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.

I absolutely loved this book! It was so readable that I never once felt my attention wander. The words just flowed for me. I really liked the way Cal and Margaret are introduced in the first part of the story, and how the narrative then centres on the four main characters of Tom, Cal, Margaret, and Becky spanning from the beginning of the Second World War through to later decades. The main themes include motherhood, grief, spiritualism, PTSD, war, social conformity, relationships, love, friendship, and parenthood. The novel weaves in the impact of both the Second World War and the Vietnam War, showing the lasting effects on those involved. The characters were so well developed that I found myself genuinely caring about them. I especially enjoyed watching Everett’s character develop, alongside Tom and Skip. The pacing felt perfect and the writing had a lyrical quality. The setting was beautifully and tragically described, which added so much to my enjoyment. This was my first time reading Patrick Ryan, and I’m pleased to discover he’s written many other books. There were so many moments in this novel that made me smile or feel deeply emotional. I wholeheartedly recommend it. I'll be thinking about this book for a while. I received an Advance Review Copy from NetGalley and this is my honest review.

All the characters in ‘Buckeye’, by Patrick Ryan, feel like they are different. Margaret was abandoned by her mother at an orphanage, Cal has one leg shorter than the other, Becky has the ability to sense the dead, and Felix’s head wants a traditional family life, but his heart wants something else. Over several decades, and two wars, their lives entwine together in the small Ohio town of Bonhomie, but secrets emerge that have ramifications down the generations. Having never read a book by Ryan before, I picked this one due to the recommendation by Ann Patchett. Ryan’s writing reminded me of Elizabeth Strout or Anne Tyler, both authors I really love. The book is long, but I felt engaged throughout, and as the family saga developed I occasionally found myself crying. This is a beautiful novel that for me is about how people can have multiple sides to them that may be left unknown, even to those closest to them.

This is a wonderful novel that picks you up gently, takes you through wars, personal struggles and social upheavals, and deposits you at the end with the feeling that you've lived all these lives yourself! Beautifully written, in restrained prose that also manages to convey everything it needs to, this is almost flawless fiction. Subtle, well paced and sympathetic with occasional sprinkles of quiet humour, it traces the lives, loves and losses of a group of people in a small town in Ohio. Pitch perfect! Many thanks to the publishers for sending me an early proof.