What I’ve Been Reading
Tom Lake takes place in 2020, a family in lockdown on their cherry orchard in Northern Michigan. It is harvest season, and while the family picks cherries, the mother, Lara, tells her three adult daughters the story of her summer at a summer stock theater, Tom Lake, when she played Emily in Our Town, and dated an actor who later went on to be an Oscar Winner.
Ann Patchett gives us a beautifully written book that weaves back and forth from the 1980s to the 2020s, as the daughters learn about their mother’s time as an actress in Los Angeles and in Michigan, about her life before marriage. We also see Lara’s relationship with her daughters and her husband, and how these relationships change, and the ways they don’t, as the girls grow up and leave the nest. I listened to the Audio book, narrated by Meryl Streep, which I loved. Highly recommended.
If Tom Lake brings up visions of Chekhov’s Cherry Orchard, Hello Beautiful reminds one of Alcott’s Little Women. Hello Beautiful is the story of the four Padavano sisters, who compare themselves to the sisters in Little Women, though they argue over who most closely resembles which character. They are a loving, somewhat raucous, extremely close family.
Julia is the oldest sister, who is a planner, and wants success via her ambitions for her husband, William. Julia and William meet in college, and William is a basketball player. Julia’s dreams for him are for him to be a professor or a writer, a dream that William attempts to carry out, but doesn’t have much passion for. Sylvie dreams of falling in love, true love, and spends time practicing for when she meets the right man by making out with lots of other guys in the library stacks. The story is mostly told in the voices of William, Julia, and Sylvie. The other sisters, twins Cecelia and Emeline, do not receive as much attention. Hello Beautiful is a warm, vibrant novel, expansive in its themes of family, love, togetherness, betrayal, heartache, and ultimately, forgiveness. I enjoyed it a lot, again, highly recommended.
All That is Mine I Carry With Me is the story of the Larkin family. It begins in 1975, when the mother of the family, Jane Larkin, goes missing. Her daughter comes home from school to find her gone, her purse in the front hall, nothing missing. At first Jane is treated as a missing person, but eventually her disappearance is treated as a murder investigation, with the primary suspect being her lawyer husband, Dan. The children, Miranda, Jeff, and Alex, do not know what to think, but as time goes by, they begin to have their doubts.
I found the story to be a compelling, easy read (though I listened to it, not a physical book). The effects of Jane’s disappearance on her children, the ways that the relationships between the siblings, with the rest of the world, with their father, are all explored with varying levels of success. I liked this book, but I didn’t love it as much as the first two. Recommended.
Maybe in Another Life is the story of two parallel realities. It begins with Hannah Martin leaving New York, leaving an affair with a married man, to come home to Los Angeles, where she will spend some time trying to figure out what she is doing with her life, what she wants to do with her life, while staying with her best friend, Gabby and her husband. On her first night back in Los Angeles, Gabby and her husband take Hannah out for drinks with a group of friends, including her high school boyfriend, Ethan. At the end of the evening, Ethan asks Hannah if she wants to stay out with him, an invitation that Hannah suspects would have them in bed together. She doesn’t want that, not so soon, she wants to figure things out a bit. So she leaves with Gabby and her husband. Or does she?
This is where the story splits into two realities. In one, Hannah leaves with Gabby, and is involved in a horrible car crash that changes her destiny. In the other, she leaves with Ethan, and they begin a passionate relationship, which is derailed when she discovers she is pregnant with the married man from New York’s baby.
I liked this book a lot, it was a fun back and forth between two realities. I worried at one point about the ending, but my worry was unfounded, it was satifying. Fun chick lit is how I would describe it. Recommended.
Demon Copperhead is Barbara Kingsolver’s newest novel, a multi-layered story of a young man in rural Appalachia. Much as Tom Lake invokes a bit of The Cherry Orchard, and Hello Beautiful has nuances of Little Women, Demon Copperhead brings thoughts of David Copperfield. Damon Fields (nicknamed Demon) is the only child of an addicted single mother in the late 1980s. When his mother ODs, Demon is put into foster care, and from there he has to try to make his way in the world. The story is mainly a series of adventures, disappointments, betrayals, and kindness, woven together against the backdrop of opioid addiction, poverty, and dreams both realized and unrealized. As is often the case with Kingsolver’s work, I found portions of it to be preachy, but as I am a member of the choir, it didn’t bother me much.
I went into this novel worried about the themes of addiction and foster care. Not that they shouldn’t be written about, just that perhaps it was going to be too heavy and depressing for me to enjoy. The story was handled well, however, and I found that I enjoyed it quite a bit. Highly recommended.
Romantic Comedy is the story of Sally, a writer on a Saturday Night Live type sketch comedy show, The Night Owls. Sally is tired of the all too common trope of the schlubby man with the stunning woman (I never believed Sally would fall for Harry, for example. Also, any Woody Allen film. Also, most Romantic Comedies), which she sees playing out in front of her, as entirely average male writers on The Night Owls end up with superstar models or actresses. One day it becomes too much for her, and she pitches a story where an average woman and a gorgeous male movie star get together, and he is arrested for breaking the law.
Of course, the guest that week is a beautiful and talented musician, Noah, and in the rules of Romantic Comedies, you are hoping that they will get together. Will they or won’t they isn’t ever much of the question in this genre, it’s more the journey of how they get there. I liked it, quick, fun, and different enough to be entertaining. Recommended.
20 Comments
NGS
You are reading some of the big ones right now, aren’t you? I thought Demon Copperhead was so good and followed the main arc of David Copperfield so closely without seeming to be. It was such impressive writing. I have been hesitant to read Tom Lake because I’m not sure I’m up for reading about the 2020 pandemic just yet. Maybe in a few years when I feel like I have more remove from it?
J
Engie, without spoiling Tom Lake for you, they don’t really delve into the pandemic much at all, except that the main character LOVES being sequestered with her daughters. There are little hints of the shit show going on in the rest of the world, but not much.
Ally Bean
Well for once I’ve heard of all the books you mention, but haven’t read any of them. Usually when bloggers do lists of books I’m not familar with the books. I’m impressed with your depth and breadth of reading material. When do find the time to read so much? By the time I write blog posts, read blog posts, & comment on blog posts my interest in reading is long gone.
J
Ally, in this case, I listened to them all, either on my Libby library app, or on Audible. My physical book reading is VERY SLOW. I mostly read only in bed at night, so I can read a bit, but then I fall asleep. When I listen to books, I can listen while I’m walking in the morning, or while I’m cooking in the evening, or sometimes during work if it’s extra slow.
I think I saw all of these books on other blogs that we both read, so it makes sense that you would be familiar with all of them. 🙂
Ally Bean
Okay, this makes sense to me. My eyes get tired reading words on a page, real or computer, and I’m a slow reader, too. But listening would allow me to consume more literature, which wouldn’t be a bad thing. I’ve only tried listening to a book once and didn’t like it. Might be time to retry it. ?
J
Ally, yes, give it a try! Sometimes my mind wanders, which is annoying, but overall I really enjoy it. Because of that factor, I will sometimes reread (re-listen to) a book, which I quite enjoy, I feel like I catch more when I know what is coming, you know? Of these, I listened to Tom Lake twice. It didn’t hurt that it was narrated by Meryl Streep, and thus was REALLY good. More and more they are read by really good actors, which makes a huge difference. Patchett has another book, The Dutch House, which was read by Tom Hanks, which was great as well.
Nicole MacPherson
I can’t wait to read Tom Lake!
I liked Hello Beautiful but didn’t love it, which surprised me. I did love Romantic Comedy.
I might read the Landey and the Jenkins Reid, although TJR is a bit hit or miss with me. Oh well, that’s what the library is for!
J
Nicole, I hope you enjoy Tom Lake! I was going to buy the hardback at the airport for my trip to Alaska, but it was too expensive. I didn’t have my reading glasses and I thought it was $50, but it was only $30 (which is still a lot), so I got a paperback instead. I have a subscription to Audible, so that was a perfect solution, especially since Meryl Streep did a wonderful job of narrating.
Lisa’s Yarns
Ooh some of these are books I have loved, too! I won Demon Copperhead at my holiday bookclub last winter but haven’t gotten around to reading it since it’s a hardcover and I almost exclusively read ebooks! But I want to make time for it! Several of these will make my best books of 2023!!
J
I hope you love Demon Copperhead, it’s very good.
Jenny
I’ve definitely heard of all of thes but read none of them. I’ve come to realize that I don’t love “character driven” novels (which for me is code for, not much actually happens) so I hesitate on Tom Lake and Hello Beautiful. But, the premise of Maybe in Another Life sounds interesting. And I’m not usually big on the romance genre, but I read a book of short stories by Curtis Sittenfeld that I really enjoyed- so I think I’ll try this one. Everyone seems to like it!
J
Jenny, I like romance movies, but not generally books. This one is pretty good though!
AC
I just read via audio Galbraith’s (ie Rowling’s) latest Cormoran Strike novel, The Running Grave. I did start Demon Copperhead, also in audio format, but couldn’t stand the narration.
Thanks for the visit, J.
AC aka Anvilcloud or John
J
AC, I’m glad you stopped by. 🙂
I’ve seen a few posts about the Cormoran Strike books, they look interesting. Glad to have another audio book ‘reader’ here.
Elisabeth
I never listen to audiobooks; I am definitely a visual learner and prefer to listen to music and read all my books!
I loved Hello Beautiful, Romantic Comedy was a DNF for me, as was Tom Lake. Sigh. I feel like I should try Tom Lake again, but it was a book I started, put down, and then every time I tried to get into it…I just couldn’t. But I always feel like there must be something wrong when I don’t love a book everyone raves about (and I adored The Dutch House and These Precious Days by Ann P).
J
I felt that way about Poisonwood Bible. Everyone raved, and I just did not like it. It’s OK.
Margaret
I found TL a bit boring although Patchett is a fine writer.
Hello B. was one of the best book club discussions we’ve had (very personal) and I loved it.
Demon is a modern day classic; I also highly recommend it. Painful to read but amazing.
J
Interesting about Hello Beautiful…I don’t generally join book clubs, so I don’t consider that aspect. Glad you loved it!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
Tom Lake gets all the raving reviews. For some reason I think i have ried to read a book by Ann Prachatt and didnt finish it. Not sure if I am messing up aithors. I guess I will give it a try if I get a hold of it.
I’ve read Maybe in another life and Romantic comedy and both were nice entertainment.
Kyria @ Travel Spot
Wow, what a lineup! Those are some good books and you read them all in the same time period? I love Ann Patchett and liked Tom Lake a lot although I prefer her non-fiction/memoir type books. However, I think I still gave it a four out of five stars! I enjoyed Hello Beautiful but not as much as I thought I would, probably due to the fact that (1) it was VERY hyped up and (2) I have a small quiet family and maybe did not relate to theirs as much. I just finished the Landry book and enjoyed it, but now I am going to have to go and read his others since you said you liked them more! The last three were good too, but none were my favorite from each author either; I preferred Animal, Vegetable Miracle and The Poisonwood Bible by Kingsolver, and Rodham by Sittenfield.