Buckeye

Small Town, Epic Story

Patrick Ryan’s new novel, Buckeye, is set in the fictional small town of Bonhomie, Ohio. It’s a real saga, mostly centering around World War Two and its aftermath–but continuing on through the century. Cal Jenkins is a Bonhomie native, unable to serve in the war because he was born with one leg shorter than the other. Resigned to married life and running his father-in-law’s hardware store, he’s not sure what to make of his wife Becky’s newly found gift of speaking to the dead–and the growing number of strangers showing up in his living room for a chance to reconnect with a loved one. Margaret Salt, a big-city transplant who grew up in-and-out of an orphanage, is the wife of Felix. She’s lost when her husband goes to war and finds herself enmeshed with the Jenkins in ways she never could have imagined. When the war is over, marriages flourish and fail, relationships surprise people, children grow up. It’s a big book. 

Jennifer: Here’s the mandatory first question. Did you like it?

Lara: I loved it. I think it’s official, Jenna Bush picks books I really like. It has all the elements of rich and layered storytelling that I love–deeply flawed characters on a journey to understand themselves and each other. We also get a blistering view of how choices can cause irreparable harm even if made with only the best of intentions. It’s also a story taking place in a time with a lot of limited thinking, and I appreciated Ryan’s building characters that could be more open-minded, or at least evolve their thinking as they learned more. 

What about you?

Jennifer: I strongly liked it. We decided that something else is official: you pick books I will probably like. (Fans, I never pick our books. Lara does.) Jenna? I have no clue. Oprah picks good ones. 

But, yes, I liked this a lot. I like stories of epic proportions; I do! I like decades playing out, characters aging, time having consequences. This book has that. What constitutes an epic? It’s not just length; it’s scope . . ..

Was there a particular character you felt most attached to?

Lara: I really loved Felix. I felt the tension he experienced as a man living in a time that wasn’t ready for him. I applauded how he showed up for his son, Tom, when Margaret couldn’t (or chose not to). This also endeared me to Tom.  

What did you think of the characters and how they evolved across the story?

Jennifer: I liked that aspect too. These were characters who morphed with maturity. I think I liked Cal the best! But I liked aspects of all of them.

Here’s a controversial question. So there’s trauma here. I’m thinking mostly of Margaret, actually. While that trauma most certainly shapes her very being–because all of us are affected by our pasts and traumas–does that excuse her actions? Anyone’s actions? How culpable are we, when we’ve been very damaged? 

Lara: So, we are purposely being vague about Margaret’s trauma, but it plays a major role in the story. Here’s what I am going to say; the trauma we experience absolutely plays a role in our lives and how we show up. People don’t always have the means or resources to “fix” themselves. So, there is SOME culpability, but can we honestly say that someone needs to have all their shit worked out before they enter a relationship or have a child and put others at risk for the pain they have experienced.

Jennifer: Lara, I knew you’d tip-toe over calling the behavior out. No, of course, our trauma shouldn’t stop us from engaging in life. However, Margaret is–as am I–culpable for the damage done to others. Margaret’s choices and the consequences are often the crux of this novel. Her choices contrast with that of Felix, for instance. I won’t give it away here, but I do think individuals often find that there are subtle consequences for their actions. There are also amazing redemptive moments. In this book, Felix loves his son, Cal’s dad experiences a new kind of existence, Cal and Becky work on their marriage. Is it all happy? Is it all authentic-sounding? Are we sucked in?

So, we kinda just go with it when we read that Becky has the ability to speak to the dead, and Ryan just goes with it too. Her abilities are not scrutinized. There’s no particular religious sensibility behind it. Cal is a bit weirded out. Becky’s portrayed as real, however. I guess I’d say this is an odd thing in an otherwise realistic novel. Any thoughts on this?

Lara: I will say Becky’s storyline had me worried with a potential foray into magical realism. 

Jennifer: Me too. 

Lara: But Ryan handled it well and it created a realistic tension and division between her and Cal that was, I felt, realistic for a marriage. I like how they worked on their relationship. While it wasn’t all happy all the time, that’s not realistic. What it was, was authentic. Ryan also did a great job realistically portraying the impact secrets can have on relationships and individuals, regardless of the intentions of the secret-keeper. And, in Buckeye, there are lots of secrets and shame around them:

“When is the best time, exactly, to correct a lie told for fifteen years, and to reveal a truth that’s been buried for twenty-three?”

And…

“Forgiveness was supposed to be the high road, but it was low, bumpy—and long.”

Jennifer: I also admired the historical and cultural information. We get some WWII, the Vietnam War, racial tensions, small town America, etc. 

And I understood Margaret’s unhappiness as a mom: 

“She couldn’t face another goldfish funeral.” 

Girlfriend, I hear you. 

Did I ever tell you, Lara, how my youngest daughter let a dead fish rot in her room? Or about her hamster that died in the night? (I think she nominally loved him.) His name was Mose, after Dwight’s cousin in The Office. One night, she woke me up and I rolled over in bed to see her crying. “Mommy,” she said. “Mose is dead.”

Also, it’s a spoiler so I’m not going to quote it–but I think the last page, the last image, is very beautiful and meaningful. Patrick Ryan chose to end this perfectly.

Lara: I don’t think you told me those pet stories, but, yeah. That’s kids. I also liked the historical backdrop and found things happening back then to be eerily similar to things we are experiencing today.

“Tensions around integration in the South were rising, now that the Supreme Court had said that segregation was illegal in schools. Bigotry seemed to be a right some people thought they earned by paying taxes, and they weren’t about to have that right taken away.”

And… in response to peaceful war protests in D.C.

“Inside the White House, Nixon watched college football on television. This detail would become part of history only because he himself would brag about it later: how completely unbothered he’d been by the people marching outside.”

Now, regarding the ending? It WAS perfect! I have read online rumblings about the ending and I say pshaw! It ended as it should. 

Jennifer: What else are you reading?

Lara: You are going to be shocked, but I am slowing down a bit on my reading! Since we last met, I have only read four books, not counting Buckeye. I read two very different books with the same title: I Hope This Finds You Well, a humorous and heartfelt novel by Natalie Sue and a collection of poems by Kate Baer. Both were great. I veered from my usual fare to read Our Hideous Progeny by C.J. Mills. It’s a gothic tale a la Frankenstein-like stuff. For a book club. Great audio, great messages about women in science. But ultimately creepy. I polished off the final installment of John Boyne’s Elements series, Air, which was great despite him being a problematic individual. And, I am in the final stretch of my year-long read of Lonesome Dove. 

What have you been reading?

Jennifer: Well, I’m excited to get my hands on your copy of John Boyne’s Air! I guess I read a lot. I will say that I read and loved a biography on Johnny Cash by Steve Turner called The Man Called Cash. I also read Culpability by Bruce Holsinger, upon your suggestion, and that struck me as timely and potentially a great read next to Hum by Helen Phillips or The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt: books to get one a little worked up. I finished Tolstoy’s War and Peace! What to say? Don’t do it? I liked Pierre. And I loved Olive, Again by Elizabeth Strout, which launched our next little project. 

Up Next!

We are working on a bit of a reading project, a read of Elizabeth Strout’s Amgash series, with a column to discuss all five books coming soon. Also, be on the lookout for our 2025 Best Of feature. Until then, happy reading!