This is a book that covers so much ground, so much history, so many complex situations, but seems to do so effortlessly. Characters, relationships, plot - everything hangs together. Even in the most harrowing situations, and I am thinking particularly of the sinking of the ship, the language is simple, toned down, and I think that is its power. A superbly accomplished novel.

Buckeye is a quietly absorbing story of two Ohio families whose lives are linked forever by a chance event in 1945. It's a clever juxtaposition of the ordinary dramas of people in a small town and the crushing impacts of the 20th century's wars. I like that Ryan avoids the more obvious and sensational outcomes and the way he gives the characters - and the reader - room to breathe. I'm still reflecting on the decisions of one character in particular. A book to savour.

This novel spanned several wars and managed to cover family strife, affairs, divorce, death, child abandonment and homosexuality.

The characters were simply drawn but with a definite slant: Cal with his leg impairment, Becky with her spiritualism, Margaret the orphan, Felix with his sexuality, Everett with his hoarding. It is a novel where nothing much happens for most of the time, so to write that many pages is quite an achievement!

It reminded me of 11.22.63 by Stephen King and Stoner by John Williams. It had that sprawling flow to it that didn't seem to want to end, without ever really getting any storyline completed through the years. I personally found the pace too slow and barren, but I'm probably not the target market.

I completed the novel and had to stop and think about what the overriding message was. Probably that life is too short to carry regrets?!

Absolutely loved Patrick Ryan’s Buckeye! What a rich, emotional ride. It’s filled with family secrets, tangled love stories, and the kind of historical depth that makes you feel like you’ve lived through generations. Each character felt so real, and I was constantly amazed at everything they endured—personal losses, sweeping historical events, heartbreak, healing. And somehow, they always managed to keep going. We need more books that capture the resilience of everyday lives like this. So thankful for Patrick Ryan and this beautiful, layered story.

Good old fashioned storytelling in what is so far my favourite book of the year. A war, secrets and lies cause issues down the line.

Acclaimed short story writer Patrick Ryan’s debut novel follows two families, linked by a devastating secret, over forty decades beginning in the 1940s.
Cal was born with a disability that makes him ineligible to serve in the war, enduring the usual cruelties dished out by schoolchildren. Becky had also been the subject of derision thanks to her claims to hear the dead. No earth-shattering bolt of lightning makes these two fall for each other but their friendship leads to marriage, and eventually a son. On VE day, a beautiful redhead walks into the family hardware store asking Cal for a radio. They listen to the news together, Margaret so delighted that she kisses him. It’s some time before she has news of her husband, presumed missing, who returns carrying a grief he can’t talk about. When Margaret tells him she’s pregnant, Felix has the hope of the family life he’s buried so much to attain.
The story of these two families plays out against the background of great social change, exploring themes of family, sexuality, infidelity, love and forgiveness with a perceptive compassion and a touch of gentle humour. War is an underlying background hum – the ruinous effects on those left behind, on those who go to war and the ones that come home unable or unwilling to talk about it. Often doorstoppers make me feel desperate to cut swathes from them but Ryan’s impressive powerful novel kept me engrossed throughout.