This is quite possibly my favorite book of the year. (Is it just me or does it seem as though new books have moved to the top of my list quite often this year?) Kristin Hannah provides another outstanding novel that is quickly putting her works in the same league as those of Jodi Picoult in my personal opinion. Simply another great book that I did not want to put down.
To fully understand the theme of the novel, I think it best to look to one of the closing scenes between our heroine, Annie, and her father. While visiting Annie’s southern California home, Hank expresses his understanding of the differences between mothers and fathers.
A dad. . . he teaches responsibility and accountability, but a mom. . .ah, a mom teaches her child to dream, to reach for the stars and to believe in fairy tales. At least, that’s what Sarah would have given you. But me? What does an uneducated old millworker like me know about fairy tales and possibilities and dreams?
Hannah, On Mystic Lake, 381.
Now let’s look back to the beginning of the novel so I can show you why this book is so amazing. Annie has everything she could possibly want — an amazing wardrobe, a beautiful Malibu home, a successful husband, and an adoring teenage daughter. At least, on the outside it appears that Annie has it all. After dropping her recently graduated daughter at the airport to spend a summer in London, Annie’s world is turned upside down when her husband tells her that he is in love with another woman and wants a divorce.
In a search for a way to survive the disillusion of her twenty year marriage, Annie returns to her quiet hometown of Mystic, Oregon to spend some time with her father, Hank. While in town, Annie encounters Nick – a one-time high school flame — and his daughter, Izzy. Nick and Izzy are just as lost as Annie as they reel from the death of wife and mother. At first it appears that Izzy is having the most difficulty dealing with the loss as she imagines that she is gradually disappearing, wearing black gloves to cover her small hands that cease to seem real to her. Annie’s maternal instincts kick in and she begins to offer Izzy a much needed lifeline. In the process, her connection with Nick grows as she discovers his struggles and the two together begin to save each other.
Just as it appears that Annie has begun to rediscover the woman that she really is and what it means to be a family, things take an unexpected turn and she must return to her former life in southern California. Perhaps this is just what is needed to save her marriage to Blake and restore her broken family. But what of Nick and Izzy? Can she really leave behind this non-traditional family she has found on the shores of Mystic Lake?
Hannah’s story is an exceptional exploration of family relationships, especially those between daughters and their mothers and fathers. Hannah also beautifully expresses that family is not limited to only biology and marriage; some of the strongest family units are those that we have chosen.
First published in 1999, Kristin Hannah’s On Mystic Lake continues to resonate with audiences and is worthy of the highest praise. This is now my 7th novel to complete by the author. This work takes it place alongside The Great Alone, True Colors, and The Nightingale. For those Kristin Hannah fans that have stopped by this humble blog, what do you consider your favorite of the author’s books? I’m looking for my next adventure into Kristin Hannah’s world and would love to hear your recommendations.
Reading for Me 