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I've read two books by Tyler: A Spool of Blue Thread and recently Redhead by the Side of the Road. Both were just okay. I plan to read a few of her earlier novels.Actually downloaded Patchett's State of Wonder a few days ago.
Have you read State of Wonder? That might be my favorite of Ann Patchett's works.
(Above from the "What Book Are you Reading?" thread). I just finished State of Wonder and really enjoyed it. Thanks for the recommendation. Somehow, it reminded me a little of Barbara Kingsolver's The Poisonwood Bible. Patchett must do an incredible amount of research when she writes her books. I found this book to be nothing like The Dutch House (still my favorite of hers).
I'm so glad you read and enjoyed it. I agree - she must really immerse herself in the research! I love the depth and breadth of Ann Patchett's work and look forward to her next one - whenever that may be!
As an aside, I loved the cover of The Dutch House and have started following the artist, Noah Saterstrom, on Instagram. What a talented young artist!
Ann Patchett has a new book out, Tom Lake, her ninth novel.
Ann Patchett needs no introduction. She might be America’s favorite novelist, with books that sell instantly and forever: “Bel Canto,” “State of Wonder,” “Commonwealth,” “The Dutch House.” Her latest, “Tom Lake,” is out next week and will surely do the same.
Patchett says a recent interviewer who was 24, "asked her why she kept all the important themes — the pandemic, racism, climate change, reproductive rights — in the background of her work. “I told her: Because that’s where it is. No matter how much these things overwhelm and terrify us, we get up and go to work and see our friends and love the people we love and make food and vacuum and feed the dog. It’s unsustainable to take all of the things that terrify us and keep them in the front.”
Call it realism; it might also be Patchett’s secret recipe for managing the modern world.
I just received Tom Lake from Amazon (I had preordered it). I'm finishing The Queen of Dirt Road, but will get it started in the next few days. I hope I like the book more than I like the cover - it looks faded, but it isn't. Weird.
I just finished Tom Lake and really, really enjoyed it! It is the story of a woman who had a brief acting career in her 20s and is now married, in her 50s and living on a cherry orchard with her husband. It is the summer of 2020 - pandemic times and all three of her adult daughters have returned home. Since they're all together with time to chat while picking cherries, Lara is sufficiently worn down by her daughters pleas and tells them the story of her romance with a now famous actor.
Tom Lake is a story within a story. So often when two time periods are woven together into a novel I find myself preferring one time period over the other and rushing through some parts to get back to the time that I like better. Not so with Tom Lake, the weaving was so deft and the characters seemed so true to their younger and older selves that I was content being moved along with the story telling.
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