Tom Lake is my third novel by Patchett. I am excited to read the book because it has been lauded by many literary publications as one of the best books of 2023.

At the heart of Tom Lake are three sisters: Emily, Maisie, and Nell. The three sisters returned to their family’s Northern Michigan orchard in the spring of 2020. With the advent of the pandemic, they were called back by their mother, Lara, to help during the cherry harvest season. Ordinarily, Lara and her husband Joe had tons of help. However, the pandemic lockdowns prompted them to pursue other avenues. Maisie and Nell were forced to take a break from their classes. Maisie was pursuing a degree in veterinary medicine. Nell, on the other hand, dreams about being a successful actress. The eldest, Emily, had a degree in horticulture.

The opening pages of the novel carefully laid out the foundations of the novel. Or, at least, that is how I perceive it. We get to know the sisters and the complexities of their individual lives. However, I must admit that I am struggling a bit to warm up to the story and to the characters. This is not something unexpected with Patchett and her works. I also struggled a bit with The Dutch House. Nevertheless, despite this early struggle, I am pushing through because I know Patchett’s capability. She has the uncanny ability to capture the cracks that lie underneath the veneer of family pictures. Her skill does not limit itself to family circles as she has also demonstrated a keen sense for depicting interpersonal dynamics within closed groups. This came across in her debut novel, Bel Canto.

There is an intrigue brewing in Tom Lake. I am still a little confused if Tom Lake is the name of the movie that Lara starred in or if it is the name of a place. Yes, Lara was once an actress. This adds a bit of texture to the story. There is also a lot to unpack in the story and I can’t wait to see how Patchett weaves her magic in her latest novel. Tom Lake does seem to be suffused with heartwarming pieces, making it a perfect company during this cold season. I will relish the book and hopefully, I get to finish it over the weekend. How about you fellow reader? What book or books are you taking with you for the weekend? I hope you get to enjoy them. Again, happy weekend everyone!