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"Captivating ... Omniscient, sweeping, almost defiantly sentimental, Buckeye is a reminder of the deep pleasure of following a cast of characters over their entire lives ... Ryan’s wide-angle approach complements his evocative yet tranquil style ... The author clearly loves these people, and he makes the safe bet that you will, too." - NYT Book Review

"Ryan...ambitiously aims here to write an American epic and he has the chops to do so ... What Ryan captures in Buckeye is both the sweep of history and the mostly mundane particularity of everyday life ... If there's a flaw to find in this overwhelming novel it may be that the characters are a bit too uniformly eloquent and self-aware. But, really, why complain about too many epiphanies when they're expressed as beautifully as this?" - Maureen Corrigan, NPR

From our members:

  • Matthew: "Buckeye is one of my favorite types of novels: POV from a set group of characters which takes place over a period of time. Clearly there's lots to discuss and happy this book is getting traction here. Patrick Ryan is a good/best pal of a Novel Lovers' fave, Ann Patchett."
  • Mac: "I agree that Buckeye offers much for rich discussion. I found it slow going at first, but then the pace and intrigue picked up and snared me. Several of us were toddlers during WW2 when our fathers were away at war and the book explores interesting situations and dilemmas that our mothers must have confronted. The narration is good for those of you who are listeners. Memorable phrase: having “the sexual creativity of a turnip.”
  • Lucinda : I would welcome discussing this book with others. A lot of ground is covered both emotionally and socially."
  • Mel: "The author does a good job at storytelling, he keeps it simple and interesting to read even though it is a long book. Characters all have a lot of struggles and they cope with issues of the times and situations they are put in. This book contains multi-generational stories with 2 families about eras many of us lived through and topics that you will think about for a long time."
  • Joan: "I really enjoyed Buckeye, and it has stayed with me. It's good storytelling, with interesting characters who make decisions -- good and bad -- with ramifications over decades. It's a long book -- 464 pages, 15'44" audio -- but I found it engrossing and fast moving, and I wanted to make time for it."

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