BOOKCLUB NOTES - Buckeye by Patrick Ryan

Due to record attendance, we held a third night as a special one off!!

THE BOOK: This is slightly longer than usual - lots of us felt the pace was gentle but didn’t drag, although some found it slow and with too much historical context. It almost felt like several books, spanning interconnected lives over time. All parts were underpinned by war or the threat of it - the story carefully showed how a small town in America was impacted across generations.

The story returns to forgiveness time and time again - forcing us to think about the decisions we make in difficult circumstances and how the consequences ripple through time. It questioned our empathy towards characters who make ‘bad’ choices as a result of suffering or trauma. Most characters are repressing their true identity or feel misunderstood in some way, which weighed heavily on many of us. It made us reflect on our own lives and the impact we have on others.

This one was fairly divisive and some strong feelings on both sides )we had scores from 5 to 1.5!) - with an average of 3.9.

THE WINE: We picked two bottles from the Brand Brothers - Daniel and Jonas Brand hail from Pfalz in Germany, where they took over their family winery in 2014 to concentrate on fully natural wines. Their wines are unique, alive and bursting with personality and we loved pairing them to books over the years. We paired Buckeye with Brand Brothers wines to honour Skip and Tom. Maybe they would have had the chance to create something special together in another life if they knew they were siblings. For January, as a RBTW first we chose a non-alcoholic wine alternative to enjoy reading between the wines even if January is dry! Keeping things light, with just 10% alcohol, everyone’s favourite chilled Brand Red is bottle number two.