by Nickolas Butler
★★★★☆
A few good friends grow up together in Little Wing,
Wisconsin. There's Henry, a good man and husband to Beth. He’s the stable and
solid one who stayed in town and took over his father’s farm. Lee is a
successful musician who travels the world but still longs for the normalcy of
his friends’ lives. Then we meet Kip. He’s a successful businessman who just
returned to town from Chicago. He's also kind of an asshole who’s always trying
to prove something, but usually just sends up pissing people off. Finally
there's Ronnie, the rodeo star who was injured and lost some of his mental
abilities. He’s sweet and enthusiastic, but sometimes frustrated by his
situation.
Though it's set in Wisconsin (not my home state), the
descriptions of bitter Midwestern nights or sultry summer days are so achingly
familiar. Some of the moments described felt like my own childhood. The point
of view rotates between each of the characters, giving us a chance to see the
situations through their eyes.
The story is about what we expect from life versus what
we end up with. It’s about wanting whatever's on the other side of that fence
where the grass is always greener. It's about the complications that life throws
our way and the friends that stick with you through it all.
The writing and characters drive the story much more than
any major plot point does. We stumble through everyone's lives alongside them,
connecting at weddings and other major events, but it’s really about the
moments that don't seem big at the time, but later mean everything.
It reminded me and some ways of A Visit from the GoonSquad and in others of The Interestings. It was less precocious than The
Interestings and felt more like people I might actually know. It's not as
complex as A Visit from the Goon Squad, but has the same feel of overlapping
lives with the vein of music running through it all. Considering that I loved
both of those books, it’s not surprising that this one worked so well for me.
BOTTOM LINE: This was a fast read for me and I really
liked it. The people felt familiar and their lives were so relatable. Perfect
to read while sitting on the back porch and sipping a Leinenkugel.
*The audio version was really good!
2 comments:
Great review, Melissa! I loved both The Interestings and A Visit From the Goon Squad. Borrowed this from the library in FL, read the first chapter, knew it was a book for me, but never got back to it before it before it was due. I see the audio production has multiple narrator (a plus for me) so maybe I'll go that route.
JoAnn - It's definitely worth checking out again! The audio was excellent.
Post a Comment