Discussion of ‘Buckeye’ (2025) by Patrick Ryan

Join us for dinner and a discussion of the book Buckeye by Patrick Ryan.

Restaurant: TBA

Summary (from Goodreads):

In Bonhomie, Ohio, a stolen moment of passion, sparked in the exuberant aftermath of the Allied victory in Europe, binds Cal Jenkins, a man wounded not in war but by his inability to serve in it, to Margaret Salt, a woman trying to obscure her past. Cal’s wife, Becky, has a spiritual gift: She is a seer who can conjure the dead, helping families connect with those they’ve lost. Margaret’s husband, Felix, is serving on a Navy cargo ship, out of harm’s way—until a telegram suggests that the unthinkable might have happened.

Later, as the country reconstructs in the postwar boom, a secret grows in Bonhomie—but nothing stays buried forever in a small town. Against the backdrop of some of the most transformative decades in modern America, the consequences of that long-ago encounter ripple through the next generation of both families, compelling them to reexamine who they thought they were and what the future might hold.

Sweeping yet intimate, rich with piercing observation and the warmth that comes from profound understanding of the human spirit, Buckeye captures the universal longing for love and for goodness.

Page Count: 464

Genre: Historical Fiction

Year Published: 2025

This book is available through local public library systems in both physical and electronic formats (Lexington Public Library, Richland County Library).

It can be purchased through retailers such Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

Bring, at least, 3 observations and 3 questions about the book (keeping this open-ended, but this could include the characters, specific plot details, comparing it to other books, and critiques of the discussed book).