Buckeye by Patrick Ryan

Sunday, July 26, 2026--San Antonio

Buckeye by Patrick Ryan started somewhat slowly for me.  I considered quiting it.  But about 30% of the way through, it took off and I didn't want to put it down.  It is a sweeping novel about America while concentrating on two families and the town in Ohio were they live.  It covers time from the late 1930s to the approximately 1980.  It dwells on love and forgivness from the beginning to the end as it brings up so many situations that commonly happen over time--being abandoned as a child, keeping secrets from others within the family, going to war, falling in love, losing a loved one, cheating on a loved one, trying to save a marriage, having a spouse who doesn't understand or even believe something about you that is important to you, gay men marrying women in hopes they can be what society expects of them and the consequences for both the man and the wife (and the children) in such a marriage, changes taking place in society over time, wars that keep happening with severe consequences for those involved (not necessarily voluntarily) and too often going wrong over time, etc.  The characters are interesting.  The story is great.  I gave the book 4 1/2 stars out of 5.