“Patrick Ryan has long been one of my favorite writers,” says bestselling novelist Ann Patchett. “I have a feeling that with this book he’s going to be everyone's favorite writer.” Ryan’s newest work of fiction is, as author Tom Perrotta puts it, a novel about a small Ohio town, but with grand proportions. Buckeye follows the intimate lives of two midwestern families, from the aftermath of World War II to the end of the twentieth century. A brief encounter binds Cal Jenkins, a man wounded by his inability to serve, to Margaret Salt, a woman trying to obscure her past. The consequences of that encounter will ripple through the next generation of both of their families. Ryan, who is also Editor in Chief of the highly popular One Story magazine, will speak about writing his novel and read excerpts. “I’ve been yearning for a novel that connects the American generations who dealt with our two wars, Buckeye is that book, and it soars." -- Tom Hanks.
