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Loading... Shotgun Lovesongs (original 2014; edition 2014)by Nickolas Butler
Work InformationShotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler (2014)
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. Recommended to me because I like stories about local places. I thought it was a pretty good story, tailed off a little at the end, but it's a story about relationships and friendships, and there's usually not a complete story arc with relationships. So maybe it's quite true to life. There seems to be an awful lot of negative reviews of this book, and I'm not sure why. It's a better story IMO than some of the other recent "local history fiction" books I've read. And while I have a connection to the setting, it's not as big a player in this story as the characters and plot. I might try another title by this author in the future. ( ) This book follows a group of friends (Lee, Kip, Beth, Ronny, Henry) and who grew up together in the same small rural farming town in Wisconsin. Their lives come together and break apart in fascinating ways, but underneath it all, their friendships endure. Each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the characters, and to be honest, my only quibble with the whole book is that the author opted to use the first initial of each character instead of the name to headline the chapter. I've given you the names above to help out future readers (wink). This book was simply great storytelling. I fell in love with all these characters - - each one rendered, flaws and all, like a true living, breathing human being. So so well done in terms of character development. Honestly, I didn't want it to end. This book makes you feel joy, concern, worry, anger, and more and illuminates what it means to grow up in a rural area - - the good, the bad, and the ugly. Really really good. Read it. no reviews | add a review
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"Hank, Leland, Kip and Ronny were all born and raised in the same Wisconsin town--Little Wing--and are now coming into their own (or not) as husbands and fathers. One of them never left, still farming the family's land that's been tilled for generations. Others did leave, went farther afield to make good, with varying degrees of success; as a rock star, commodities trader, rodeo stud. And seamlessly woven into their patchwork is Beth, whose presence among them--both then and now--fuels the kind of passion one comes to expect of lovesongs and rivalries. Now all four are home, in hopes of finding what could be real purchase in the world. The result is a shared memory only half-recreated, riddled with culture clashes between people who desperately wish to see themselves as the unified tribe they remember, but are confronted with how things have, in fact, changed. There is conflict here between longtime buddies, between husbands and wives--told with writing that is, frankly, gut-wrenching, and even heartbreaking. But there is also hope, healing, and at times, even heroism. It is strong, American stuff, not at all afraid of showing that we can be good, too--not just fallible and compromising. Shotgun Lovesongs is a remarkable and uncompromising saga that explores the age-old question of whether or not you can ever truly come home again--and the kind of steely faith and love returning requires"-- No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.6Literature English (North America) American fiction 21st CenturyLC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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