I want to start by saying that Ohio is a masterpiece in storytelling; however, it not for everyone. I finished this one about a week ago. The best way I can describe its affect is by saying that I feel a little haunted by reading it. Stephen Markley is a beautiful writer who is able to be both unsentimental and passionately intense about the topics of war, military honor, false patriotism, sexual assault, drug and alcohol abuse, terrorism, the recession, and depression. There are times it is shocking and violent and, yes, it is sad; but, it is so damn good. One of the best books that I’ve read in 2018.
Markley uses the changing perspectives of a handful of characters through the course of a few days in the early 2000s and rewinding back to their high school days in small town Ohio. Sometimes changing perspectives and time shifting in novels can be confusing and pointless. This is not the case for Ohio. His characters’ changing perspectives help to fill in the gaps or questions that linger in the previous characters story. I loved that about this novel. Although this is not a joyful read, the author’s writing made it somewhat like a fun puzzle.Some readers found that some characters stories felt dislocated and random. Were we reading the same book? In my opinion, everything was very purposeful without feeling contrived.

The attention to setting had me highlighting phrases on my kindle. There were so many captivating lines describing both the physical small-town Ohio and the psyche of those that lived there. They could have been taken from a Steinbeck novel if he preferred Ohio to the Salinas Valley. All told, Markley’s gorgeous writing is what will probably bring me back to read this work of literature again even though it made me feel a bit destroyed inside.

Buzz for Stephen Markley's first novel Ohio (Simon & Schuster) has been building for months, and it's more than worth the wait. On a summer night in 2013, four former high school classmates converge on their hometown in northeast Ohio a decade or so after graduation. Having come of age in the post-911 era and the subsequent recession, they confront their shared history, their lost loves, deferred dreams, secrets and regrets. Bill Ashcraft, the substance-abusing rebel idealist, drives from New Orleans with a mysterious package. But before he can deliver it, he's downing a few drinks and looking to score drugs. Afghanistan vet Dan Eaton has a date with the girl he left behind, while doctoral candidate Stacey Moore faces off with her high school lover's homophobic mother. Emotionally scarred Tina Ross is finally ready to deal with the jock who abused her in high school. Those years, Markley writes, provide "stories of dread and wonder,'' which he artfully interweaves with his realistic portrait of Rust Belt corrosion and disillusionment. It's a big, ambitious book as Markley gets into the heads and hearts of his characters, writing with a lyric rush that pulls readers along. Ohio reminds me a bit of Nickolas Butler's Shotgun Lovesongs and Ethan Canin's early works. Grand storytelling.

from On a Clear Day I Can Read Forever

I was excited to start this book and from the description, it caught my interest. I will say, once I started reading though, it just wasn't for me. It felt rushed and slow all at once and I had trouble connecting to the characters (but maybe it's because I was struggling to find something in common with most of them). I felt the writing was great, it just wasn't for me.

“Ohio” is fiction that probes issues that have received a lot of news attention the past two years - marginalization, loss of hope, disillusionment, economic decline, and drug addiction in middle America. The personal fallout is seen through the eyes of four main characters in their twenties, with flashbacks to their high school years, who unexpectedly reunite one fateful night in New Canaan, Ohio. By examining these issues through fiction, where individual experiences and emotions are at the forefront, it allows readers to gain a greater understanding of the reality of their impact on people’s lives, hopes, and dreams. These are hard times and there are no easy answers or simple solutions.

Markley has written literary fiction at it’s finest, and it’s also important fiction. It shines a thought-provoking spotlight on what life in currently like for many people in America, particularly in the Heartland. Intensely realistic, epic in scope, and exceptionally written, this is a compelling story of broken people and a broken society. “Ohio” is a book that will stay with me for a long time.

My review was posted on Goodreads on 8/30/18

Having a blogger relationship with NetGalley, I often have the opportunity to read new books and learn about new authors that I would otherwise miss out on.  Today's post is a book I asked to read and review for one simple reason: I'm from Ohio.  Period.  

The book first starts out with the prelude, where readers are dropped right into the memorial parade for Rick, who was killed Iraq. Readers see this patriotic side of the town, while they also see the darker side of town - the meth and opiate crisis.

Then the book jumps forward six years to a summer evening in 2013.  Four former school classmates, two men and two women, who are about to be reunited again in their hometown of New Canaan, a small rust belt town in Ohio. Each of the four has their own memories and secrets and are returning to New Canaan for their own reasons.

The book is narrated from each of their viewpoints and their stories are told in separate chapters, but constantly intertwining. Ohio is not a book about living in the past, nor is it about trying to change the past, but as the author so eloquently puts it, it’s about the storm called progress. 

This is a powerful, character-driven book and it's really hard to believe this is Stephen Markley's first novel. It's that well written. While it's a bit bleak and dark, it's also emotional and the characters are identifiable to all sorts of readers. I even appreciated the secondary characters in this book as they added to the story.

I was provided with a complimentary digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review and unbiased opinion.

Formidable. Intense, gritty, sad, and beautifully written. Reading this was like immersing oneself in a masterful painting saturated with colour and emotion. Starting with the funeral of a young small town military hero, we are taken back and forth between past and present through the lives of a small group of high school friends. This novel captures the feel of small midwestern towns and high school culture. The characters are familiar, a hero and a devil in every one. The stories intersect and weave flawlessly. The writing is striking and poetic. Strong from start to finish with an ending that it deserves.

A post 9-11 novel, the setting for Ohio is a gritty, dying town New Canaan, a small town in northeast Ohio. Hard hit by the economic downturn, the dirty town whose major industries are long gone and the biggest employer is Walmart.

The story of the heart of Ohio is like a lot of stories. The heroes of the town have been the high school football players, getting away with more than the average high school kids do, just as they have for generations. But these kids have little in common with high school heroes of the past: one dies serving his country in the Middle East; one commits suicide; one OD's and accidentally sets fire to his apartment building, killing a couple as he does so; and one leaves town abruptly, vanished like the hope of the future.

Ten years after graduating, four classmates return to 'The Cane’, where their stories are told, constantly intertwining. Stephen Markley writes what has happened in so much of our country post recession: the opiod problem, ridiculously unpopular wars, violence at every turn in life, mounting economic pressures, divisive political upheaval and every other dirty little secret every small town has seen in this era. This was a hard novel to read, as the reader recognizes those once bustling small towns in the throes of death, wherever they are from.

Well written with excellent development of character, Stephen Markley takes us on a trail of flatlined middle America, where the hope of a country died. A solid four and 1/2 stars, only because it was a book that needed to rest for a while before voyaging on. If you want a cheery, little read, this isn’t is. This will make you sad for a generation that could have and deserved more than we gave them.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of the book in exchange of an honest review.

Four people with four different stories come back to their home town for four different reasons. That’s the story of Ohio in the surface. Dig deeper and you’ll see a story of loss, war and it’s effects, never getting over your high school love, friendships, a town after economic collapse, etc.
It’s not until the very end that you get another story, one that you won’t see coming at all.

I really wanted to like this book. Being from Northeast Ohio, I was so excited and thought I’d relate to this book but unfortunately I couldn’t get through this book. I made it to around 50% through and couldn’t get into the characters or the writing style. This book just wasn’t for me.

This one. Not for the faint of heart. And I most certainly needed this Pinot to get through the end.
But man, it is gripping, gritty, sad, and well worth the time. I just finished and it will definitely be on my mind for weeks to come. I had heard good things but seriously had no idea what I was about to read. This is a bit of a look-back on high school life in small town Ohio, as four former classmates return to their hometown for different reasons one summer evening. The book is told in four parts, one from each person’s point of view of their journey and reason for being there that night. The author sets up brilliant transitions between each part, and running throughout the book, subtle at first and then building as you move to the end, is a mystery that one of the individuals is determined to solve.

Thanks to NetGalley for the electronic copy to review. All opinions above are my own.

Ohio is a mesmerizing novel. It takes an unflinching look at the post 911, post Great Recession world the disillusioned, disenfranchised, and hopelessly addicted members of a not too distantly graduated class of New Canaan High School.
It is the summer of 2013 when the lives of four of these classmates converge. Each chapter is close to a novella about one of the major players.
By the end of the book, I was so steeped in the world of New Canaan that I had become completely invested in the characters and what happened to them.
Ohio is an unusual novel that is a truly compelling read.

The setting for this gritty novel is New Canaan, Ohio, a small town in northeast Ohio, hard hit by the economic downturn, whose major industries are long gone and the biggest employer is Walmart.

The heroes of the town have been the high school football players who could pretty much get away with anything...and often do. But these kids seem to be cursed: one commits suicide; one OD's and accidentally sets fire to his apartment building, killing a couple of newlyweds; one dies serving his country in the Middle East; and one leaves town abruptly, never to be seen again.

On one fateful night some ten years after graduating, four classmates return to 'The Cane' and these are their stories, told in separate chapters, but constantly intertwining. Stephen Markley reveals much of what has gone wrong with our society in these pages: the opiod/drug problem, crushing economic pressures, divisive political upheaval, unpopular wars, violence, the glorifying of youth, and more deeply, the crisis of faith. Some of this is very hard to read: some aspects will horrify you and some will even bring you to tears. But undoubtedly, this writer is a major new talent.

I received an arc of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley for my honest review. This is a book I won't soon forget.

Stephen Markley perfectly underscores all the reasons I refuse to return to my own small hometown, never, ever, ever. The negative feelings, self-pity, lack of energy to try living just a little are all pervasive throughout New Canaan, Ohio. I found this to be a difficult book to read, stopping for days between chapters then slinking back to trudge a bit further. He has an excellent writing style, obvious in his ability to affect my mood as I continually reminded myself that this is just a work of fiction. It strikes a chord about today’s society; post-9/11, Afghanistan, Iraq. Is our world truly that depressing or are we a large part of the problem? Would today’s weak morals and lack of humanity survive something as horrific as Vietnam? Markley shines his light in all the cracks of our lazy and convenient choices.
I recommend this novel as long as the reader understands this is not a “feel good when you’re done” book.
(I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review. Thank you to Simon & Schuster for making it available.)

Everything in life depends on the decisions that you make, some more important than others. Sometimes the most innocuous decision has the greatest ramifications and effect on our lives.
Ohio by Stephen Markley is a fictional account of a town that prosperity has forgotten. New Canaan, Ohio is a town where the effects of war, drugs, suicide, unemployment and a host of other epidemic problems have left it without hope.
New Canaan represents what has befallen Ohio and so many Midwestern rust belt towns. Tragedy one is followed by tragedy two which is followed by tragedy three and so on.
Prosperity did not stop in, it just passed by. Compounding the external woes are the woes inflicted by friends, family, classmates and neighbors.
Markley's book focuses on the stories of four high school friends ten years after graduation. This dark and sad tale of four separate lives is the story of how life is really a game of inches. The feeling that I got from all four stories is that while each story is unique and different, in life we face the consequences from one bad decision, one "what if", one regret, one time we didn't listen to our conscience, the one time "Ishould have said something", the one time I didn't speak up or the one time I went down the other road.
Ohio is a long, dark, depressing, sad book that doesn't leave you feeling better at the end. But this isn't a book that was meant to. Reflect, contemplate and discuss would be the goals of this book.
I felt a profound sense of sadness and hopelessness after reading this book. Do not try and read this book in one sitting, you will not appreciate it for what it is. In order to gain the most out of this Markley's gritty, brutal but brilliant prose, the reader needs to digest this book in stages.
Perhaps this book serves to remind us that failed dreams do linger.
I received an advance copy of this book from Netgalley. #Netgalley #Ohio

“It doesn’t matter where you come from. Neither does it really matter where you go. It’s all the sex and sandwiches in between”. Happy #pubday to @stephenmarkley and the release of his powerful American novel, Ohio! An emotionally exhausting slow burn of a book, I’m so glad I pushed myself to finish as it was one of the more rewarding reads of the summer. The story centers around four former classmates who are forced to confront the ghosts of their past when they return to their hometown, a place that has been severely impacted over the years by the effects of the recession, the opioid crisis and the wars in the middle east. I think this one really affected me on a personal level as I could relate to many of the characters who grew up in a similar small Midwestern town and graduated from high school around the same time as I did. It took some time to get a handle on who everyone was, but once I did, I was able to appreciate this extremely well-written (maybe a little meander-y and a somewhat bleak) character study (the book is broken up into 4 large sections, each section focused on one of the four main characters). For his first foray into fiction, Markley’s writing is mature and confident, and he’s for sure an author to keep an eye on. Ohio is going to stick with me for a while, and I can’t recommend it enough.

This book was enjoyable and a hard read! Growing up in a small town in Michigan, I could easily connect with New Canaan & the hope and restlessness of the characters. As I read each character's POV, I either had experinced to recall or knew someone who did.

The book starts with a memory from Rick (who is killed in Iraq) about a parade in New Canaan, then the books proceeds ahead to 2013, which introduces 4 characters & their POVs from their past and present. The story centers around the four characters (Bill, Stacey, Dan, and Tina) who are former classmates and residents of New Canaan. The book does a very solid job of exposing how the Great Recession of 08, racial divisions, and the opioid epidemic has had a major impact on New Canaan and the lives of these characters.

This is not an easy read but I enjoyed the grittiness and the darker aspects of the novel---it kept it real! I rated this book a 4.25/5 stars. I just felt a connection to the town and the characters. For this to be his debut novel, I think he did a very good job in his description of the highs & lows of small town life ( New Canaan) in the rust belt!!

Many thanks to Netgalley, Simon & Schuster, and Stephan Markley for providing me an ARC of this book.

A spot on, unsentimental look at how war reshapes a soldier, how economy reshapes a town — shows a bleak, sad side of middle America.

Let me start off by saying, I cannot believe this is a debut fiction novel. I was surprised by this fact due to the level of execution and intricacy written by Markley.

I was a sophmore in high school when 9/11 occurred. I remember being in 2nd period health class when the voice of my principal came over the intercom to announce what has occurred. Feelings of disbelief and fear came over me and then a hunger for information. Thinking of that day and its aftermath brings me the chills and tears to my eyes. It’s almost like a person in mourning, the nation lost its innocence that day aside from the lives lost and future that ensued in what is called the post-9/11 world.

Ohio brings the post-9/11 world to life and touches topics that are still effecting us today. Friends in a small town in Ohio that confront the impact of 9/11, There is the death of a hometown sports hero, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that ensues both physical & mental pain to the living & dead, the opiate crisis, and recession. This town in Ohio can be any town in the current United States, that is how powerful this book genuinely is. It raises questions, rattles the past and questions the present. We are currently in an intense political and social environment and this novel definitely opened my eyes.

Summary via Publisher’s Weekly:

“In Markley’s standout debut novel (following nonfiction works Publish This Book and Tales of Iceland), four former high school classmates return to their Ohio hometown to make amends. Once a bastion of steel-mill industry, New Canaan has been corroded by economic downturn and opiates; it’s pervaded by a sense of disillusionment shared by the four, whose rudderless adult lives pale alongside the blinding lights of their adolescence. Over the course of one night—interlaced with high school flashbacks—the four settle old scores and uncover some of the town’s nefarious secrets. There’s Bill Ashcraft, who drives into town to deliver a package to a familiar recipient; Stacey Moore, a doctoral candidate who’s sucked into the mystery of her former lover’s disappearance; veteran Dan Eaton, who returns from Afghanistan with a prosthetic eyeball and emotional wounds; and Tina Ross, who confronts a violent part of her past. As the night progresses, the long-buried truth behind a horrifying town legend takes shape, offering a window into the raw forces that shape the town and its residents.”

After reading this book, actually about 140 pages in, I asked myself who is Stephen Markley? I wanted to know his story because I’ve never read something so real, so dark, and to the point where I felt back to my 15 year old self and how 9/11 impacted me. This book made me reflect on that day, the weeks of sleepless nights I spent watching CNN, and burying myself is books wanting answers. I wanted to know why? I believe that day genuinely impacted me and question my place in the world. I wanted to act because I felt helpless. Unfortunately due to mental health issues and other other aspects of my life didn’t allow this to happen. I shoved all the feelings, plans, and urge that I had to get involved in the back of my mind. This book stirred those emotions in a good way and brought some sort of inner peace. I appreciated the honesty, integrity, realness, and the feelings that poured onto those pages. This man is 34 years old and writes like such a seasoned soul that I couldn’t imagine in my wildest of dreams.

Stephen Markley is from Mt. Vernon Ohio and was a senior is high school when 9/11 happened. Friends and people he knew died in Iraq and Afghanistan, all these people took action and enlisted. There was a sense of patriotic duty in the air and it evidently transferred to his writing of this book. I dug up a July 13, 2018 article by Wendy Werris in Publishers Weekly. It’s discussed about the amount of research Stephen put into the book. The authentic and brutal passages in the book were compiled via interviews, he interviewed people in his hometown and even goes as far to having an army-vet fact check the battle scene in the book. This beauty took 5 years to write and it is evident.

In the end, Stephen Markley’s own description of Ohio is priceless. “It’s a murder mystery, a ghost story, an explication of the wars and the recession, the opiate crisis, the constant churn of events of the last two decades. But at some point, I just wanted to tell a good story.”

An awesome book that I wished that I could give more than five stars to. One of the best books of 2018 that I have read so you definitely must pick up this book and know that once you start reading you will not put it down because I didn't, I just couldn't. Happy reading!

A solid debut that takes a lot of energy to read. Markley takes four characters- who are arguably stereotypes-and used them to turn a microscope on post 9-11 middle America. How many of these people do you know? Bill, Stacey, Dan, and Tina each represent a different thread in the tapestry, as does Richard, the dead catalyst. This is almost better taken as four character studies than as a plot driven novel. It's dark, none of it is happy, and it will make you wonder about others who walk among us. My constructive criticism is that some of it could have been pared away to make a tighter, more focused novel that might have landed a more effective punch to the gut. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. I'm curious to see what Markley writes next.