The Hearts of Men: A Novel

Nope. Nope. Nope nope nope.

Men: Stop. Using. Rape. As. A. Plot. Device.

I don't mind stories about men. Stories about Straight White Men though are in a different realm. I'm not saying that all fiction revolving around Straight White Men is bad. Some of it can be good! But I had some other issues with this novel, especially its treatment of women as objects to be heroically saved or used as a sad plot device to give the men in this book personalities.

Nelson's mother: a woman who Nelson is supposed to save but can't.
The Stripper/Jonathan's Girlfriend: Women whose purpose is to teach Trevor empathy and subjective nature of morality.
Brittany: a woman who needs Trevor to save her and by doing so, makes himself a more interesting show more person.

And then there's Rachel. For the first two thirds of the novel I guess I just accepted that women wouldn't be a part of this novel in any significant way. A novel can still be okay even taking that into account as a flaw. But the moment that Nickolas Butler planted the fear of rape, I was emotionally done with this book.

Men: Stop. Using. Rape. As. A. Plot. Device. It bears repeating. It's abusive to the readers of the book and disrespectful of the characters, in my opinion. Men seem to find sexual violence against women a great way to show all sorts of things: Fortitude, defenselessness, fear. Even worse, this rape has no ties to the theme of this novel, but it haunts the reader from the beginning of Rachel's narrative. As soon as she gets to camp, you know where the story is going. The fact that it happens in the last 8% of the novel is reprehensible. It happens to her, and is brushed off, the aftermath is not dealt with at all, and it's brushed aside for Nelson's funeral.

It all felt like a giant letdown to me as a woman and as a reader. But mostly, it made me angry. OBVIOUSLY it made me angry, look at the length of this review. This is a rant dude. This novel has reduced me to rant status. show less

I picked this book based on the strength of Butler’s Shotgun Lovesongs, which I enjoyed very much. I wish I could say the same for this one. It is a multi-generational novel, covering the years 1962 to 2022, set primarily at a Wisconsin Boy Scout camp. It is structured in three parts with a short epilogue. The first follows thirteen-year-old Nelson, a nerdy outcast scout who is routinely bullied. The second is set in 1996 and follows Nelson’s so-called “friend” Jonathan, at age forty-nine, on his way to the camp with son, Trevor, whom he exposes to his dissolute life. The third follows Jonathon’s daughter-in-law and grandson in 2019 as they return to the camp.

The book is nicely written at the prose level, painting a vivid show more picture of characters wrestling with loneliness, betrayal, and moral choices. The novel’s structure, shifting between decades, allows readers to see how cycles of behavior persist across generations. Be forewarned that there is disturbing content throughout. It is basically about toxic masculinity and the message seems to be that no matter how good men desire to be (and it is about men, as the title indicates), they are eventually corrupted. I might have given in 3 stars if it did not go off the rails at the end. It is way too cynical for my taste. show less

Nelson (aka "Bugler") is a 13-year-old spending his summer at scout camp in Wisconsin. He's pretty nerdy and is mostly treated as such, though one of the older boys, Jonathan, does show some sympathetic tendencies and bails him out of a couple rough situations. Future years find Nelson as the head Scoutmaster of the camp, with Jonathan's grandson attending the camp as Nelson once did, though of course times have changed.

Like many other readers, I fell in love with Nickolas Butler's writing in his debut novel, Shotgun Lovesongs. This is now my third read of his, and though he continues to be a good writer, I've never quite felt the magic of that first novel in his subsequent books. This one is a multi-generational tale, though I didn't show more care for the flow of the story and honestly, the ending left me feeling mostly just "meh". But I will continue to seek out books by Nickolas Butler. show less

I bought The Hearts of Men this book from Nickolas Butler at the Lakefly Writers Conference in Oshkosh. He is a Wisconsin writer and I loved Shotgun Love Songs. Mr. Butler’s books are quality and quite frankly, so is he.

Butler read the opening paragraph of this novel and yet I was not prepared for the originality of this story. It follows logical sequences and yet it has twists and turns. I could not have predicted where the story was going to end up.

Butler’s writing kept me turning pages. He made me care about the characters and they have lived on in my mind. To me that is all you require in a book. Yet, Butler’s description of Wisconsin is vivid in details. He goes into literary detail about the characters.

The story as a whole show more centers on a boy scout summer camp in Northern Wisconsin. This unique character Nelson strives to be the best Boy Scout at the cost of popularity. I believe Butler uses Nelson and the other men in the story (don’t worry it has women too) to explore what it is to be a man. As with all good literary work, it leaves the final decision up to you, the reader. I’m still thinking about it. show less

The Hearts of Men by Nickolas Butler is a highly recommended epic covering six decades and three generations of (mostly) men with ties to the Boy Scouts' Camp Chippewa in Wisconsin.

Part one opens in 1962, 13-year-old Nelson Doughty is the Bugler for the camp. He is a social outcast, overachiever, and victim of an abusive father. This summer marks several changes for Nelson's life. He has one older boy, Jonathan Quick, who sometimes defends Nelson, but this time Nelson learns about the limits of that connection. Wilbur Whiteside, owner and Scoutmaster of Camp Chippewa, lets Nelson know how much he appreciates him and sees great character in him. This summer marks a betrayal by Jonathan and a saving action by Whiteside.

In Part two it is show more 1996 and the night before wealthy 49-year-old Jonathan Quick is taking his 16-year-old son, Trevor, to Camp Chippewa, they are meeting his friend Nelson, for dinner. Nelson, after attending West Point and serving in Vietnam, worked odd jobs until he took over Camp Chippewa, which he inherited from Whiteside. This night sees a drunken Jonathan introducing his son to his mistress and strippers, in an attempt to keep his son from becoming serious with his girlfriend Rachel, and taunting Nelson.

Part three is set in 2019 when Rachel brings her and Trevor's son and Jonathan's grandson, Thomas, to the camp. Nelson is now 70-years-old and ready to retire. This time something shocking happens that demonstrates Nelson's bravery and character. Part four is the conclusion set in 2022.

This is a novel that explores bravery, loyalty, and friendship as it questions what it means to be a man and a role model to young men. It also looks at the ugly side of life and families as they face challenges that they will either overcome or fail. In this way it also explores good and evil. The main characters, until Rachel at the end, are all men and this is a very masculine novel in some ways. The characters are all flawed, struggling with life and trying to find their place in the world. They are well developed and memorable.

The writing is in The Hearts of Men is admirable. Butler's prose is full of careful insights and the plot is well-paced in this character-driven novel. Each part of the novel is separated by decades in the future, you will have to adjust to the characters now older and with more life experiences behind them as they negotiate the new challenges set before them.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of HarperCollins.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/1929850264
on 3/3/17:http://www.shetreadssoftly.com/
reviews on Amazon and Barnes and Noble after publication date show less

Like other reviewers, I would really like to add an additional half star. I enjoyed reading this book; the writing is very polished and evocative, and the setting is so lovely I spent a few minutes Googling job ads and real estate in Eau Claire. But also like other reviewers, I liked it best at the beginning, when the main characters were young boys in the early 60s. I would like to have seen a little more of Jonathan's life between his time as a kind-spirited, but not particularly brave, boy and his time as a middle-aged man who has apparently lost that spirit.

And of course, the part at the end with Rachel's sexual assault was just ridiculous. All the foreshadowing--her musings on being aware of the enemy, her shooting lessons--went show more in a completely different direction. I don't know if this was supposed to be deliberately misleading or not, but it felt rushed, and wrong.

Overall, though, I thought it was a really good summer read. Not too heavy, but not too light either. Recommended if you like stories about summer camp and Baby Boomers. show less

This book is full of beauty, ugliness, good people, and dispicable ones. It's full of unlikely friendships and relationships, about how the midwest has changed in the last half-century, and it's about growing up. There is warmth and even humor, and also darkness and tragedy. I found it hard to put down.