A fabulous novel. This could be described as a gentle story of family life in small town America in the immediate aftermath of World War 2. To do this though would be to underestimate the wonderful characters and the sheer depth of insight into the ramifications of a single mistake upon them all.

Set in small-town America from the 1940s to the 1970s, Buckeye is gentle yet passionate, epic yet small scale, and brisk yet poignant.

After a moment of madness, two families become inextricably and secretly linked forever.

Rules tell writers to stick to one viewpoint character, but this novel jumps gleefully and masterfully in and out of the heads of:

Cal – who deeply regrets being invalided out of war service;
Becky – Cal’s wife with a gift for speaking to the dead;
Skip – their lively, happy-go-lucky son;
Everett – Cal’s drunken father, who saw service in World War One and now writes to
every US president to tell them (rudely) to focus on peace.

Margaret – adopted into a comfortably-off family and craving love from her husband;
Felix – traumatised by his World War Two service and unable to show wife Margaret
affection and love;
Tom – their small, red-haired son, who becomes the accepting victim of playground
bullying until Skip takes him under his wing.

The writing sweeps along with touches of wry humour and magical realism. Only at the sixty per cent point is the word ‘buckeye’ mentioned and then not dwelt on. Yet, this is a tender moment that lands perfectly.

I felt shades of Kurt Vonnegut, Isabel Allende and even Armistead Maupin. The name check in the novel for James A. Michener’s Centennial was also apt. However, Patrick Ryan is a writer who knows his own voice and is at the top of his game with this well-written novel that obliquely deals with the trauma and futility of war in the guise of an endearing family saga. I will seek out other books by this author.

With thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an early copy in exchange for an independent review.
On publication I will this review on my blog, Amazon and NetGalley.

What a wonderful, wonderful book! I'm sat here with tears in my eyes having just lived vicariously through the lives of Cal, Becky, Felix and Margaret and their families. Buckeye is a proper family saga set in Ohio over the war years - WW2, Korea and Vietnam. The main characters are affected by the wars but also by homosexually, infidelity, abandonment, disability and bigotry. The writing weaves these topics into the narrative in such a skillful and touching way. The responses of the three different generations are written sympathetically and in a way that highlights societal changes over time. An absolutely excellent book that I can wholeheartedly recommend.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read an advance copy. All opinions are my own

Absolutely the best thing I've read so far this year and one of the best novels I've read in the past few years, I couldn't put it down and couldn't stop thinking about it when I had to. Such an incredibly rich portrait of both a set of characters and the time and place in which they grew up - my favourite character kept changing with the shifting perspectives as they are all so sympathetically drawn, even when not acting in sympathetic ways. I couldn't recommend this novel more and many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Patrick Ryan's "Buckeye" is a masterful book, sweeping readers into the lives of two families from the eve of WWII through the aftermath of Vietnam.

Set in a charming small town in Ohio, the narrative centers on two young couples: Cal and Becky Jenkins, and Felix and Margaret Salt.

Cal Jenkins, born with a shorter leg, faces personal battles that keep him from the front lines of WWII, while his wife Becky possesses the ability to communicate with the dead, offering solace and guiding others towards forgiveness – a theme woven throughout the book. On the other side, Margaret Salt's early life in an orphanage, and her questions about her birth mother leading to her eventual independence. Felix Salt's harrowing experiences serving in the Navy during the war profoundly alter his life, adding another layer of complexity to the family saga.

A pivotal event during the war inextricably links these two families, setting in motion a series of revelations that will only fully unfold for most of them many years later. This central mystery provides an undercurrent to the unfolding story.

From the start, this book draws you in and immerses you in the setting and in the homes of the families. For people who enjoy character-driven books I highly recommend it.

Patrick Ryan is an award winning short story writer, so it's a surprise to see him tackle a lengthy novel about two couples across multiple decades and taking in much American history in its path. From the outset it is very clear Ryan enjoys working in miniature - some of the chapters here read like beautiful short stories in their own right - but the cumulative impact of these is that there becomes this sense of grandeur, almost epic quality to his story.

The setting is the small Ohio town of Bonhomie which Ryan sculpts beautifully on the page - I could see it's streets vividly - and he is very good on detailing these small town lives. His characters - Cal and Becky, Margaret and Felix - whose lives are entwined across the decades, are extremely well drawn and their stories engaging. It is a novel I read slowly, savouring the details. It is certainly a novel which drags you in and lets you wallow. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Bonhomie.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC.

Whilst the scope of this novel is huge and sweeping, covering multiple generations and midwestern lifetimes, it is an incredibly intimate read. It’s not often one starts a novel and immediately you feel the pull to slow down as you want to savour every minute little detail about the exquisite characters we are introduced to. Patrick Ryan has created the most beautifully drawn, admirable and often utterly hilarious, quirky and yet totally realistic characters whom I instantly warmed to and was rooting for from the very start. Plot wise, the lives of Cal, Margaret, Felix and Becky, then become intricately entwined in a way that no one could perhaps have imagined - and I don’t want to add any spoilers here, but the connection is both devastating and beautiful.

There is a significant shift in the tone and content mid novel and I have to admit that at first it was rather disarming; I was concerned that it was changing in a way that dampened its joy and I became temporarily a little impatient. In reality, the novel has many deeper and more serious layers and I came to appreciate that this was adding to its depth and in the end, creating a multi layered novel, which I actually couldn’t admire more. I was so very sad to say goodbye to the characters and I’ll be dreaming of them all ,and the vivid imagery of Bonhomie, for some time.

Huge thanks to NetGalley for this utterly splendid read.

An excellent, nuanced and sophisticated read about two Midwestern families connected by secrets.
Then changes happen inside and outside, and our characters, their loved ones and their community face challenges and decisions.
This was very atmospheric and rich in its characterisation.
I felt sympathy towards most or the characters.
The time period (WWI to Vietnam War) was a great choice.

A true family saga, written with empathy, skill and a clear understating of what makes people tick. Spanning the period from WWII until beyond the end of the Vietnam War it follows the lives of two families, connected in ways that are known only to a few family members, and held tightly as secrets by those few. The timelines are easy to follow and each of the characters is very finely drawn, with their own story told with compassion and clarity. This novel follows in the great of Marilynne Robinson, Ann Patchett and Elizabeth Strout and holds its head high in such August company.

Buckeye takes place in the Ohio town of Bonhomie during WWII. Cal Jenkins is married to Becky who is a seer which means she can conjure the dead, helping families connect to those that have passed. In the aftermath of Allied victory in Europe, Cal and Margaret Salt come together in a moment of passion but Margaret’s husband is serving on a Navy cargo ship and may have perished. Bonhomie is a small town and secrets don’t say buried forever.

This is a character driven novel and it’s very easy to empathise with the characters. I particularly liked how this showed how one family could have experienced WWI, WWII and then the Vietnam War. I would definitely recommend this novel although I wasn’t a huge fan of the changes in POV. It felt a little disjointed but other than that this was an enjoyable story with a real impact. 3.5 stars.

Buckeye is a wonderful, sweeping, family saga. This is such an absorbing story about two Ohio families forever linked by a chance event. The written is exquisite, the characterisation is wonderful, and the imaginary is vivid. It’s everything I love from a book!

I love a gnarly family saga and this is that in spades. Great characters and a real sense of them as living people. This starts out looking at the lives of Cal and Becky, Margaret and Felix and how their marriages and lives intertwine, sometimes for good and sometimes by messy accident. The time line covers from the start of the Second World War to the end of Vietnam and war and its after effects are the catalyst for a lot of what happens to the characters. It was really easy to immerse myself in this book and I really enjoyed it. The only sadness I had was that towards the end of the book I felt that pushing through the years rather than investing in the characters became the main driver and some of the nuance and detail was lost along the way, but otherwise I loved it.

That was hardcore! Heavy and emotional but impressive and packs a real punch. Feel I have just gone seven rounds with the literary equivalent of Mike Tyson. I will need to rest before I pick up another book.

A rather sad.story of two marriages in America from just before World War Two through The Vietnam War. The families become interwoven mainly through lack of communications. A very involving read.

Two families in small town America - during World War 2 there is an affair with far reaching consequences. An interesting read, it still amazes me that the Vietnam draft was televised on a Saturday night - can you imagine sitting down to watch that?
The plot and characters are enjoyable, it is a little flabby round the middle which mean t that I did have to work at finishing it - although I am glad that I did.

Patrick Ryan's novel sits up there with the beautifully crafted novels of Elizabeth Strout and Ann Patchett, and, for me, there is no greater compliment.
Set in Bonhomie, a small town in, I feel, the Midwest,Buckeye follows two families over the course of over forty years.These years are bookmarked by two wars, the Second World War and Vietnam. Each war contains seismic personal events for both families, the first sowing the seeds of tragedy which bloom in the second.
Tolstoy's famous quote on families, that each unhappy family is unhappy in it's own way, is perfectly illustrated in the lives of Cal, Bernie and Skip and Margaret, Felix and Tom, the eponymous Buckeye. ( That he is the eponymous character is only unveiled more than half way through the story!)
Written with such sensitivity and gentle understanding, this is a novel which involves the reader from the opening page right up to the turning of the final one.
No character is anything other than flawed, but each character truly tries to do their best in life, and every character is nuanced and draws in our sympathy and understanding.
There is undoubtedly closure as the novel draws to a close, but there is no saccharine happy ending, and that is one of the strengths of this , potentially, Great American Novel.
I am grateful to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an earc of this novel which was a great pleasure to read and review.

This was a novel that revealed its storyline quietly and slowly in a family saga that spans two generations in small town America, spanning World War II and the end of the Vietnam War. It's novel with vividly drawn characters, all with their own motivations, wants and desires. And it's the desires that come to haunt them - is it better to keep a secret or, faced with living proof that desire has happened, come clean an face the repercussions? And if you do come clean, is there ever a right time to do it?
It was beautifully written in parts, and reminded me of the novel, Stoner. It had me thinking for several days afterwards about the consequences of reckless acts and repressed feelings, which has to be a good thing in a novel.
I enjoyed the first and third parts but struggled with the middle, hence giving it three stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance review copy of Buckeye.

This is a gentle, character-driven read set in Midwest America between WW2 and the Vietnam war.. Patrick Ryan gives the reader room to absorb and contemplate the characters and the history which he unspools beautifully. People make decisions which resound down through the generations and you are a witness to the resulting story. A lovely, thought-provoking book.

A beautiful, unusual writing style which swept me along through the years and lives of the ordinary, flawed characters, keeping me enthralled and committed to their stories. Spanning the years before and after WW2 and then taking us along to the Korean and finally the Vietnam wars, the atmosphere and prejudices of the times is so beautifully described, I felt I was along for the journey. Character led, atmospheric with its major themes of forgiveness and loss and complicated grief, I enjoyed every minute of this beautifully written thought-provoking novel.

An interesting quiet read following two families in Ohio with all their ups and downs whilst becoming unexpectedly intertwined. Set between the two wars along with during WW2 and finishing just post the Vietnam war. Good diverse characters covering a multitude of issues throughout.