Shotgun Lovesongs (Thorndike Press Large Print Basic Series) - Hardcover

Butler, Nickolas

3.79

18,243 ratings by Goodreads

9781410470416: Shotgun Lovesongs (Thorndike Press Large Print Basic Series)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1410470415 ISBN 13: 9781410470416

Publisher: Thorndike Pr, 2014

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"Impressively original." --"The New York Times
"Welcome to Little Wing.
It's a place like hundreds of others, nothing special, really. But for four friends--all born and raised in this small Wisconsin town--it is home. And now they are men, coming into their own, or struggling to do so.
One of them never left, still working the family farm that has been tilled for generations. But others felt the need to move on, with varying degrees of success. One trades commodities, another took to the rodeo circuit, and one of them even hit it big as a rock star. And then there's Beth, a woman who has meant something special in each of their lives.
Now all four are brought together for a wedding. Little Wing seems even smaller than before. While lifelong bonds are still strong, there are stresses--between the friends, between husbands and wives. There will be heartbreak, but there will also be hope, healing, even heroism as these memorable people learn the true meaning of adult friendship and love.
Seldom has the American heartland been so richly and accurately portrayed. Though the town may have changed, the one thing that hasn't is the beauty of the Wisconsin farmland, the lure of which, in Nickolas Butler's hands, emerges as a vibrant character in the story. "Shotgun Lovesongs" is that rare work of fiction that evokes a specific time and place yet movingly describes the universal human condition. It is, in short, a truly remarkable book--a novel that once read will never be forgotten.

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Review:

Advance Praise for "Shotgun Lovesongs"

"Nickolas Butler ripped my heart out with rare honesty and good old-fashioned unapologetic love."
--Matthew Quick

"A Midwestern masterpiece [that] has done for the modest splendor of verdant farmlands what Larry McMurtry did for the brutal beauty of small town Texas." --Amber Dermont

"You will be moved to laughter and tears, plugged in to a melody that brilliantly shares the story of all our lives." --Benjamin Percy

"Nick's literary focus...explorations of the human quest for meaning and value...is a much-needed addition to contemporary fiction in that it explores beyond the conventional repositories of 'self' -- job security, family bonds, for example--and reintroduces us to the settled world of nature, where we can explore into both new and ancient meanings of the term." --James Alan McPherson, Pulitzer-Prize winner

Praise for "Shotgun Lovesongs""Nickolas Butler ripped my heart out with rare honesty and good old-fashioned unapologetic love. A book that makes you want to call old friends. A writer who makes you feel more human than you thought possible."
--Matthew Quick, "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Silver Linings Playbook
""Nickolas Butler has written a Midwestern masterpiece and has done for the modest splendor of verdant farmlands what Larry McMurtry did for the brutal beauty of small-town Texas."
--Ambert Dermont, author of the "New York Times" bestseller "The Starboard Sea
""This is a novel about home, and home is how the book feels."
--Josh Weil, award-winning author of "The New Valley
""An unswervingly bighearted and compelling novel about an indie rocker made good and his best friends back home in Wisconsin...a soaring, meditative chorus of voices. And it's absolutely beautiful."
--Dean Bakopoulos, author of the New York Times Notable Book" Please Don't Come Back from the Moon
""You will be moved to laughter and tears, plugged in to a melody that brilliantly shares the story of all our lives."
--Benjamin Percy, Pushcart Prize-winning author of "Red Moon
""A beautifully written, heartfelt novel about young men in the Midwest grappling with the slipperiest bits of life. Read "Shotgun Lovesongs "with caution--these guys will stay with you for a while."
--Katie Crouch, "New York Times "bestselling author of "Girls in Trucks
""Hooray for this warm, wise, bighearted book."
--Emily Jeanne Miller, author of "Brand New Human Being
""What a cracking book. Full of heart, full of compassion, full of characters who have you rooting for them from the very first page."
--Shelley Harris, author of "Jubilee," short-listed for the 2012 Commonwealth Book Prize
"There is also a profound empathy for the characters and the small-town dynamic that the reader will likely share, an appreciation fora

Praise for "Shotgun Lovesongs
"""Shotgun Lovesongs" is about a hometown in Wisconsin and the close band of friends who will always feel its magnetic pull. ... The most lyrical parts of this big-hearted book are about how all the characters, including the star, are almost physically drawn to the town and one another. ... Impressively original."
--"The New York Times
""Sparkles in every way. A love letter to the open lonely American heartland...A must-read." --"People
""We all have them, right? Those songs that indelibly mark the milestones in our lives? Songs that stir up our deepest feelings and remind us of who we are. ... Only the best, most emotionally resonant novels work in the same way. Nickolas Butler's "Shotgun Lovesongs" is one of those novels."
--"Minneapolis Star Tribune
""Totally smitten. That was me, within four pages of the beginning of "Shotgun Lovesongs." ... This is one of those books you step into, but never want to leave." --"Reedsburg Times-Press
""Nickolas Butler ripped my heart out with rare honesty and good old-fashioned unapologetic love. A book that makes you want to call old friends. A writer who makes you feel more human than you thought possible."
--Matthew Quick, "New York Times" bestselling author of "The Silver Linings Playbook
""Nickolas Butler has written a Midwestern masterpiece and has done for the modest splendor of verdant farmlands what Larry McMurtry did for the brutal beauty of small-town Texas."
--Ambert Dermont, author of the "New York Times" bestseller "The Starboard Sea
""This is a novel about home, and home is how the book feels."
--Josh Weil, award-winning author of "The New Valley
""An unswervingly bighearted and compelling novel about an indie rocker made good and his best friends back home in Wisconsin...a soaring, meditative chorus of voices. And it's absolutely beautiful."
--Dean Bakopoulos, author of the New York Times Notable Book" Ple

Book Description:

Henry, Lee, Kip and Ronny grew up together in rural Wisconsin, but their lives have since taken different paths. Henry stayed home and married his first love, whilst the others left in search of something more. Ronnie became a rodeo star, Kip made his fortune in the city, and musician Lee found fame – but heartbreak, too. Now all four are reunited for a wedding, but amid happiness and celebration, old rivalries resurface and a wife’s secret threatens to tear both a marriage and a friendship apart . . . This is a novel about the things that matter – love and loyalty, the power of music and the beauty of nature – told in a uniquely beautiful, warm-hearted and profound way.

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