It’s October and we are reviewing BUCKEYE by Patrick Ryan. When this was published in September 2025, it seemed like everyone was reading this book and raving about it, so Nancy is glad to have had the chance to feature it on our podcast! BUCKEYE takes us back to America in the early and mid-twentieth century. We’re thrust into the jubilant aftermath of the Allied victory in Europe in a small town in Ohio. We meet Cal Jenkins, a man who could not serve in the war and his interaction with a stranger, Margaret Salt. Cal is married to Becky, whose spiritual gift is speaking to the dead, while Margaret’s husband, Felix, is serving at sea, believed to be safe—until a telegram suggests otherwise. What begins as a fleeting transgression becomes a complex secret that binds all four of them in unexpected ways. As their small Ohio town remakes itself in the postwar boom, the Salt and Jenkins families remain in each other’s orbit, and the consequences of choices made long ago begin to emerge, reshaping their lives in ways that will impact the next generation. BUCKEYE was a New York Times Bestseller and a Read with Jenna Book Club Pick as featured on Today. It was named one of the best books of the year by The New York Times Book Review, The Washington Post, NPR, People, Minnesota Star Tribune, New York Post, Chicago Public Library. Just a warning that we are going to talk about the entire plot of the book, so if you don’t want to hear about the whole story, go read BUCKEYE and come back to our podcast later!
BUCKEYE is a book about secrets: the ones people keep and the ones that come to light. One of the big secrets is the affair Cal and Margaret have, which ends in a pregnancy. Linny really liked how in-depth the characterization is and therefore, how believable the characters are.
Linny and Nancy talk about why people keep secrets. Nancy mentions that there are some things that a person just wants to keep private, but also there are secrets that a person keeps because they are ashamed. Linny is surprised that Cal and Margaret are as able to keep their affair a secret as they are.
Linny and Nancy agree that Cal found Margaret irresistible, but had no intention of leaving his wife. On the other hand, Margaret probably would have left Felix to be with Cal. She was looking for love.
Linny says the secret in the book that she liked the most was Felix’s story as a gay man and how he evolved over the decades the novel covers. Nancy’s favorite story line was Margarets, even though she was an unlovable character. But Nancy liked understanding that the hardness came from the rejection she experienced. Nancy feels if Margaret could have married a man who could have been wholly intimate with her, her story would have turned out happier. Instead, she ends up alone, which she doesn’t want. She also ends up severing her relationship even with her son, abandoning him as she was. Linny says Margaret’s is a tragic story. Nancy says Margaret’s story reminds her of aspects of attachment theory. Linny agrees but says now we have the tool to help people work through early attachment problems so that they can develop loving relationships.
Linny also likes the storyline of Cal and Becky’s son, Skip, and Cal and Margaret’s son, Tom, as they become friends as boys. She liked their personalities and their lives in the 1950’s, running around and going to school, and their friendship.
Linny says Tom’s reaction in cutting the parents out of his life when he learns he is Cal’s son, is very realistic. Nancy says she wishes Tom could have recognized all that Felix did for him and how much he loved him, raising him even though he knew he wasn’t his son. Linny says she thinks Tom would have gotten there.
Nancy and Linny struggle with deciding when the parents should have told the boys, or even if they should have. Small towns, especially in the mid-century, would be a hard time to share about the infidelity any earlier. Nancy notes that genetic testing has uncovered a lot of the secrets of parentage.
Nancy thought a lot of Felix’s story was a tragedy, his difficulty in understanding his sexuality, losing his great love in the war, and his mental health struggles following that. Linny doesn’t agree that Felix’s story is a tragedy because he is able to overcome his survivor’s guilt, recognize who he is, and have a positive relationship, in the end. She likes his character journey that is one of real life and growth.
Linny also really liked Becky. She thought Becky’s role was very important in the narrative as the dutiful housewife of the era. In her own way, Becky learns to stand up for herself, though. Linda likes how the narrative shows that, as young people, they didn’t have the communication skills they needed to address their conflicts. Nancy isn’t surprised that Linny likes Becky, because Becky was the moment of grace in the book and Nancy feels that Linny is also a person of peace and grace.
