Reese Witherspoon selected Ann Patchett’s Tom Lake as the latest pick for her popular book club.
Patchett’s novel, published Tuesday by Harper, follows three daughters who return to their parents’ cherry orchard during the Covid-19 pandemic and ask their mother to recount her experience in a summer stock production of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town when she was a young woman.
In a starred review, a Kirkus critic praised the novel as “poignant and reflective, cementing Patchett’s stature as one of our finest novelists.”
In an interview with Wendy Smith for Kirkus, Patchett discussed why she chose to write a novel that features a character relating a story from her past. “I am always interested in the fact that nobody tells the same story to different people,” she said. “We all tailor our experience to the listener, and we change the story depending on who we’re telling it to. Having that fact of human nature be central to the novel was an interesting thing to play with.”
Witherspoon announced her selection on Instagram, saying that Patchett is one of her “very favorite authors.”
“This comforting summer read has it all—summer theater, a gorgeous Michigan cherry farm, young love, sibling rivalry, and deep mother-daughter relationships,” Witherspoon wrote. “I can’t wait to hear what you think.”
The Instagram account for Parnassus Books, the Nashville store owned by Patchett, replied to Witherspoon’s post, writing, “Thank y’all for choosing Ann’s book! We’re so proud of her.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
