Status
Available
Genres
Collections
Publication
Griffin (2015), Edition: Reprint, 320 pages
Description
"Hank, Leland, Kip and Ronny were all born and raised in the same Wisconsin town--Little Wing--and are now coming into their own (or not) as husbands and fathers. One of them never left, still farming the family's land that's been tilled for generations. Others did leave, went farther afield to make good, with varying degrees of success; as a rock star, commodities trader, rodeo stud. And seamlessly woven into their patchwork is Beth, whose presence among them--both then and now--fuels the kind of passion one comes to expect of lovesongs and rivalries. Now all four are home, in hopes of finding what could be real purchase in the world. The result is a shared memory only half-recreated, riddled with culture clashes between people who desperately wish to see themselves as the unified tribe they remember, but are confronted with how things have, in fact, changed. There is conflict here between longtime buddies, between husbands and wives--told with writing that is, frankly, gut-wrenching, and even heartbreaking. But there is also hope, healing, and at times, even heroism. It is strong, American stuff, not at all afraid of showing that we can be good, too--not just fallible and compromising. Shotgun Lovesongs is a remarkable and uncompromising saga that explores the age-old question of whether or not you can ever truly come home again--and the kind of steely faith and love returning requires"--… (more)
Original publication date
2014
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User reviews
LibraryThing member kdabra4
I won an advanced copy of this book somehow. I secretly believe that they looked at my profile and handpicked me personally to read this because of my love of small-town & farm stories. And Shotgun Lovesongs is no exception, even though the title makes me cringe a little.
Little Wing, WI, and its
The author grew up in Eau Claire, and his love of Wisconsin is glaringly obvious through his beautiful, descriptive narrative. Although the setting and the idea of it was familiar to me, the characters were unlike anyone I know. You have your townsfolk who can’t wait to leave the town, which I can relate to, and those who have never left. There’s the unending questioning of their selves—What if I had married her instead, or What if I’d stayed in Chicago, those types of things everyone at some point asks themselves. This was a surprisingly enjoyable read!
Little Wing, WI, and its
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inhabitants won my heart, and made me reminisce about growing up in a little Midwestern town, only Little Wing has better scenery. Shotgun Lovesongs is actually the name of a struggling musician’s first album, the one that he wrote about his best friend’s wife who he secretly is in love with, and the one that brought him fame, fortune, and a perfectly gorgeous movie star wife. Despite all that, he can’t tear himself away from Little Wing and his friends. Each of these friends has their own chapters to relate the story of their lives from multiple perspectives, which I think makes it all the more interesting; and it was done very well, without bogging the flow of the story down at all.The author grew up in Eau Claire, and his love of Wisconsin is glaringly obvious through his beautiful, descriptive narrative. Although the setting and the idea of it was familiar to me, the characters were unlike anyone I know. You have your townsfolk who can’t wait to leave the town, which I can relate to, and those who have never left. There’s the unending questioning of their selves—What if I had married her instead, or What if I’d stayed in Chicago, those types of things everyone at some point asks themselves. This was a surprisingly enjoyable read!
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LibraryThing member bookworm12
A few good friends grow up together in Little Wing, Wisconsin. There's Henry, a good man and husband to Beth. He’s the stable and solid one who stayed in town and took over his father’s farm. Lee is a successful musician who travels the world but still longs for the normalcy of his friends’
Though it's set in Wisconsin (not my home state), the descriptions of bitter Midwestern nights or sultry summer days are so achingly familiar. Some of the moments described felt like my own childhood. The point of view rotates between each of the characters, giving us a chance to see the situations through their eyes.
The story is about what we expect from life versus what we end up with. It’s about wanting whatever's on the other side of that fence where the grass is always greener. It's about the complications that life throws our way and the friends that stick with you through it all.
The writing and characters drive the story much more than any major plot point does. We stumble through everyone's lives alongside them, connecting at weddings and other major events, but it’s really about the moments that don't seem big at the time, but later mean everything.
It reminded me and some ways of A Visit from the Goon Squad and in others of The Interestings. It was less precocious than The Interestings and felt more like people I might actually know. It's not as complex as A Visit from the Goon Squad, but has the same feel of overlapping lives with the vein of music running through it all. Considering that I loved both of those books, it’s not surprising that this one worked so well for me.
BOTTOM LINE: This was a fast read for me and I really liked it. The people felt familiar and their lives were so relatable. Perfect to read while sitting on the back porch and sipping a Leinenkugel.
*The audio version was really good!
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lives. Then we meet Kip. He’s a successful businessman who just returned to town from Chicago. He's also kind of an *ssh*l* who’s always trying to prove something, but usually just sends up pissing people off. Finally there's Ronnie, the rodeo star who was injured and lost some of his mental abilities. He’s sweet and enthusiastic, but sometimes frustrated by his situation.Though it's set in Wisconsin (not my home state), the descriptions of bitter Midwestern nights or sultry summer days are so achingly familiar. Some of the moments described felt like my own childhood. The point of view rotates between each of the characters, giving us a chance to see the situations through their eyes.
The story is about what we expect from life versus what we end up with. It’s about wanting whatever's on the other side of that fence where the grass is always greener. It's about the complications that life throws our way and the friends that stick with you through it all.
The writing and characters drive the story much more than any major plot point does. We stumble through everyone's lives alongside them, connecting at weddings and other major events, but it’s really about the moments that don't seem big at the time, but later mean everything.
It reminded me and some ways of A Visit from the Goon Squad and in others of The Interestings. It was less precocious than The Interestings and felt more like people I might actually know. It's not as complex as A Visit from the Goon Squad, but has the same feel of overlapping lives with the vein of music running through it all. Considering that I loved both of those books, it’s not surprising that this one worked so well for me.
BOTTOM LINE: This was a fast read for me and I really liked it. The people felt familiar and their lives were so relatable. Perfect to read while sitting on the back porch and sipping a Leinenkugel.
*The audio version was really good!
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LibraryThing member suzannefromtexas
SHOTGUN LOVESONGS --- where do I start? I absolutely loved this book! Maybe because I’m from a small rural town that depends on agriculture and an almost-closed army defense plant, maybe because my husband is a third-generation farmer, maybe because I meet once a month with former classmates for
I always read with a red pencil in my hand to mark favorite passages, and I have underlined and starred the margins throughout SHOTGUN LOVESONGS! Nickolas Butler’s lyrical words resonated with me, and I think they will with many readers. This passage is such a good example. When Beth compares Felicia and Kip’s bedroom to hers and thinks, “Not even for an instant was I envious of Felicia’s life, which then appeared before me as so fashionably barren. Ours was a home. A nest. A place well lived in, and loved. Maybe it’s a good thing, from time to time, to spy on other people’s lives. For me, anyway, it has the effect of making my own life feel like a well-loved thing.” (83)
I can’t wait to tell my unofficial book club of reader friends, the Real Readers, how they must read this book. I’ll tell them that it’s a beautiful depiction of a dying small town in Wisconsin (much like my own hometown in Texas); that the characters shared a childhood and teen years and now, a decade later, some stay in Little Wing, some leave but return to recharge in the safe haven of familiar surroundings and some try to run away but can’t find the exit. I’ll tell them that if they have two or three longtime friends, this novel will help them appreciate how fortunate they are.
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lunch or maybe just because the book is pure poetry to read. Nicolas Butler's descriptions remind me of the way Walt Whitman piled on words to create such a full, vivid, concrete picture.I always read with a red pencil in my hand to mark favorite passages, and I have underlined and starred the margins throughout SHOTGUN LOVESONGS! Nickolas Butler’s lyrical words resonated with me, and I think they will with many readers. This passage is such a good example. When Beth compares Felicia and Kip’s bedroom to hers and thinks, “Not even for an instant was I envious of Felicia’s life, which then appeared before me as so fashionably barren. Ours was a home. A nest. A place well lived in, and loved. Maybe it’s a good thing, from time to time, to spy on other people’s lives. For me, anyway, it has the effect of making my own life feel like a well-loved thing.” (83)
I can’t wait to tell my unofficial book club of reader friends, the Real Readers, how they must read this book. I’ll tell them that it’s a beautiful depiction of a dying small town in Wisconsin (much like my own hometown in Texas); that the characters shared a childhood and teen years and now, a decade later, some stay in Little Wing, some leave but return to recharge in the safe haven of familiar surroundings and some try to run away but can’t find the exit. I’ll tell them that if they have two or three longtime friends, this novel will help them appreciate how fortunate they are.
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LibraryThing member AlisonY
I gave this book 2 weeks of my life and I almost got halfway through, but I just can't face reading any more.
This is a first novel, and boy does it show. The basic storyline is about 4 guys from a small town in Wisconsin who are now grown up and leading very different lines. One has stayed a small
It's too much - I can't read another paragraph full of cliches and similes, simpering narrations, and unbelievable characters. It's one of those books where you're continuously conscious of what the writer was trying to achieve but couldn't pull off. With a great book, I almost forget there even is a writer behind it. This was like all the worst aspects from a Creative Writing course thrown into one book. You could tell he had some awful future Hollywood movie in mind as he was writing, and the dialogue in particular was cringeworthy.
The only positive I can take from this book is if this guy can get published to minor critical success, then there's hope for us all.
This is a first novel, and boy does it show. The basic storyline is about 4 guys from a small town in Wisconsin who are now grown up and leading very different lines. One has stayed a small
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town boy and is a farmer with a sickeningly perfect wife and 2 perfect children. A second made his fortune in trading and has come back to restore an old mill to deliver a new place of energy to the town. A third has become a global rock star but is greatly troubled by his new life (yeah, sure). The fourth was a rodeo star, but had some accident so dull I now can't remember what it was - he now apparently has brain damage, although when he's leading the narration his thoughts are totally lucid and self-aware. It's too much - I can't read another paragraph full of cliches and similes, simpering narrations, and unbelievable characters. It's one of those books where you're continuously conscious of what the writer was trying to achieve but couldn't pull off. With a great book, I almost forget there even is a writer behind it. This was like all the worst aspects from a Creative Writing course thrown into one book. You could tell he had some awful future Hollywood movie in mind as he was writing, and the dialogue in particular was cringeworthy.
The only positive I can take from this book is if this guy can get published to minor critical success, then there's hope for us all.
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LibraryThing member pife43
I absolutely loved this book. The story was one that is easy to relate to for most of us. One of the gang growing up together in rural America, and the changes that take place as we all grow older and find our own niche in life. Though most of us do not have a friend who becomes a massively popular
At first, the authors use of colorful and unique descriptions seemed a bit over the top, and I began to suspect that I was going to be subject to a wannabe writers narrative that borders poetry rather than a story that I could connect with. But this story has a way of drawing you in and sitting you down in the middle of a new group of friends....making you feel like a part of the story rather than an observer.
This was an audio book and the production of this enhanced the story wonderfully. Each characters voice and mannerisms were reflected perfectly. Far from a detached narrator who tries to change his voice for each different character, this story was produced with attention to even the smallest details....those which make all the difference in life.
This book and the audio are destined to become well known and loved.
I am so pleased to have this audio for my own.
Thank you to Mr. Butler and those who put this recording into my hands.
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pop musician, the book incorporates him into the narrative in such a way that we focus on his being rather than his accomplishments and popularity. The characters were so real, they feel like my own gang. The events and challenges that the friends face seem so common and real that I nearly forgot that this was a novel. At first, the authors use of colorful and unique descriptions seemed a bit over the top, and I began to suspect that I was going to be subject to a wannabe writers narrative that borders poetry rather than a story that I could connect with. But this story has a way of drawing you in and sitting you down in the middle of a new group of friends....making you feel like a part of the story rather than an observer.
This was an audio book and the production of this enhanced the story wonderfully. Each characters voice and mannerisms were reflected perfectly. Far from a detached narrator who tries to change his voice for each different character, this story was produced with attention to even the smallest details....those which make all the difference in life.
This book and the audio are destined to become well known and loved.
I am so pleased to have this audio for my own.
Thank you to Mr. Butler and those who put this recording into my hands.
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LibraryThing member TimBazzett
I saw a full-page ad for Nickolas Butler's SHOTGUN LOVESONGS in The New Yorker several weeks ago which piqued my interest, so when I saw the book at a local library book sale for a buck, I grabbed it.
The book's premise is a pretty good one: an in-depth look at the life-long friendship between four
But in spite of this, it's a pretty decent story. You've got a Neil Young-type rock star (Lee), a successful commodities trader (Kip), a farmer (Henry), a banged-up ex-rodeo rider (Ronny), and a farm wife (Beth). And they've all got problems with relationships - and maybe with growing up too. After Beth, Henry is probably the next best-realized character, except, as a farmer, he seems to have way too much time on his hands to go drinking and soul-searching with his buddies. Farmers don't have much spare time. Period. So that gave me a little trouble too. But he is, as his wife reflects repeatedly, a very good and decent man. So yeah, all the elements for a pretty good story, except about 200 pages in, it all begins to get just a little too soft and smarmy and, to my mind, degenerates quickly into soap opera territory and stays there all the way to its rather anticlimactic conclusion. And the sad and weary world view expressed by some of these characters seems just a bit ludicrous considering they are only thirty-three years old.
I wanted to like this book, and I don't really DISlike it, and I have a strong hunch that women readers will like it very much. And maybe Butler knew that, since the story seems to be aimed primarily at that audience. I mean, smart move, Nick. Everybody knows there are more women readers than men, so ... So I'll recommend the book for women. Guys? I think they might lose interest. (three and a half stars)
The book's premise is a pretty good one: an in-depth look at the life-long friendship between four
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men - Henry, Lee, Ronny and Kip - now in their mid-thirties, in a small, economically depressed town in rural Wisconsin. Well, actually there are five main characters, the other being Henry's wife, Beth, from the same group of high school friends. But here's the thing: Butler tells the story using shifting points of view with each character getting a turn telling his/her version of their story in alternating chapters. Using five different voices to tell the same story would be a pretty good hat trick, if it worked. Unfortunately, I don't really think it does. And throwing one female voice into the mix makes it even more confusing. What actually happens is that all five characters seem to share the same sensibility, and one which seems way too sensitive and often filled with near-purple prose to seem a genuine representation of small-town Midwestern farm boys. Because the one voice here that seems the most convincing is that of Beth. I think an omniscient POV would have been much more effective - and convincing. But in spite of this, it's a pretty decent story. You've got a Neil Young-type rock star (Lee), a successful commodities trader (Kip), a farmer (Henry), a banged-up ex-rodeo rider (Ronny), and a farm wife (Beth). And they've all got problems with relationships - and maybe with growing up too. After Beth, Henry is probably the next best-realized character, except, as a farmer, he seems to have way too much time on his hands to go drinking and soul-searching with his buddies. Farmers don't have much spare time. Period. So that gave me a little trouble too. But he is, as his wife reflects repeatedly, a very good and decent man. So yeah, all the elements for a pretty good story, except about 200 pages in, it all begins to get just a little too soft and smarmy and, to my mind, degenerates quickly into soap opera territory and stays there all the way to its rather anticlimactic conclusion. And the sad and weary world view expressed by some of these characters seems just a bit ludicrous considering they are only thirty-three years old.
I wanted to like this book, and I don't really DISlike it, and I have a strong hunch that women readers will like it very much. And maybe Butler knew that, since the story seems to be aimed primarily at that audience. I mean, smart move, Nick. Everybody knows there are more women readers than men, so ... So I'll recommend the book for women. Guys? I think they might lose interest. (three and a half stars)
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LibraryThing member jhoaglin
I loved this debut novel. The rich detail the author uses to unfold this story, and to describe the Wisconsin farming landscape, pulled me in immediately.
This is a tale of a rural way of life, a farming community where neighbors help each other and know each others past history as they do their
This is also a tale of male friendships that begin in childhood, and endure through the struggles of early adulthood. And though those early bonds are stretched and fragmented, the reader observes the slow mending and resurgence of friendship and love.
This is also a tale of a marriage, of envy, and compromise. This is a book that will stay with me, for the wonderful realistic characters, as well as an engaging story.
This is a tale of a rural way of life, a farming community where neighbors help each other and know each others past history as they do their
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own. This author carefully develops each character. Even the character that I first thought pretentious and shallow beings to emerge as full of self-doubt and loneliness, longing for connection and acceptance.This is also a tale of male friendships that begin in childhood, and endure through the struggles of early adulthood. And though those early bonds are stretched and fragmented, the reader observes the slow mending and resurgence of friendship and love.
This is also a tale of a marriage, of envy, and compromise. This is a book that will stay with me, for the wonderful realistic characters, as well as an engaging story.
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LibraryThing member whitreidtan
Sometimes there's a book that just resonates with you. Sometimes you come across a book that you just want to tell everyone to read. I love it when that happens. I love it even more when it happens with a book that I never suspected would make me want to accost perfect strangers in bookstores and
Set in the small farming community of Little Wing, WI and narrated by four friends and one of their wives, this is very much a novel of place. The four men have been friends for a long time but ten or so years into their adult lives their friendships have changed, shifted, and they have to figure out what they are to each other now, whether they want to hold onto their closeness or let it drift away just as the boom times have drifted away from the town. Hank is a farmer, the friend who stayed behind, never leaving Little Wing. He married his high school sweetheart, Beth, and they are raising a family on the farm that is in Hank's blood. Ronnie left town to ride on the rodeo circuit but alcoholism drove him home again and then a traumatic brain injury planted him firmly back in the community he tried so hard to escape. Kip went off to Chicago to make a fortune as a broker. Despite his success, he still feels a pull to Little Wing, coming back to get married and to buy up, renovate, and repurpose the old mill in town. And there's Lee who used his heart's connection to the land and the people to write an album that propelled him into rock star fame and marriage to a famous actress but who still comes home to escape into a private normalcy and to heal when his public life threatens to tear him down.
Each of the four men and Hank's wife Beth narrate the novel so that the ties and friendships are open to the reader in all their complexity, offering various perspectives on each man, how he fits into the group, the tensions between them, and the unfussy, understated caring of their deep love for each other as well. From the uncomplicated friendships of boyhood, the group has changed, grown, and matured into very different men. The changing dynamic between them causes them all to wonder what is worth holding onto and what it is time to put away as a childish thing. There are no explosions or fireworks here, just a slow and steady, direct, and personal tale of community, the family we create, and the pull of our past juxtaposed with dreams for the future. There are misunderstandings, betrayals, and fears but they are all a part of the reimagining of the men's relationship to each other and as a whole group. Butler pits the desire to leave this battered but serviceable people and place with the deep call to stay or to come back and has it play out in the true and authentic lives of these very real seeming characters.
The story is beautifully written with a heavy Midwestern sensibility, down to earth and of the earth. But it is not provincial, instead being a thoughtful and intimate piece of commonplace to which we can all relate. It is a bittersweet story, one of maturing, a belonging to place, and rooted in small but perfect details. It is a stunning and wonderful novel, real and true and emotional.
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libraries and grocery stores. Okay, not grocery stores since it's not carried there. And I love it when it makes me want to interrupt perfect strangers I've been eavesdropping on when they start discussing their book club or books in general. Because this pusher kind of person is not me at all. So I love it when a book makes me a whole different person. Nickolas Butler's gorgeous, melancholy novel Shotgun Lovesongs, a paean to male friendship, small towns, and the Midwest is just such a book. Set in the small farming community of Little Wing, WI and narrated by four friends and one of their wives, this is very much a novel of place. The four men have been friends for a long time but ten or so years into their adult lives their friendships have changed, shifted, and they have to figure out what they are to each other now, whether they want to hold onto their closeness or let it drift away just as the boom times have drifted away from the town. Hank is a farmer, the friend who stayed behind, never leaving Little Wing. He married his high school sweetheart, Beth, and they are raising a family on the farm that is in Hank's blood. Ronnie left town to ride on the rodeo circuit but alcoholism drove him home again and then a traumatic brain injury planted him firmly back in the community he tried so hard to escape. Kip went off to Chicago to make a fortune as a broker. Despite his success, he still feels a pull to Little Wing, coming back to get married and to buy up, renovate, and repurpose the old mill in town. And there's Lee who used his heart's connection to the land and the people to write an album that propelled him into rock star fame and marriage to a famous actress but who still comes home to escape into a private normalcy and to heal when his public life threatens to tear him down.
Each of the four men and Hank's wife Beth narrate the novel so that the ties and friendships are open to the reader in all their complexity, offering various perspectives on each man, how he fits into the group, the tensions between them, and the unfussy, understated caring of their deep love for each other as well. From the uncomplicated friendships of boyhood, the group has changed, grown, and matured into very different men. The changing dynamic between them causes them all to wonder what is worth holding onto and what it is time to put away as a childish thing. There are no explosions or fireworks here, just a slow and steady, direct, and personal tale of community, the family we create, and the pull of our past juxtaposed with dreams for the future. There are misunderstandings, betrayals, and fears but they are all a part of the reimagining of the men's relationship to each other and as a whole group. Butler pits the desire to leave this battered but serviceable people and place with the deep call to stay or to come back and has it play out in the true and authentic lives of these very real seeming characters.
The story is beautifully written with a heavy Midwestern sensibility, down to earth and of the earth. But it is not provincial, instead being a thoughtful and intimate piece of commonplace to which we can all relate. It is a bittersweet story, one of maturing, a belonging to place, and rooted in small but perfect details. It is a stunning and wonderful novel, real and true and emotional.
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LibraryThing member philipivan
Disappointing. Neither the characters reactions to events, nor the events themselves seemed real. I loved The Interestings by Meg Wollitzer last year and hoped that this would similarly hit home. That's a quaint idea, but clearly the skeletal structure and topic of a book is no guarantee that you
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will like it. Show Less
LibraryThing member UnderMyAppleTree
There are five narrators in the novel, all friends that grew up together in a small Wisconsin town. Now adults in their 30s, they look back on their relationships with each other, their decisions in life, and what might have been if they had done things differently. Each has their own story, but
Lee is a successful musician, a rock star. He now travels extensively, sees the world, but still feels the pull back to his home town. He envies his friend Henry’s life running the family farm with wife, Beth, and their children. But Beth has a secret. She had a brief fling with Lee before she and Henry were married. They never told Henry and she still wonders what life would have been like if she had stayed with Lee.
Kip has recently moved back to Little Wing after a successful career as a stockbroker in Chicago. He bought an old, deteriorating feedmill with the goal of renovating it and turning it into a restaurant. But things aren’t working out as he planned, he is running out of money and doesn’t want to ask friends for a loan. Ronny worked the rodeo circuit until a drunken fall caused a head injury leaving him unable to work. His friends feel it is their duty to watch out for him and keep him safe.
The story was pleasant, flowed well and held my interest. I enjoyed the setting and the depiction of small town, rural life. There was not a lot of ‘plot’, no twists or big reveals. It was a slow and steady exploration of the friendship between four young men and their uniquely different personalities and life choices – and Beth, who had a relationship with each of them. And while I could not relate to any of the characters personally, their eventual realization that you can’t bring back or relive the past resonated with me.
Audio Production:
I’m a fan of multiple narrators, and in this book the use of a separate narrator for each of the five friends worked very well. They did an excellent job in giving a unique voice to each character with just the right amount of feeling and emotion. I recommend the audio to everyone – new and experienced listeners alike.
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the stories overlap and we see the same events from a different perspective.Lee is a successful musician, a rock star. He now travels extensively, sees the world, but still feels the pull back to his home town. He envies his friend Henry’s life running the family farm with wife, Beth, and their children. But Beth has a secret. She had a brief fling with Lee before she and Henry were married. They never told Henry and she still wonders what life would have been like if she had stayed with Lee.
Kip has recently moved back to Little Wing after a successful career as a stockbroker in Chicago. He bought an old, deteriorating feedmill with the goal of renovating it and turning it into a restaurant. But things aren’t working out as he planned, he is running out of money and doesn’t want to ask friends for a loan. Ronny worked the rodeo circuit until a drunken fall caused a head injury leaving him unable to work. His friends feel it is their duty to watch out for him and keep him safe.
The story was pleasant, flowed well and held my interest. I enjoyed the setting and the depiction of small town, rural life. There was not a lot of ‘plot’, no twists or big reveals. It was a slow and steady exploration of the friendship between four young men and their uniquely different personalities and life choices – and Beth, who had a relationship with each of them. And while I could not relate to any of the characters personally, their eventual realization that you can’t bring back or relive the past resonated with me.
Audio Production:
I’m a fan of multiple narrators, and in this book the use of a separate narrator for each of the five friends worked very well. They did an excellent job in giving a unique voice to each character with just the right amount of feeling and emotion. I recommend the audio to everyone – new and experienced listeners alike.
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LibraryThing member sleahey
The small farming community of Little Wing Wisconsin is the main character in this homage to small town America. A circle of close childhood friends are adults now, and the chapters alternate among Henry, Lee, Ronnie, Beth, and Kip as they describe events that unfold when Lee, the world famous
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musician, comes home for Kip's wedding. Although their points of view and experiences are unique, their first person narrative styles don't vary--perhaps that's realistic with such close friends who all grew up together. There are occasional rhapsodic long paragraphs reflecting to themselves on the meaning of their town, and although it was tempting to skip these internal speeches, they really get to the heart of the novel. Show Less
LibraryThing member EllenH
Well written story. Fun to try to figure out where in Wisconsin his town is located.
LibraryThing member pife43
I was given as an advanced copy of Shotgun Lovesongs and just finished listening to it. I drive more than 3 hours per day in commuting, so I go through alot of audiobooks. This may very well be the best I have listened to yet. I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of the book. The story, the
First of all, I love the story. I loved growing up in a small town not unlike Little Wing, Wisconsin. I was surrounded by friends very much like the ones portrayed in the novel and was very impressed with the believable and authentic peer group. Yes, there were a few extraordinary circumstances, but all in all, Nickolas Butler could have been telling the story of Americans growing up in the late baby-boom era.
The author was spot on in picking the sutuations that defined the book....forbidden love, true and unyeilding friendships that are pried and stretched to the very limit by the simple and unavoidable act of just growing up and pursuing your pleasures and purposes.
At first, I thought this might end up being a parade of well turned phrases, slick adjective riddled fragmented thoughts, something like poetry run amok. But the story formed up solidly, the characters became very animated and believeable, and changing the narrator gave varying points of view that worked very well in the characters quest to discover the depths of each others love and committment to each other.
This was beautifully conceived, put together, and written. I will listen to this story many more times, but first, I will buy the book and experience the story in another way.
Thank you, Goodreads and Nickolas Butler, for the gift of a wonderful story. THIS is why i spend so much time researching and reading. Nuggets like this make all the work worth while.
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characters, the time, location, and even the performance of the readers was just very enjoyable.First of all, I love the story. I loved growing up in a small town not unlike Little Wing, Wisconsin. I was surrounded by friends very much like the ones portrayed in the novel and was very impressed with the believable and authentic peer group. Yes, there were a few extraordinary circumstances, but all in all, Nickolas Butler could have been telling the story of Americans growing up in the late baby-boom era.
The author was spot on in picking the sutuations that defined the book....forbidden love, true and unyeilding friendships that are pried and stretched to the very limit by the simple and unavoidable act of just growing up and pursuing your pleasures and purposes.
At first, I thought this might end up being a parade of well turned phrases, slick adjective riddled fragmented thoughts, something like poetry run amok. But the story formed up solidly, the characters became very animated and believeable, and changing the narrator gave varying points of view that worked very well in the characters quest to discover the depths of each others love and committment to each other.
This was beautifully conceived, put together, and written. I will listen to this story many more times, but first, I will buy the book and experience the story in another way.
Thank you, Goodreads and Nickolas Butler, for the gift of a wonderful story. THIS is why i spend so much time researching and reading. Nuggets like this make all the work worth while.
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LibraryThing member eenerd
I really enjoyed this one, about love and friendship in small town America. The writing was lovely, the characters a little over the top but still really endearing and their intermingled voices and stories were compelling. Overall a nice read.
LibraryThing member shelleyraec
Set in rural Wisconsin, Shotgun Lovesongs tells the story of four men, and one woman, renegotiating the meaning of friendship, love and home.
Five characters share the narrative in alternating chapters. Hank – who inherited his father’s farm, Beth – Hank’s wife, Lee – an international
I have read few books that feature male friendship, and it was something that I really enjoyed about Shotgun Lovesongs. The bonds this group formed in childhood remain intact through a decade of physical separation and sporadic contact, but when they reunite in Little Wing they learn none of them are the boys they once were and their relationships with each other are now complicated by the men they have become.
The community of Little Wing in rural Wisconsin is vividly portrayed. I could easily imagine Kip’s mill looming over the town, the car park full of battered pick-ups, weathered men leaning on the bar in the VWF hall and tractors traversing the the open farmland.
While tempers may flare, the conflict in Shotgun Lovesongs is largely personal and the drama is subdued. The pace of the story is measured and thoughtful, emphasising emotion over action. I found the writing and dialogue to be simple and honest yet descriptive and affecting.
Shotgun Lovesongs is an understated yet heartfelt novel, an ode to friendship, to love and to family. It is a story about finding your way home, where ever that may be.
Five characters share the narrative in alternating chapters. Hank – who inherited his father’s farm, Beth – Hank’s wife, Lee – an international
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music artist, Kip – a successful broker and Ronny -an injured rodeo star. These people speak and we think that we know them, who they are and what they dream of, but each are capable of surprising us as the story unfolds.I have read few books that feature male friendship, and it was something that I really enjoyed about Shotgun Lovesongs. The bonds this group formed in childhood remain intact through a decade of physical separation and sporadic contact, but when they reunite in Little Wing they learn none of them are the boys they once were and their relationships with each other are now complicated by the men they have become.
The community of Little Wing in rural Wisconsin is vividly portrayed. I could easily imagine Kip’s mill looming over the town, the car park full of battered pick-ups, weathered men leaning on the bar in the VWF hall and tractors traversing the the open farmland.
While tempers may flare, the conflict in Shotgun Lovesongs is largely personal and the drama is subdued. The pace of the story is measured and thoughtful, emphasising emotion over action. I found the writing and dialogue to be simple and honest yet descriptive and affecting.
Shotgun Lovesongs is an understated yet heartfelt novel, an ode to friendship, to love and to family. It is a story about finding your way home, where ever that may be.
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LibraryThing member Icepacklady
I loved this book, except the ending, but that shouldn't stop anyone. I ran across this title through my work in a library and looked it up here on Goodreads. After I started reading it, I looked it up on Amazon and read some more reviews on Goodreads. I had no idea about the connection to "Bon
When was the last time you read a book that led you to good music? I don't know if that's ever happened to me before, and I loved the book even more for that.
Getting back to the novel itself though, the story takes place in a small Wisconsin town, a farming town, much like many farming towns all across America I imagine. I can certainly imagine this story happening in a small town that I've lived in myself or one of the others nearby. I liked that. I like stories in small towns. I can imagine the bar at the VFW because I've been in a few. So this story struck a chord with me.
I was thrown off for a minute as I went from the first chapter to the second and the narrators changed, but once I adjusted to that and began to pay attention to the "L", "H", "R", "B","K",etc.. at the beginning of the chapter I did just fine. It's a good way to tell this story, switching points of view all the time because it really helps you get the full story. I was fully drawn in to the characters, and I had trouble putting the book down when it was time to do other things.
Now that I've read it, and returned it to the library, I may buy a copy to put on my shelf for when I want to read it again. It was that good.
Highly recommended.
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Iver" as another reviewer mentioned, but I spent a few hours doing some research and listening to some music and became a fan.When was the last time you read a book that led you to good music? I don't know if that's ever happened to me before, and I loved the book even more for that.
Getting back to the novel itself though, the story takes place in a small Wisconsin town, a farming town, much like many farming towns all across America I imagine. I can certainly imagine this story happening in a small town that I've lived in myself or one of the others nearby. I liked that. I like stories in small towns. I can imagine the bar at the VFW because I've been in a few. So this story struck a chord with me.
I was thrown off for a minute as I went from the first chapter to the second and the narrators changed, but once I adjusted to that and began to pay attention to the "L", "H", "R", "B","K",etc.. at the beginning of the chapter I did just fine. It's a good way to tell this story, switching points of view all the time because it really helps you get the full story. I was fully drawn in to the characters, and I had trouble putting the book down when it was time to do other things.
Now that I've read it, and returned it to the library, I may buy a copy to put on my shelf for when I want to read it again. It was that good.
Highly recommended.
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LibraryThing member ecataldi
That was one hell of an audiobook. Each character was narrated beautifully by a different voice and the end result is amazing. Superbly done. Shotgun Lovesongs is a story about a group of friends in a small town in Wisconsin. Though their lives have all changed drastically throughout the years, one
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became a famous musician, two got married, one suffered brain damage, and one became fabulously wealthy their lives still all intercept. And the raw emotion and feeling that they all have is stunning. A must listen or read. Hard to put down. Gritty, real, and heartfelt this novel has something to offer for everyone! Show Less
LibraryThing member susan0316
This is a debut novel from Nickolas Butler and I look forward to reading his books in the future. Its the story of four male friends in a small town in Wisconsin. They are all in their early 30s and have all taken different paths in their lives.Hank is a farmer who still lives in the town they grew
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up in, Lee is a famous singer, Kip a trader in Chicago and Ronnie a former rodeo star. The novel is the story of their friendship and the story of life in a small town. I enjoyed the novel and the love between the friends. Its rare to read a book about male friends and I found this to be a very honest and interesting story. Definitely worth reading. Show Less
LibraryThing member tututhefirst
Wow! Every once in awhile a book comes along that gives the reader an "AHA" moment. Shotgun Lovesongsis such a book. I didn't want this book to end. I wanted to read, re-read, listen to the audio, and just sink into the glorious prose telling the simple story of four friends who grew up
Each of the stories is discrete, but each advances the story of the whole, of the group. Each life is separate and unique, but every life meshes with all of the others. In the end, we see an entire range of experiences and relationships. Friendships turned sour, friendships stretched as friends move away and then return, friendships poisoned by jealousy and rivalries, but through it all, it is the simple, beautiful story of four people whose ties to their life in a small town and to their love of each other overcomes the obstacles and rivalries that are the staples of life and love. Here's how the publisher describes it:
Henry, Lee, Kip and Ronny grew up together in rural Wisconsin. Friends since childhood, their lives all began the same way, but have since taken different paths. Henry stayed on the family farm 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 back in town for a wedding, each of them hoping to recapture their old closeness but unable to escape how much has changed. Amid the happiness of reunion and celebration, old rivalries resurface and a wife's secret threatens to tear both a marriage and a friendship apart.
Not only did I read this one in print, but I listened to the audio - a spectacular production from MacMillan Audio, read by Ari Fliakos, Maggie Hoffman, Scott Shepherd, Scott Sowers and Gary Wilmes. Each voice clarified the character, and each story took on an even more defined picture from the audio. The word pictures are as sharp as one listens as they are when we read the well-written words. This is definitely going to be on my top of the year list.
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together in a small town, and whose individual stories are told in such clear, stellar prose that I was captured by the end of page 3!Each of the stories is discrete, but each advances the story of the whole, of the group. Each life is separate and unique, but every life meshes with all of the others. In the end, we see an entire range of experiences and relationships. Friendships turned sour, friendships stretched as friends move away and then return, friendships poisoned by jealousy and rivalries, but through it all, it is the simple, beautiful story of four people whose ties to their life in a small town and to their love of each other overcomes the obstacles and rivalries that are the staples of life and love. Here's how the publisher describes it:
Henry, Lee, Kip and Ronny grew up together in rural Wisconsin. Friends since childhood, their lives all began the same way, but have since taken different paths. Henry stayed on the family farm 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 back in town for a wedding, each of them hoping to recapture their old closeness but unable to escape how much has changed. Amid the happiness of reunion and celebration, old rivalries resurface and a wife's secret threatens to tear both a marriage and a friendship apart.
Not only did I read this one in print, but I listened to the audio - a spectacular production from MacMillan Audio, read by Ari Fliakos, Maggie Hoffman, Scott Shepherd, Scott Sowers and Gary Wilmes. Each voice clarified the character, and each story took on an even more defined picture from the audio. The word pictures are as sharp as one listens as they are when we read the well-written words. This is definitely going to be on my top of the year list.
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LibraryThing member vnesting
Maybe it's because I grew up in the Midwest but I loved this audiobook. This is the story of who we were in our youth and who we are now, the friendships we maintain, the relationships in our life. The audiobook uses five different narrators and they make this a wonderful listening experience. The
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characterizations were spot on--I knew and loved each of them, despite (and sometimes even because of) their flaws. Highly recommended. Show Less
LibraryThing member pgchuis
Set in Little Wing, a small town in Wisconsin, and featuring five friends who grew up together: Hank (who took over his father's farm) and his wife, Beth, Lee, who is a famous singer but keeps a home in the town, Ronny, a former rodeo, who has a brain injury from drinking too much and falling, and
The book begins strongly and the first third was well-plotted and well-paced. After that it dragged for me in the middle, picking up to an extent by the end. I found the characters of Hank and Beth the most clearly drawn and the easiest to relate to. Ronny and Kip were more shadowy for me and I couldn't get a handle on Lee at all. Obviously people are always a mixture of good and bad, but I found Lee's love for Ronny and despair over the failure of his marriage hard to square with his revelations to Hank and the backstory of what he did on Hank and Beth's wedding day. What on earth was he hoping to gain?
Another small niggle - I don't believe for one moment that Chloe would have stayed in touch with Lucy and found her a job. And a question: did Lee know the painting he had bought was one of Hank's?
I think as a hymn of praise to small town America, this book works very well indeed and the writing was beautiful. Also, the pickled egg episode was very amusing. I'm going to pass this on to a friend who is a Green Bay Packers fan.
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Kip, who went away and became a successful broker, but has returned to buy and restore a mill property in the town. Different chapters are told from the point of view of different characters and there are frequent flashbacks to the past to explain things that are going on now. The book begins strongly and the first third was well-plotted and well-paced. After that it dragged for me in the middle, picking up to an extent by the end. I found the characters of Hank and Beth the most clearly drawn and the easiest to relate to. Ronny and Kip were more shadowy for me and I couldn't get a handle on Lee at all. Obviously people are always a mixture of good and bad, but I found Lee's love for Ronny and despair over the failure of his marriage hard to square with his revelations to Hank and the backstory of what he did on Hank and Beth's wedding day. What on earth was he hoping to gain?
Another small niggle - I don't believe for one moment that Chloe would have stayed in touch with Lucy and found her a job. And a question: did Lee know the painting he had bought was one of Hank's?
I think as a hymn of praise to small town America, this book works very well indeed and the writing was beautiful. Also, the pickled egg episode was very amusing. I'm going to pass this on to a friend who is a Green Bay Packers fan.
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LibraryThing member mchwest
I really fell headlong into this book, grateful that I had left in on my TBR shelf for so long. It's been a hideous winter here in New England so a story like this can be an escape. It is a simple one told about the lives of four friends and one of the excerpts shown here were right on the mark:
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So eloquently put and so true. Enjoy the story.
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I tell my children when you are caught in a lie, or when you do something wrong, just STOP. Don't make excuses. Don't keep talking. Don't try to explain yourself. Just own up to what you've done wrong. when you do that, things inevitably work out better. You LOOK and FEEL better. More likely than not, you also catch the other person off guard."So eloquently put and so true. Enjoy the story.
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LibraryThing member froxgirl
Yee hah, I really enjoyed this good ol' Midwestern boy story of the men (and a few women, but flunks the Bechtel Test because they only appear as attached to men) of Little Wing, Wisconsin. There's Lee, a famous singer modeled on - hmmm - Garth Brooks? Not sure. Hank the farmer, Beth, Hank's wife,
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Ronny the former rodeo and recovering alcoholic, and Kip, the rich one. It's a well told story, a simple ode to a small town that held everything for everyone until the mill went under and it became just another drive-by. The friendships are rich and real, and the only jarring note is Lee's marriage to a big movie star. The occasions when Little Wing celebrates together, the "we" parts, are the best. The chapters alternate in the voice of each main character and it flows seamlessly until the rowdy ending. Not much dramatic tension, but you might enjoy passing a few lazy afternoons with this one. Show Less
LibraryThing member KatyBee
Good, old fashioned small-town Wisconsin setting. Nicely written - kinda funny and sad, just like real life. Great characters that are easy to care about and hard to leave. Nickolas Butler knows this existence and describes it beautifully.
LibraryThing member jo-jo
How could I pass up the opportunity to listen to this audiobook after living in Northern Wisconsin for most of my life? I just couldn't! I've always enjoyed reading books that take place close to where I live and Shotgun Lovesongs delivered. Butler did a wonderful job of creating a fictional town
The story is told from various viewpoints and each character had a different narrator. Our main characters all grew up together in Little Wing, and although a few left the small town early in their lives, they all find themselves building their lives back where they started. Beth and Hank married and work on a farm, Kip married a woman from Chicago and moved back to Little Wing to restore the old mill, Leland is a rock star who spends time in the town recuperating between gigs, while Ronny may be the most loved character of all-having to give up the rodeo circuit after sustaining too many injuries.
The book opens as the town is getting ready to attend Kip's wedding. Kip doesn't spare any expense for his wedding and it is apparent that he has let the powerful persona he developed in Chicago take over. His attitude did not come across well to his home-town friends, setting a tension that would separate Kip from the rest of the group throughout the novel.
Leland and Hank were best friends since they were kids, but with Ronny's injuries Leland always took the initiative to take Ronny under his wing. Whether it was paying for Ronny's medical bills or not indulging in alcohol at bachelor parties, Leland did whatever he needed to do to help Ronny feel like he belonged.
A couple of our characters hold a secret from years before, and once it is revealed friendships will never be the same. I think all of the narrators did a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life for me. My ONLY complaint about the audiobook was the choice of narrator for Leland. Although I enjoyed his narration, the voice just did not fit the character for me. Obviously this was a very small distraction for me as I absolutely loved the book otherwise. With themes of love, secrets, and forgiveness, you may enjoy this book as much as I did. I don't hesitate in recommending this book for either personal leisure or as a book club selection.
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containing the things that make our little piece of the world special. From Friday fish fry, shopping trips to Duluth, to commuting to Minneapolis for the airport, Butler didn't miss a beat.The story is told from various viewpoints and each character had a different narrator. Our main characters all grew up together in Little Wing, and although a few left the small town early in their lives, they all find themselves building their lives back where they started. Beth and Hank married and work on a farm, Kip married a woman from Chicago and moved back to Little Wing to restore the old mill, Leland is a rock star who spends time in the town recuperating between gigs, while Ronny may be the most loved character of all-having to give up the rodeo circuit after sustaining too many injuries.
The book opens as the town is getting ready to attend Kip's wedding. Kip doesn't spare any expense for his wedding and it is apparent that he has let the powerful persona he developed in Chicago take over. His attitude did not come across well to his home-town friends, setting a tension that would separate Kip from the rest of the group throughout the novel.
Leland and Hank were best friends since they were kids, but with Ronny's injuries Leland always took the initiative to take Ronny under his wing. Whether it was paying for Ronny's medical bills or not indulging in alcohol at bachelor parties, Leland did whatever he needed to do to help Ronny feel like he belonged.
A couple of our characters hold a secret from years before, and once it is revealed friendships will never be the same. I think all of the narrators did a wonderful job of bringing these characters to life for me. My ONLY complaint about the audiobook was the choice of narrator for Leland. Although I enjoyed his narration, the voice just did not fit the character for me. Obviously this was a very small distraction for me as I absolutely loved the book otherwise. With themes of love, secrets, and forgiveness, you may enjoy this book as much as I did. I don't hesitate in recommending this book for either personal leisure or as a book club selection.
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