Name: The Hearts of Men
Rating: 4 (3 reviews)
ISBN: 9781509827909

Nickolas BUTLER

The Hearts of Men

Nickolas Butler

Camp Chippewa, 1962. Nelson Doughty, age thirteen, social outcast and overachiever, is the Bugler, sounding the reveille proudly each morning. Yet this particular summer marks the beginning of an uncertain and tenuous friendship with a popular boy named Jonathan. Over the years, Nelson, irrevocably scarred from the Vietnam War, becomes Scoutmaster of Camp Chippewa, while Jonathan marries, divorces, and turns his father’s business into a highly profitable company. And when something unthinkable happens at a camp get-together with Nelson as Scoutmaster and Jonathan’s teenage grandson and daughter-in-law as campers, the aftermath demonstrates the depths—and the limits—of Nelson’s selflessness and bravery. The Hearts of Men is a sweeping, panoramic novel about the slippery definitions of good and evil, family and fidelity, the challenges and rewards of lifelong friendships, the bounds of morality—and redemption.

A Novel

Siya S

I need some time to digest this. I did read his debut 'Shotgun Lovesongs' a while ago and ended with a sad DNF (though I'd love to give it another try after this). What I didn't understand about him earlier, I kind of understand now. I think being an American man from the midwest is kind of a prerequisite to read his books. I'm neither one of those things so it took me a while to get comfortable with his narrating voices. 

This book reminds me so so much of someone I know. Maybe this is the magic of Butler's works..the nostalgia and melancholy for something no less precious than a childhood or a friend or a hometown. There is a subtle longingness in his writing. It makes you long for a peaceful walk in the woods with someone you will always love. I really like it.

Hannah Swithinbank

A scarred Vietnam veteran and successful businessman reflects on his teen years as a social outcast and friend to a popular youth during a summer camp reunion marked by selflessness and an unthinkable event involving his friend's family members.

The Hearts of Men

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