Tom Lake, by Ann Patchett

 

Characters
Nelson family	Our Town – by Thornton Wilder
Lara Kenison Nelson Joe – husband Emily – oldest daughter, future farmer Massie – middle, future veterinarian Nell – youngest, actress   Farm – grew cherries “stone fruit”   Hazel – dog   Masie and Ken – Joe’s aunt and uncle   Benny Holzapetel – Emily’s boyfriend/fiancé	Characters: Stage Manager Emily Webb Mr. and Mrs. Webb Wally Webb George Gibbs Doc and Mrs. Gibbs
Others	Productions at Tom Lake
Sebastian Duke – Peter’s brother, teacher, tennis player and coach   Singularity – movie featuring Lara   Bill Ripley – movie director	Our Town Peter Duke – Editor Webb Lara – Emily – third time playing part Albert Long “Uncle Wallace” – Stage Manager (11th production)   Joe Nelson – director, understudy for Stage Manager, left after play started   Pallace – understudy for Emily   Fool for Love Pallace and Peter Duke

 

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2023 hardback edition.

1.       Did you have any trouble following the time line?  It took me awhile to figure out that the italicized print was a signal to the reader that the time had changed.

2.       Discuss the various characters.  Which did you like or not like?  What did you think of Peter Duke as a person, as an actor?

3.       Why was Emily so sure that Peter Duke was her father?

4.       Were you surprised at the ending when Duke wanted to be buried at the Nelson’s farm and that he had paid Joe’s aunt and uncle a considerable sum of money to buy the plot?

5.       Did the passage on page 119 about play rehearsals give you any insight into how much work goes into a production?  For example, Lara narrated “We spent hours in a dark theater, saying the same things to the same people again and again, finding ways to make the world new.”

 

6.       The author referenced Moby Dick twice.  Benny loaned his copy to Nell (page 99) and Lara read the book to her grandmother when she could no longer see well enough to read on her own (page 268).  Also, Nell references Herman Melville’s short story Bartleby the Scrivener when someone closed a door in another’s face (page 185).  Why did the author reference Melville and his work three times?

7.       When Lara is telling the girls the family story again, she thinks “Parts of this story they already know, and this is one of them.  The stories that are familiar will always be our favorites” (page 157).  Does your family have any favorite stories they tell over and over?  Does this relate to what we read – do we sometimes like cozy mysteries because we know in the end all will turn out to be fine?

8.       Lara and Joe did not tell their three girls about their earlier lives until they were grown, and Lara still kept a secret from Joe and the girls.  Do you think it is common for parents to have previous secret lives and not share with their families?

9.       How important was knowledge about Our Town to the reader’s appreciation of the novel?

10.   Would you recommend this book to a friend?  Why or why not?