Auditions and Small-Town Dreams

Laura Kenison, a reliable, unremarkable teenager in a New Hampshire town, is roped into helping with community theater auditions for Our Town. She and her best friend Veronica are outsiders to the theater crowd, but Laura is drawn to the process, observing the awkwardness and vulnerability of adults trying out for roles. The experience becomes a formative lesson in how people present themselves, and Laura, inspired by the lackluster Emilys, impulsively auditions for the lead. She gets the part, setting her on a path she never expected, and learning early that sometimes the diamonds are found among the unpolished.

Family Orchard, Pandemic Summer

Decades later, Laura is now a mother of three grown daughters—Emily, Maisie, and Nell—living on a cherry orchard in Michigan with her husband, Joe. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought all the girls home, and the family is forced to work the land together, filling in for the missing seasonal workers. The orchard becomes both a place of labor and a crucible for family stories, as the daughters press Laura to recount her youthful romance with a now-famous actor, Peter Duke. The pandemic's uncertainty and the orchard's cycles frame the family's reckoning with the past and present.

The Past Unspools

The daughters, especially Emily, are obsessed with the idea that Laura's past with Duke holds the key to their own identities. They push her to tell the story, but Laura resists, knowing that the truth is more complicated than the myth. The narrative toggles between the present—picking cherries, family meals, and pandemic anxieties—and Laura's memories of her youth, her ambitions, and the choices that led her away from acting and toward the life she has now.

Becoming Emily

Laura's success as Emily in Our Town leads her to college theater, where she again plays the role. Her performance catches the eye of Bill Ripley, a Hollywood director, who invites her to Los Angeles for a screen test. Laura, practical and unassuming, is swept into the world of film, not out of burning ambition but because she is in the right place at the right time. Her naturalness and authenticity, rather than technical skill, make her stand out in a sea of over-actors.

Hollywood's Unexpected Door

Laura's screen test leads to a part in a film, Singularity, and a brief, surreal immersion in Hollywood. She is praised for her transparency and "being herself," but the industry's demands and delays leave her in limbo. She finds work in commercials and sitcoms, but never feels at home in the world of acting. When the film's release is delayed, she drifts, unsure of her future, until Ripley suggests she audition for Our Town on Broadway. She doesn't get the part, but is offered the role of Emily at Tom Lake, a prestigious summer stock theater in Michigan.

Summer Stock Arrival

Laura arrives at Tom Lake, where she meets a cast of characters: the washed-up but beloved Uncle Wallace, the magnetic Peter Duke, and the dazzling dancer Pallace. The theater is a microcosm of ambition, talent, and longing. Laura and Duke quickly become lovers, their chemistry both onstage and off. The summer is a whirlwind of rehearsals, swimming in the lake, and the intoxicating sense of possibility that comes with youth and art.

Tom Lake's Magic

The Tom Lake summer is a golden time, full of camaraderie, artistic growth, and the blurring of boundaries between performance and reality. Laura, Duke, Pallace, and Duke's brother Sebastian form a tight-knit group, their relationships deepening through shared work and play. The theater's idyllic setting and the intensity of summer stock life heighten every emotion, making the joys and heartbreaks feel larger than life.

The Duke Effect

Duke's charisma is undeniable, but so is his volatility. He is brilliant onstage, but offstage he is restless, self-destructive, and increasingly drawn to Pallace. Laura witnesses his spiraling behavior—obsessive character notebooks, substance abuse, and emotional unpredictability. The group's dynamic shifts as Duke and Pallace's attraction grows, and Laura's sense of belonging begins to fray.

Love, Friendship, Betrayal

As the summer progresses, Laura's relationship with Duke unravels. Pallace, her understudy, steps into both her role and her lover's arms. Laura is left to grapple with betrayal, loss, and the realization that her time as Emily—onstage and in life—is over. The friendships and romances forged at Tom Lake are tested by ambition, jealousy, and the inevitable end of summer.

The Stage Manager's Fall

The beloved Stage Manager, Uncle Wallace, collapses during a performance, a victim of his own excesses. Laura's boyfriend Joe, the director, steps in to save the production, and Laura is forced to confront the fragility of both art and life. The show goes on, but the magic of the summer is broken. Laura's own career ends abruptly when she ruptures her Achilles tendon on the tennis court, and Pallace takes over her roles.

The End of Acting

Laura's injury marks the end of her acting career. She watches from the sidelines as Pallace shines, and Duke and Pallace's affair burns hot and fast. Laura returns to sewing, helping with costumes, and begins to see a different future for herself. She leaves Tom Lake with the help of Ripley, who comes to fetch her for the film's release. The world of theater and acting recedes, replaced by the quieter satisfactions of craft and family.

The Orchard's Inheritance

Laura's life after Tom Lake is shaped by loss and renewal. She cares for her dying grandmother, returns to New Hampshire, and eventually moves to New York, working as a seamstress. Years later, she reunites with Joe, and together they build a life on the Michigan orchard. The farm becomes the center of their family, a place of continuity and change, where the past is both present and transformed.

Daughters and Mothers

The pandemic summer brings Laura's daughters home, and with them, the questions and longings of a new generation. The girls press Laura for the truth about Duke, about love, about the choices that shaped their family. Laura's storytelling becomes an act of both confession and legacy, as she tries to give her daughters the wisdom she has earned without burdening them with her regrets.

The Return of Duke

Years after Tom Lake, Duke, now a famous and troubled actor, visits the orchard. The encounter is awkward and bittersweet, a collision of memory and reality. Duke is a stranger to Laura's daughters, and to Laura herself. The visit is a reminder of the paths not taken, and the peace that comes from choosing a different life.

Letting Go

Duke's eventual death by drowning in Capri reverberates through Laura's family. The daughters, especially Emily, must come to terms with the end of their fantasies and the reality of their own lives. Laura reflects on the impossibility of saving those who will not save themselves, and the necessity of letting go—of lovers, of dreams, of the past.

The Truth About Love

Laura and Joe's marriage, built on steadiness and trust, stands in contrast to the drama of her youth. The family faces the future together, with all its uncertainties. Laura acknowledges the mistakes and heartbreaks of her past, but also the grace that comes from survival and forgiveness. The orchard, with its cycles of growth and loss, becomes a symbol of endurance and hope.

The Cemetery and the Future

The novel ends with the family gathering in the orchard's cemetery, burying Duke's ashes under a red oak tree. The land holds the stories of generations, and Laura sees that there is room for all of them—past, present, and future. The daughters, each with their own paths, are free to choose their lives, just as Laura did. The orchard endures, a testament to love, work, and the beauty of ordinary days.

Characters

Laura Kenison

Laura is the novel's narrator and emotional center. As a young woman, she is practical, self-effacing, and quietly ambitious, drawn into acting almost by accident. Her relationships—with her grandmother, her best friend Veronica, her lovers, and later her husband and daughters—are marked by loyalty, empathy, and a deep capacity for observation. Laura's journey is one of self-discovery, loss, and acceptance. She is shaped by the roles she plays—Emily in Our Town, daughter, mother, wife—but ultimately finds meaning in the life she builds on the orchard, and in the stories she passes on to her children.

Peter Duke

Duke is the gravitational force of Laura's youth—a brilliant, mercurial actor whose charm and talent are matched by his volatility and self-destructive tendencies. He is both lover and betrayer, a figure of longing and regret. Duke's rise to fame is shadowed by addiction and emotional instability. He is incapable of lasting happiness or commitment, but leaves an indelible mark on everyone he encounters. His relationship with Laura is passionate but doomed, and his eventual death is both tragic and inevitable.

Joe Nelson

Joe is Laura's husband and the quiet hero of the novel. A director turned cherry farmer, he is practical, optimistic, and deeply trustworthy. Joe's love for Laura is patient and enduring, and together they build a life rooted in work, family, and the land. He is the counterpoint to Duke's chaos—a man who chooses responsibility over drama, and whose presence anchors the family through crisis and change.

Pallace Clarke

Pallace is a dancer and actress, Laura's understudy and eventual rival. She is dazzling onstage and off, and her affair with Duke precipitates the end of Laura's acting career and her relationship with Duke. Pallace is both a symbol of youthful ambition and a reminder of the inevitability of change. Her success is hard-won, and her presence forces Laura to confront her own limitations and desires.

Sebastian Duke

Duke's older brother, Sebastian, is a former tennis prodigy turned teacher and coach. He is calm, kind, and emotionally intelligent—the opposite of his brother in temperament. Sebastian is a stabilizing force for both Duke and Laura, offering friendship, care, and a glimpse of a different kind of love. His loyalty and decency make him a quietly heroic figure, and his later role as Duke's caretaker underscores the novel's themes of responsibility and forgiveness.

Emily

Emily, Laura's oldest daughter, is strong-willed, passionate, and deeply invested in the family's legacy. She is obsessed with the story of Duke, convinced for a time that he is her real father. Emily's journey is one of reconciliation—with her mother, with the truth, and with her own place in the world. She ultimately chooses the orchard and a life with Benny, embracing both continuity and change.

Maisie

Maisie is the family's caretaker, studying to be a veterinarian and always ready to help—whether with animals or people. She is logical, grounded, and unafraid to challenge her sisters or her mother. Maisie's pragmatism is balanced by a deep well of empathy, and she serves as both mediator and truth-teller within the family.

Nell

Nell is sensitive, creative, and attuned to the emotional currents of those around her. She aspires to be an actress, and her longing for the stage mirrors Laura's own youthful ambitions. Nell's ability to read people and situations makes her both vulnerable and wise, and her relationship with her mother is marked by a profound mutual understanding.

Veronica

Veronica is Laura's high school best friend, her confidante and partner in mischief. Their friendship is tested and ultimately broken by Laura's betrayal, a loss that haunts Laura for years. Veronica represents the innocence and intensity of adolescent friendship, and the pain of growing apart.

Uncle Wallace

Uncle Wallace is the veteran actor who plays the Stage Manager at Tom Lake. Beloved and talented, he is also an alcoholic whose collapse onstage marks the end of an era. His fate is a cautionary tale about the dangers of excess and the limits of talent, and his kindness to Laura is a touchstone in her memory.

Plot Devices

Framed Storytelling and Nonlinear Narrative

The novel's structure is built around Laura's storytelling to her daughters during the pandemic summer. The narrative moves fluidly between past and present, with Laura's memories triggered by her daughters' questions and the rhythms of orchard life. This nonlinear approach allows for a deep exploration of character and theme, as the past is constantly reinterpreted in light of the present.

The Play Within the Story: Our Town

Our Town is both a literal and metaphorical touchstone throughout the novel. The play's themes—ordinary life, the passage of time, the inevitability of loss—echo in Laura's experiences and the structure of the book. The repeated performances of Emily's role, and the shifting cast of characters, underscore the novel's meditation on change, memory, and the meaning of home.

Intergenerational Dialogue

The dynamic between Laura and her daughters is central to the novel's emotional power. The daughters' relentless questioning forces Laura to confront her own past, while her selective storytelling reflects the complexities of maternal love and the desire to protect. The intergenerational dialogue becomes a means of transmitting wisdom, reckoning with regret, and forging new understanding.

Symbolism of the Orchard and the Cemetery

The orchard is both setting and symbol—a place of labor, inheritance, and belonging. The family cemetery, where generations are buried and where Duke's ashes are eventually interred, represents the continuity of life and the acceptance of death. The cycles of planting, harvesting, and loss mirror the characters' journeys and the novel's themes of endurance and renewal.

The Pandemic as Backdrop

The COVID-19 pandemic is not the novel's focus, but it shapes the characters' circumstances and emotional states. The enforced togetherness, the uncertainty about the future, and the return to the land all heighten the urgency of Laura's storytelling and the family's need for meaning and connection.

Analysis

Ann Patchett's Tom Lake is a luminous meditation on memory, love, and the passage of time, using the frame of a mother's storytelling during a pandemic summer to explore the ways our pasts shape our present and future. Through the lens of theater—especially Our Town—the novel examines the beauty and pain of ordinary life, the inevitability of change, and the necessity of letting go. Patchett's characters are richly drawn, their relationships marked by both tenderness and complexity. The novel's nonlinear structure and intergenerational dialogue invite readers to consider how stories are told, retold, and transformed across time. Ultimately, Tom Lake is a celebration of endurance, forgiveness, and the quiet heroism of choosing to stay, to work, and to love in the face of loss. It reminds us that the most profound dramas are often found not on the stage, but in the orchards, kitchens, and hearts of those who carry the past forward into the future.

Last updated: July 20, 2025