This novel makes us ask: which versions of our memories are to be believed? Is it really true that the protagonist has all that she’s ever wanted? Is she hiding something? From whom? I disagree with the reviewer who described this novel as “bucolically simple.” What about the reference to the ending of King Lear – “Never, never, never, never, never”? Think about it! Ann Patchett surprised me by delaying important information that I hadn’t anticipated — information that made me go back to the beginning and see clues that are scattered like shards of glass. Don’t underestimate Ann Patchett!
Patchett, Ann. Tom Lake. Harper, 2023, p. 116.