During the spring of 2020, Lara’s three daughters converge at the family orchard in Northern Michigan. As they engage in the seasonal task of picking cherries, they implore their mother to recount the tale of Peter Duke, a renowned actor with whom she once shared both a stage and a romance at the Tom Lake theater company many years ago. Lara’s reminiscences of the past prompt her daughters to reflect on their own lives and their relationship with their mother, compelling them to reevaluate their understanding of the world.
“Torn Lake” serves as a contemplation on youthful love, married love, and the lives led by parents before their children came into existence. This narrative, simultaneously hopeful and elegiac, delves into the essence of happiness even amid a world seemingly unraveling. Ann Patchett, renowned for her compelling narrative artistry and insightful exploration of family dynamics, weaves a story that is both rich and luminous. With profound intelligence and emotional subtlety, Patchett once again establishes herself as one of the most revered and acclaimed literary talents of our time.