BUCKEYE by Patrick Ryan

5 stars

This novel dives into four people between two married couples, each with struggles in their marriages, and the ramifications of a passionate V.E. day celebratory kiss that changes their lives forever. The novel is set starting in 1939 in fictional Bonhomie, a small town in Ohio that prospers during World War II with huge uptakes in production from their local aluminum factory, and alternatives perspective between all four characters.

Cal Jenkins has grown up in Bonhomie, son of a World War I disillusioned vet, and has lost his mother, brother and sister to illness. His father has devolved into a drunken hoarder of junk while Cal feels despondent that he’s turned down from serving in the military in the war due to one of his legs being inches shorter than the other. He’s been working at the aluminum plant with little ambition and volunteered for a local patrol group that sees no action, when he meets beautiful and sunny Becky and impulsively decides to get married to her. He’s brow beaten by his father-in-law to leave the factory to run his hardware store in town.

Becky, who from a young age growing up in Bonhomie believes she can commune with the dead since the time when she intuited that a missing man was nearby and he turned up in a spring thaw dead in his car in the local river. Becky loves being married but equally loves trying to genuinely help people seeking connection with their dead or missing loved ones – especially with so much turmoil and death occurring amidst America entering the war and young men going to serve both in the European and Pacific theaters of war. Becky and Cal have one son, Skip, who she adores especially as doctors tell her she cannot medically withstand another pregnancy. Balancing motherhood with unpaid séance appointments out of her home, Becky feels alienated by Cal’s lack of belief in what she does and resentment of the time she donates trying to help others – particularly in the face of charlatans popping up on the spiritual scene to charge money and give false hope.

Margaret and Felix have only been married a couple years when they move from Columbus Ohio to Bonhomie for Felix promotion as operational manager of the aluminum plant.

Handsome Felix, who’s secretly been gay since his teens, has married Margaret out of shame, a desire to become straight for social acceptance and to have a family. He appreciates Margaret but mostly fails to sustain any sexual connection. Restless, Felix decides to beat being drafted as a foot soldier and volunteers for the Navy as an officer thanks to his college degree. He’s shipped off for what enfolds to be years to run logistics on container ships in the Pacific.

Margaret has grown up an abandoned orphan, left off at a basket in front of the local orphanage where she ends up growing up after a series of unsuccessful home placements – always the fault of the fostering couple. She falls in love with handsome older Felix, as her rescuer and adopter, and with his financial backing becomes cosmopolitan. Margarite loves art history, collects art, and loves to dance. Moving to Bonhomie feels like small town exile, especially as Felix ships off to war and she’s left on her own. With news breaking of the end of war, Margaret rushes into a nearby hardware store to catch the news live. In both celebration and seeing the raw desire on Cal’s face, she impulsively kisses him. This leads to a brief affair.

Each of the characters continue to marinate in their vulnerabilities and insecurities, and each of the couples end up raising one son who turn out to become friends. In turn, the parents and the boys face the prospect of the boys getting drafted to fight in the Vietnam War.

To his credit as a writer, Ryan manages both to brilliantly capture small town life and keep all his characters sympathetic up to a heartfelt ending.

Thanks to Random House Publishing Group and NetGalley for an advanced reader’s copy.

Stacy DeBroff

Stacy DeBroff, founder and CEO of Mom Central.com and social and digital consultancy, Influence Central, is a social media strategist, attorney, and best-selling parenting author. A sought-after expert for national media, she trend-spots regularly with national brands and speaks frequently to national and international audiences on a wide range of subjects, including influencer marketing, social media, entrepreneurship, and consumer trends. A passionate cook, gardener, reader, and tennis player, she adores this new chapter of post-college-age parenting.