1. General Impressions

Gather initial thoughts and broad opinions about the book.

• Consider this book in relation to other pandemic novels. Examples include Gary Shteyngart’s Our Country Friends, Elizabeth Strout’s Lucy by the Sea, and Sigrid Nunez’s The Vulnerables. What characteristics do they share? Where does Tom Lake set itself apart?
• Tom Lake is Ann Patchett’s ninth novel. What role does this book occupy in Patchett’s extensive body of work? How does it continue or disrupt thematic and narrative patterns established in her earlier work?
• How does Tom Lake respond to the emotional challenge of the pandemic? What is the book’s overall mood? Does it aim to provide comfort and solace? To capture a sense of collective alarm? To signal a period of transformation? 

2. Personal Reflection and Connection

Encourage readers to connect the book’s themes and characters with their personal experiences and perspectives.

• How does the story resonate with your own memories of the Covid-19 pandemic? Does its combination of isolation and community feel true to your own experience?
• Think of a time in your life when you realized that the path you were on was no longer right for you. Compare your experience to that of Lara as she steps away from acting.