Author Patrick Ryan’s New York Times bestselling novel Buckeye has met with wide acclaim from readers and critics. The story, set in small-town Ohio during the mid-20th century, centers around a single compelling idea: forgiveness, central to all relationships, is a series of decisions, repeatedly remade.
The story begins in the jubilant aftermath of the Allied victory in Europe, when Cal Jenkins, a man wounded not in war but by his inability to serve in it, shares a single, life-altering moment with Margaret Salt, a woman determined to outrun her past.
Ryan goes on to tell a captivating story in writing that is straightforward and, at turns, poetic. The buzz about this multigenerational family saga is that it is likely to join the canon of great American novels. And there’s been lots of popular praise, too:
“A glorious sweep of a novel, full of love and war and the perilous intimacies of smalltown life. It’s funny and tender, realistic and strange.” —Ann Patchett, bestselling author of Tom Lake
“A once-in-a-decade novel . . . I fell in love with these characters.” —Jenna Bush Hager
“I love this book with my entire heart.” —Ann Napolitano, bestselling author of Hello Beautiful
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR (2025): The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, NPR, People, Minnesota Star Tribune, New York Post, Chicago Public Library
About Patrick Ryan
Buckeye is Patrick Ryan’s first novel. He is also the author of two short story collections and his work has appeared in The Best American Short Stories 2006 and elsewhere. The former associate editor of Granta, he is the editor of the literary magazine One Story and lives in New York City.
The event
Patrick Ryan Author Event
Wednesday, April 22
6:30 p.m.
Temple Beth El, 7400 Telegraph Rd., Bloomfield Hills
Books will be available for purchase (from Schuler Books West Bloomfield) and signing.
Registration is open for Bloomfield Township residents: Sign up now.
Non-residents may register beginning March 23.
Haven’t read Buckeye yet? Place a hold now.
This event is co-presented with West Bloomfield Township Public Library and is generously sponsored by the Friends of the Bloomfield Township Public Library.
