Buckeye, by Patrick Ryan

 

Characters
Cal Jenkins	Margaret Anderson Salt
Cal Jenkins – exempt from serving in military in WWII due to leg deformity, Civilian Defense Corp.   Becky – wife, able to connect people with loved ones through voices   Cal Maurice Jenkins Jr. “Skipper» - son, died in Viet Nam   Everett – father   Ida and Roman Hanover – Becky’s parents   Casey LaGrange – pretended to be writing a book about psychics	Margaret - Left at Open Arms Orphanage, multiple foster homes   Lydia Verts – live-in administrator, gave Margaret responsibilities at orphanage   Moved to Columbus, met Felix and married, eventually moved to Bonhomie   Felix – unknowingly gay   Felix entered Navy, unable to fly because of color-blind, survived sinking of ship while many died including Augie (romantic partner)   Bishop – veteran, part of veterans group met over lunch to share stories, later a relationship with Felix   Margaret kissed Cal when end of war announced on radio – began affair   Thomas Aquinas Salt – Felix or Cal’s son?

 

NOTE: Page numbers are from the 2025 hardback edition.

1.      Did you gain any insight into what it was like during WWII?  For example, letters were delayed months, information blacked out, Felix’s R and R was over before Margaret even knew it was happening. 

2.      Felix’s letters became more impersonal as their separation continued.  Their separation was so long that Margaret felt she had “lost the sense of him” (page 153).  They were separated for over two and a half years.  Do you think this was normal during WWII?  Was there anything they could do to reestablish their relationship?

3.      Did the book give you any insight into what it was like to serve and then return home during WWII?  After Felix was home and trying to return to his former life he often felt like “that version of himself had gone down with the Teague.  In fact, it was as if all versions of Felix Salt had gone down with the Teague except for this one, this carapace of a guy with his eye set on nothing” (page 248).

4.      Discuss Margaret’s challenges as a mother.  She felt as “if he (Tom} were always playing a game with her, but she never knew what the game was” (page 243).  How could she know what to do given her childhood in the orphanage?

5.      Given her experience of being abandoned by her own mother, how do you think she rationalized doing the same to her own child?

6.      Did you think Felix thought of himself as gay, even after his relationship with Augie?  Given the time frame of the novel, was this normal?

7.      Augie told Felix a quote from Thomas Aquinas, “The things that we love tell us what we are” (page 247).   How does that apply to the different characters in the book?

8.      Do you think Skip and Tom should have been told they were half-brothers, especially when Skip joined the Marines and was in harm’s way?  Was there a good time when this could have happened?

9.      Discuss the various characters and how their experiences in life impacted their choices.  For example, was there any way Margaret and Felix’s marriage could have survived?

10.  Did you like the ending focusing on Cal and Becky?

11.  The story starts in 1920 and ends around 1976.  Did it provide a good history of our country?  Multiple important events were referenced such as Pearl Harbor, FDR dying, the killings at Kent State, and the draft lottery in December 1969.  Did the author’s description seem true to you, especially the way he described the wars and their impact on those at home and those who served? 

12.  Discuss your reading experience. What things mentioned did you recognize?  For example, Lazarus Department Store, Laura Engles Wilder, Zane Grey novels.