"Tom Lake" by Ann Patchett; Book Review as Memoir

My take on a new novel with incredible resonance for me

We are back in Poulsbo, anchored in lovely Liberty Bay, and are both happily busy with work, school, and projects. Russel will be heading up to the Wooden Boat Festival on Saturday, but I will be here having a day off—taking a long walk with Ready, taking myself out to lunch, and no doubt visiting Liberty Bay Books, too. Now on to the book review:

I’ll start by saying that I love Ann Patchett’s writing, and gave a shout out to her and Cheryl Strayed as major inspirations in my book. Her books—Bel Canto, This is the Story of a Happy Marriage, and These Precious Days, among others—are among my favorite books.  I saw that Ann Patchett was interviewing Cheryl Strayed last night in Portland. Oh, how I would have loved to be there… there are so many things one could do in this life, with limitless funds. 

I loved Tom Lake, but I must confess that reading it was a rather strange experience for me. The book is lovely and will no doubt be deeply loved by many people, especially theater people like me. But I would be surprised if even those thespians and theater buffs will find themselves as emotionally involved as I was. There are just so many echoes of my life in this book.

I became a professional actor by a whim of fate—San Diego’s Old Globe theater still had open public auditions in 1975, when I was fourteen and already a bit stagestruck. I was cast in “Our Town” as Rebecca Gibbs, little sister to George. That bit of luck changed my life. Not only did I meet Russel Redmond, the man I would marry and to whom I am still married, but that play, and the play that followed at that theater, were a springboard to my acting career. 

Obviously, I was never in a big film like the protagonist of Tom Lake, nor did I ever achieve any fame, but I did continue to find work “on stage and screen” as they say, for the next fourteen years. That work led me from parts in college productions like “The Lower Depths” to parts in series pilots and short films in Los Angeles, and then to stage, film, and television work in New York and eventually to a touring production of “Rumplestiltskin” which played hundreds of performances in six months, all over Florida. 

Back in NYC in late 1988, I was cast in a way off Broadway production at the West Bank Cafe Theater. In early 1989 Russel, who I was engaged to by then, did the brilliant poster (below); he was in the audience when that play premiered, and even ran the lights one night when the original sound guy called in sick.

That same week, Russel and I saw a fabulous production of “Our Town” at the Lyceum Theater, directed by Greg Mosher and starring Spaulding Gray as the Stage Manager. And yes, that renowned NYC stage production gets mentioned more than once in Tom Lake! 

Clearly, Our Town was a huge turning point in my life, and I am still friends with dozens of people from those wonderful days of doing theater, when what felt like a family was all working together and “putting on a show.” 

So, if you’re wondering if I can be objective enough to actually see Tom Lake for what it is—yes, I think I can. Set during Covid lockdowns, this is a warm tale about a cold time and by far my favorite pandemic book, to date. It is a story about how our young lives shape us and how the things we hold dear in youth—in this case, theater, family, big dreams—stick with us or don’t as time goes by. I don’t have three daughters, but I do have three nieces who I adore, and the novel's three sisters (yes, and there are many more theater references in the book) are as alike and different and lovable as they are. 

I highly recommend the book, but won’t tell you any more about the story, because how it unfolds is a big part of its charm and appeal. Get it and get away—to the stunning beauty of a cherry orchard (I told you!), and to Tom Lake itself, a winning theatrical location that beckons readers, both as a physical location and as a symbol of the sort of places we all treasure in our personal and shared memories.

There’s still time to preorder Honeymoon at Sea and learn much more about the story of me and Russel finding each other in our younger years, and a bit more about our life now, in “the twilight of our youth” as he says. Here’s the indie bookstore link.

hasta pronto!