6 Degrees of Separation: From “Tom Lake” to “The Thirteenth Tale”

9 Comments / 6 Degrees of Separation, Fiction / By Mary Daniels Brown / February 3, 2024

This month we start with the book we ended with in January. That was Tom Lake by Ann Patchett. The title refers to a region in Michigan where the protagonist and her family own a cherry orchard.

first degree

My first-degree entry is a no-brainer: Anton Checkhov’s probably best known play, The Cherry Orchard.

second degree

Another book that features an orchard is The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin. This novel is set in my current home state of Washington.

third degree

Prodigal Summer by Barbara Kingsolver also features a place where both flora and fauna grow.

fourth degree

Barbara Kingsolver’s most recent novel is Demon Copperhead, a modern retelling of Dickens’s David Copperfield.

fifth degree

A copperhead is a common type of snake. I don’t like snakes. I mean, I really, REALLY don’t like snakes. That may be why the paperback edition of Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield has sat, unread, for so long in my TBR box. (It hasn’t even made it to the TBR shelf yet.) Just look at that river on the cover. Doesn’t it look more like a snake than a river to you? It certainly does to me.

sixth degree

However, The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield is on my TBR shelf. I’ve already read it, but I’m hoping to reread it in September, my traditional rereading month.

And there we have it. I hope you had as much fun with this month’s exercise as I did, and I look forward to seeing where the current 6 Degrees’ journey took you.

About The Author

Mary Daniels Brown

Mary Daniels Brown learned at an early age how to read people, and she’s been doing that ever since. Combining advanced education in both literature and psychology, she reads and reviews novels that explore identity, the search for meaning and purpose in life, and the varieties of human experience. She’s been blogging about books at Notes in the Margin for more than 25 years. Mary believes that her focus on Life Stories in Literature has made her both a more astute reader and a happier, more human person.

9 thoughts on “6 Degrees of Separation: From “Tom Lake” to “The Thirteenth Tale””

margaret21
February 4, 2024 at 2:14 AM

As ever, an interesting chain. I’d be interested in your views on Once Upon a River once you read it, as I was alone in our reading group in failing to finish it.
1. Mary Daniels Brown
  February 16, 2024 at 4:52 PM
  
  Thanks, Margaret. I don’t think I’ll be getting to Once Upon a River for quite some time (probably 2025 at the earliest).
  1. margaret21
    February 17, 2024 at 12:10 AM
    
    !!! so much to read, so little time …
Davida Chazan
February 4, 2024 at 2:52 AM

Oh dear… looks like you’ll have a second time to start with that book! I wonder where it will take you that time!
1. Mary Daniels Brown
  February 16, 2024 at 4:55 PM
  
  I’m looking forward to going in a whole different direction next time around!
Marg
February 5, 2024 at 1:23 AM

I had to double check as our starting point for next month is the same as yours was this month! How tricky for you!!
1. Mary Daniels Brown
  February 16, 2024 at 4:57 PM
  
  Thanks, Marg. I’m looking forward to it as both a challenge and an opportunity!
Anne Bennett
February 5, 2024 at 10:23 AM

I really appreciate your line of thinking. I would go straight from TOm Lake to either Chekhov or to Our Town by Wilder.

My Six Degrees of Separation list
1. Mary Daniels Brown
  February 16, 2024 at 4:58 PM
  
  I’m thinking of heading down the Our Town path, Anne.