I’ve been thinking about Ann Patchett a lot recently. Well, more than usual, I mean, because she IS one of my favorite authors after all.
But recently, she has published a new book (Tom Lake), AND I had the opportunity to see her in person on the book tour for it.
Since one of the main things I write about on this blog is books, it seems obvious that I should have an article about Ann Patchett. But the internet hardly needs another review of all of Ann Patchett’s work (and that would be way too long, anyway).
Do I think you should read all of her books? Yes, I do. However, if you’re just getting started, or if you aren’t sure that you’ll explore her entire backlist, I have created my recommended roadmap to reading Ann Patchett. Read the following books, in the following order, to arrive at a healthy appreciation of the scope and beauty of her writing.
Starting Point: Read Her First Book
The Patron Saint of Liars is Ann’s first published novel. At the time, she was spending her days waitressing at a TGI Friday’s, while working out the details of the novel in her head. After about a year of that, she wrote it all down.
In the book, Rose Clinton is a woman feeling stifled and tethered by her marriage. (Through no fault of her husband, really. He’s a very kind and gentle man.) When Rose discovers that she is pregnant, that’s it; she decides to leave. Without a word. Driving east from California to Kentucky to arrive at St. Elizabeth’s Home for Unwed Mothers. (We know that she is not an unwed mother, but she lies about it.) The typical stay at the home is nine months or less, but Rose finds a way to remain there indefinitely. She makes herself indispensable in the kitchen, and she marries the handyman/caretaker, Son. (She doesn’t bother to tell him that she’s actually still married to her first husband.)
I didn’t really like Rose. Everyone’s got issues, but she just seemed so self-centered. It pissed me off that she insisted on naming her baby “Cecilia.” It pissed me off how aloof she always was with Cecilia. And she REALLY pissed me off at the end of the book. She wasn’t all bad—it’s not wrong to value one’s sense of independence, and she could be incredibly compassionate with the nuns and other women at the home. But come on, grow up, Rose. That’s what I wanted to tell her.
I’m sure plenty of people would disagree with my assessment of Rose. But the bottom line is, this was a great book. And it was Ann’s first novel! I think you’ll be equally impressed and eager to continue on the reading journey.
Next Stop: Read Her Newest Book
Ann’s most recent novel is Tom Lake. The setting is northern Michigan. It’s a story told alternately in the present-day, at a cherry orchard during the Covid lockdowns, and in the 1980s at Tom Lake, a summer theater company. The main character, Lara, while harvesting cherries with her three adult daughters, unspools for them the tale of her brief acting career and love affair with the famous Peter Duke during the summer she spent performing Our Town. My favorite element of this book was the dynamic among the mom and her daughters. I was warmed by (and perhaps a little jealous of) their close-knit friendship. It also made me want to finally read Our Town.
But the BEST part of Tom Lake is that I got to see Ann Patchett on her promotional book tour! Her tour included an evening at the Maltz Performing Arts Center in Cleveland, Ohio, just two hours from where I live, which made for the perfect overnight getaway.
The event featured Ann Patchett along with her good friend Kevin Wilson, talking all about books: Books they’ve read, books they want to read, books they’ve written. Their mutual respect and affection was obvious. It was an enjoyable, entertaining, and inspirational evening.
You’ve Arrived: Read Her Best Book
Since this is my blog, I get to decide which book is her best. And it’s State of Wonder. This was Ann’s sixth novel but the first one of hers that I read, and the way I learned of it was kind of unusual.
I was a little late to the party, but like every woman of a certain age, I eventually read Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love. I loved it, so I then proceeded to read everything else she’d written, including Big Magic, a nonfiction work about inspiration and how to live a creative life. In that book, she describes meeting Ann Patchett at a book event and the close friendship they developed from there.
The crazy thing was this: As they corresponded and talked about writing, they discovered that they had each independently had the idea for a novel set in the Amazon. Novels with eerily similar plots. The idea had come to Elizabeth first, but she let it lie fallow for too long, at which point it seemed to have abandoned her and magically migrated to Ann’s head (and yes, Elizabeth really does theorize that ideas have the ability to do this). They were mutually delighted and astonished by this turn of events, which resulted in Ann’s book State of Wonder.
Intriguing, right? At the time I was unfamiliar with Ann Patchett, but I checked out State of Wonder . . . and then proceeded to read everything else she’d written.
State of Wonder is such an inventive story: A pharmaceutical company is heavily invested in developing a fertility drug in the Amazon. But the doctor heading up the project is notoriously and unapologetically incommunicado. After the employee who’d been sent to the Amazon to check up on her work winds up dead of a fever, his colleague Marina Singh is dispatched to get some answers. The remote Amazonian setting is mesmerizing as well as terrifying in its foreignness. And Marina . . . I really liked her. She’s strong, smart, kind, and reliable. Some might fault her for being too hard on herself and not hard enough on others. But nobody could undergo such a foray into the Amazon and remain unchanged, and Marina is no exception. She discovers that she is stronger and more resilient than she ever knew and is finally able to let go of the things—from both the past and the present—that have been holding her back for far too long.
Side Trip: Read Some Nonfiction
If you have the time and inclination, I also recommend that you check out some of Ann’s nonfiction. She has several collections of essays, my favorite of which is This Is the Story of a Happy Marriage. By reading her essays, I felt like I really got to know Ann as a person. Plus it makes it even more fun to read her novels because you spot autobiographical nuggets here and there that you wouldn’t otherwise recognize.
I hope you enjoy your introduction to Ann Patchett. It should give you a good sense of Ann as a writer and as a person. And if you want to continue the journey you’re in luck, because she has six other novels, several more collections of essays, and even a couple of children’s books for you to explore.
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