Tag: alcoholism

Small town America: Is it what we think it is?

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Buckeye by Patrick Ryan is a beautifully written novel about a fictional town in Ohio (Bonhomie), not far from Toledo.  If you’ve ever lived in a small town, it may feel like home to you. The span is immediate pre-World War II through the 1970’s, and the focus is on three generations of each of …

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A novel dive into masculine alienation

On By aronsbarronIn Culture, reading list, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Flesh by Hungarian-British author David Szalay was recently announced as the winner of the 2025 Booker Award. Although the Booker board called it “a propulsive, hypnotic novel about a man who is unraveled by a series of events beyond his grasp,” I found it hard to get into. At best, I saw its protagonist, then-15-year-old …

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