4 lives are upended by an impulsive kiss in the epic novel ‘Buckeye’

['Maureen Corrigan', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright'] TPR: The Public's Radio 2025-09-10 17:07:39

I mention this mistake because it testifies to something powerful about Patrick Ryan’s new novel, Buckeye. So, as a kind of brain exercise, I began reading Buckeye backwards, my head moving from right to left. The novel ‘Buckeye’ explores forgiveness, war and a forbidden kiss NPR’s Mary Louise Kelly speaks to author Patrick Ryan about his new novel, Buckeye. As its title indicates, Buckeye is set in Ohio, in a fictional small town called Bonhomie. What Ryan captures in Buckeye is both the sweep of history and the mostly mundane particularity of everyday life.