BUCKEYE

by Patrick Ryan

Although Buckeye was on many ‘favorites’ lists at the end of 2025, I feel like it is still somewhat flying under the radar. Many friends to whom I have mentioned it as a favorite in recent months have never heard of it. So let me be (perhaps) the first to tell you that this book is a sweeping, modern classic and not to be missed.

Set in a small town in Ohio, the story begins with the end of World War II, when a celebratory kiss between strangers becomes an affair with repercussions that last decades and generations. Cal Jenkins has always been an outsider due to the uneven length of his legs and the various tragedies of his childhood. Now, unable to serve during the War, he is further distanced from his peers. Additionally, as his wife develops her gift of communicating with the spirits of the deceased, and her services become a hot commodity in their little corner of the midwest, Cal feels alienated from her as well. So when Margaret Salt explodes into his life, he is ready and willing to blow things up right along with her. 

Margaret is also an outsider in town, having grown up in an orphanage and married her charming, if distant, husband Felix at only 18. When Felix is transferred from Columbus, Ohio to Cal’s small town, Margaret feels lonely and stifled. And after many months alone with Felix deployed overseas, she impulsively reaches towards a similarly lonely soul and ignites the drama that carries the novel through its myriad twists and turns. 

Besides having an excellent plot with memorable and entertaining characters, what I loved most about Buckeye was Ryan’s gentle prose which reminded me of the Stage Manager in Thornton Wilder’s Our Town. Although there is plenty of drama, I always had the sense that I was reading about real people who were doing their best to live a life of which they could be proud. I highly recommend Buckeye to all of you. (Lily)