Beautiful written about a landscape, time and culture I could really envisage and feel, but unfortunately, I struggled to keep track of who was who and didn't come to love or route for any of the characters despite them all being well written with great backstories. I would have liked it to zoom in on just a couple - but by a quarter way through I couldn't remember who was in Iraq, who had died, who was the drug smuggler etc. It all blended in together too much. The murder mystery element was too long winded and just hinted at for far too long. Seriously, the writing was still very good - it did feel like he was writing-up a little but I'd love to try him again in a year or so.

You passed your time in the cage, he figured, by clinging pointlessly and desperately to an endless series of unfinished sorrows.

The character developement in this book is fantastic, because they are all heavy with some sort of sorrow. This town is like many others, falling into hard times, gritty, poverty striken, drug riddled, and it’s people as worn down and burned out on life or drugs. The author takes you into the dark recesses of his lost characters. There isn’t much hope here. Of all the stories, the last hit me between the eyes. Tina Ross is returning home to Ohio, her mind on love. If her theory about love, ‘that you can only have- really, truly- one love of your life”, then it comes early and leads her back to Number 56, for her. This love, of her re-telling, descends into serious abuse, which got me to thinking about teenage girls in general and unhealthy love. Really, you can pick any woman, search her heart’s timeline and for most, there is a relationship where she likely succumbed to self-destruction for one partner. Love hurts, love hurts, love hurts playing on a loop in her love-sick mind. Tina has returned to see 56, her one true love, who may have ruined her for any normal healthy relationship. I wish I could get deeper into this twisted story but I don’t want to give away what happens.

The first story is about Corporal Richard Jared Brinklan, killed in action in Iraq, whose life intersected with the characters in each story. A ceremony to honor the fallen soldier, immediately doesn’t feel so honorable when one who is chosen to speak, high school girlfriend Kaylyn Lyn is ‘stupefyingly high’, and their love story was one she ended coldly, cruelly. She is a mess herself, if once pretty and popular she is washed out and just as wrecked as anyone else in the novel. Then there is Bill Ashcroft, the smuggler distracted by the ‘fraternity’ of fellow aging, used up small town football athletes at the bar. It’s a given, after all, to run into the boys ‘relics’ anytime one is back in town. High out of his mind and drunk, remembering his glory years where memories are tainted, and out of some misdirected rage others became targets, and each story veers off elsewhere. No two memories are the same.

A small town like any other, bored teens with nothing to do but ruin each other or self-destruct. Factor in 9/11, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the earnestness when one first ‘joins up’ to fight a cause, the disaffected, broken returns, ambition that sinks you deeper until you abandon hope and you have Ohio. The writing is rich and while not every story held me, I was engaged. A promising new talent to be sure!

Publication Date: August 21, 2018

Simon & Schuster

I just finished reading this book for the second time in succession. The first time through I got so wrapped up in the beauty of the writing that I let many of the intertwining elements of the story slip past me. On the second reading I was able to follow the story more closely, even though the writing still was masterful. Stephen Markley will be a major force in the literary world once this book is released.

3.5 stars

Interesting book. Unfortunately, it was a bit all over the map for me on whether I liked it or didn't like it. Initially I struggled. While it was well-written, it was also long, I didn't understand the purpose, I had a hard time following the characters. Roughly two-thirds through, something clicked and I started enjoying it more (although I was still struggling with purpose), and then toward the end, I started losing interest again. Ultimately, I think this was a very detailed character study of small town life and those who lived it - their successes (few) and struggles (many). It was dark, probably a bit on the too dark side for my taste; I might have enjoyed it better if at least one main character had done well. So while it was a decent book, well-written and deeply detailed, it was just a hair on the too depressing side for me to say this was a book I "enjoyed." That's a personal preference, however, and the writing and character development are enough for me to recommend it, with the caveat that it leans toward the dark and depressing.

Reading this book is a lot like peeling an onion. The layers come off slowly and go deep. It's a moving, sad story of four people who knew each other in the past and whose lives interconnect on one evening in the present. (Note: there is some dark, violent stuff in this book that could be triggering for some people.)

I hard a hard time getting started with this book, but I'm very glad I stuck with it. It ultimately become so much more than I thought it would be.

I think my struggle was in kicking off the book with Bill's story. Bill is a bit of an asshole and he's high as a kite for much of his quarter of the book. He name drops various people from high school, but it's hard to see the relevance of those details or what the connections are at that point, so it's tempting to just let all of those details go by in a blur. Don't make that mistake.

However when I got to the second, third and fourth stories (and coda), the book started to really gel for me. I started to more fully appreciate the quality of the writing. I started to get a bigger sense of how time and place defined these characters for better or worse. I began to really pay attention to who knows who and what sorts of things happened in the past that are affecting the present. I think by the time I got to Dan's heartbreaking section (at the halfway mark) I began to fall in love with this book.

The coda is both powerful and sad, (But also a bit frustrating--what exactly did Bill smuggle into town?) full of some beautiful passages like this one: "The most astonishing gift of consciousness was also our tragedy, our cliche, our great curse: Love's absolute refusal to ever surrender."

Ultimately, it's love that drives most of these character's actions. Although this book doesn't necessarily end on a happy note, it does end on a HOPEFUL one.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

I just didnt get a connection with this book> Just wasnt my type of book. I felt liked it dragged just wasnt for me

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Review Move over Spinoza! Stephen Markley in his Debut Novel has tackled both the "Meaning Of Life" and "Coming of Age" motif. His platform involves four high school friends haphazardly returning to their rustbelt home of New Canaan, Ohio .... some who refer to as "Bumfuck, USA" The town has fallen on hard times since "9/11" and slid into a slow progressive dissolution. The country is wallowing in the Iraq and Afghanstan war and recession. The four classmates find themselves drawn "home" in 2013 for a diverse set of circumstances. The four principals are Bill Ashcraft, although an athlete and friend of most is known for his early activist rabid beliefs .... only later to become an addict of both drugs and alcohol ... he finds himself returning home as essentially a "drug mule". Stacey Moore, now a doctoral candidate returns to confront the mother of her first female lover. Dan Eaton... an always shy and sensitive teenager, returns for a dinner with his now married high school sweatheart. His subsequent life has been shaped by his 3 tours of duty ... less one eye. And, lastly the pretty Tina Ross, returns for a confrontation with her brief boyfriend and football captain, Todd Beaufort - as well as the demons from her past.
The story unfolds in four long sections, involving each main character ... flitting back and forth between present day an "back when" ... the previous events , thoughts and motivation are inter woven with their present mind set .... and brought into perspective are their interrelationships.
In the last quarter of this tale the tone changes to a much grittier subtext. The denouement leads to an exciting murder mystery with an unexpected and satisfying conclusion. Markley weaves a complex and multidimentional tale utilizing both precise and lyrical prose. The end product is a gestalt that certainly is greater than the sum of its parts. Thanks to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for allowing me to be one of the first to enjoy this tour de force in Proof format ... in exchange for an honest review. I expect to read much more from the pen of Stephen Markley

Despite the location of the book, northeastern Ohio (I'm from Cleveland!) and subject matter, opioid crisis, I was not able to stay engaged with this novel as much as I would have liked. I aim to try reading it again after giving myself some time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC.

I'm a firm believer that all small towns have their secrets. I think Markley believes this too. And he reveals some big secrets of New Canaan, Ohio. This book begins as one young man returns home about ten years after high school gradation with a package taped under the fender of his pickup truck. On this fateful night he runs into several classmates and we learn of three who are also on missions of their own. Ohio unfolds in four chapters: Bill Ashcraft, Stacey Moore, Dan Eaton, and Tina Ross. Within those chapters we learn of their interconnected lives in high school and to the night they all reconnect in 2013. Markley shows the horrible effects of the boredom of coming of age in a small town. And sometimes boredom leads to devious acts. These devious acts are what keeps the book moving. It can also be hard to read some of the gory details, but they are necessary to the story. The prose in this book is beautiful and all the twists and turns do not feel overdone. I look forward to Markley's next novel.

I have mixed and compicated feelings about this book. There are moments I love it and moments I loathe it. Attentive readers will ultimately be rewarded by slogging through, but the reward will be considered trite, convenient, and not altogether surprising.

Mostly though, I wonder who this book is for. Some might say everybody trying to make sense of what has become 21st century America. But outside of those coming into their mid-30s (who graduated in high school in 2000-2005), I don't see how this book will appeal to many readers. And even that, the "realism" on display in the book is one of unsympathetic mid- to lower-class folks who cling to their high school lives.

This is an intriguing book for certain, and I'm glad I read it, but I can't recommend that others do the same.

I could not get into this book and gave up very early on. It seemed course, not the kind of book for me in any way. Language was rough and while I am no prude, it turned me off. Long descriptive paragraphs of uninteresting meant that I didn't care for any of it. Thanks NetGalley for an advance copy in return for an honest opinion.

I was initially interested in this story because my husband is a soldier from Ohio who served 3 tours in the Iraq war. The characters are my age and the author does a really good job describing living in NE OH. I actually live in NW Ohio but its the same climate and problems so much so I could be a character in the story. I grew up in a small Ohio town, was a Sunday school teacher, dated an older guy and got into similar trouble as the characters until we broke up when I turned 18. My mother worked in a factory and hurt her back so she got addicted to prescription pills for years until she realized she was dying and quit. I married a soldier and live with the affects of going to war. The book hits home. I think the synopsis does a good job describing the book. I had to keep a note about who the characters were because each point of view remembers the high school experience differently.

I received an advanced reading copy from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster. Thanks!

I am not completely sure what I want to say about this novel. On one hand, I really enjoyed reading it. In some ways, it reminded me of The Secret History by Donna Tartt. The book is told from the point of view of four different people who attended high school together in a small town in Ohio. The story begins when one of the men returns to the town, and encounters each of the others. These encounters lead to flashbacks of high school and early adulthood for each character, providing the reader with differing viewpoints of the same external events during that time period.

The novel does a great job of digging deep into each of the four characters-they all felt fully fleshed out and believable. While reading the flashback from one character's viewpoint, the reader wonders (along with the protagonist in that section) about the motivations behind another person's behavior. Then, as we read about the same events from a different point of view, we gain a different understanding of the same situation, which sometimes answer the questions in the mind of the first character, but always bring up additional questions and a new interpretation of the events in the reader's mind. I thought Markley accomplished this quite well.

I started reading this novel on a Friday, read about 2/3 of it over the weekend, and then finished it and finished it the next weekend. And I think the challenge that I had with this novel has something to do with that reading schedule. I had a pretty quiet weekend, and was able to spend quite a bit of time reading. During that period, I was really enjoying the novel-I loved the different character's voices and felt myself drawn into the sense of intrigue that revolves in and around groups of friends during high school. The complex interrelationship between different characters, and who knew what about who felt so believable-I remember feeling exactly that way when I was in high school.

Unfortunately, when I got back to the novel after work on Monday, I had lost the thread, and suddenly the web of relationships had become too complex. I remembered peoples' names, but I was not always sure where they fit into the web in regards to the character whose story I was currently following, let alone how they fit for earlier characters.

It felt a bit as if I had reconnected with someone I knew in high school on Facebook, who then they told me some salacious gossip about a mutual friend from our past. Although I remember our mutual friend, and can picture the situation, I don't experience that feeling of "of course" or "now I understand everything" that I might have felt during high school. It is just too long ago for me to fully remember and understand the complex web of relationships that provide a context for me to process that piece of gossip.

This is not the first time this has happened to me; for example, I don't often read novels that don't have a fairly straightforward plot structure, because I lose the thread of the story easily. I honestly don't think there was anything specific to Markley's writing that led me to feel this way. But unfortunately, it left me enjoying this novel less than I might have if I had been able to finish it before the weekend ended.

That said, I would definitely suggest that others not be deterred from reading this novel because I did not give it a higher rating; I also gave The Secret History only 3 stars and 76% of the other readers on Goodreads liked it more than I did.

I apologize but I cannot finish this novel. I got through several chapters and it just never gained my interest. I felt the story rambled a bit too much and I sincerely could not keep up with the train of thought going on with the characters.

As someone from a small town in Southwest Ohio, Markley's Ohio beautifully and tragically depicts the coming to terms with one's past. I was drawn to this book mostly to see how the author portrays my home state. He is spot on with the drug problems plaguing the marginalized areas of the rust belt. The character development makes one love and hate each character through the flashbacks to their youth and choices that were made. One excerpt that really stood out to me was "This was about disappearing. People, she'd come to understand, disappeared all the time. The world simply opened its jaws and stalled them whole. They vanished, and unless they were rich or famous or particularly beautiful, they did so almost without comment. There was bitterness at murder, grief at accidents, and fury at suicide. But to disappear -- well, there was only mystery." This made me think about classmates that have disappeared to me and probably vice versa. I cannot wait to see this book reach the shelves. It should be well received. Thank you NetGalley for an advanced copy.

Having finished "Ohio" by Stephen Markley, I am amazed that this is a debut novel. I was mesmerized not only by the story, but quite often by the writing itself. There are sections of the book (in particular, a description of a photograph of several high school students at their prom) that I had to highlight on my Kindle; they were that good. War, friendship, love, betrayal, desperation, and the results of 9/11 and the war in Afghanistan are depicted in a way that kept me turning the pages while savoring each one.
Don't expect a plot synopsis; not my style. You can read about the plot on any sight that carries this review. The novel explores one night in 2013 when four former high school friends (individually, not together) return to the town of New Canaan, Ohio, and the encounters each has. Each of the books four major sections follows one of these characters, and alternates between that night and flashbacks to other events in their life. Events only hinted at in one section are documented in later sections. In this way, the novel's impact unfolds gradually, allowing the reader to savor and wonder how these four stories really intersect, both in the present and the past.
One example is "The Murder That Never Was," an event that all of the major characters mention, and which the reader wonders about until the book's very end. The conclusion arrives with the impact of a bullet. It was shocking, and entirely real. I cannot imagine a more satisfying conclusion after following the events of this night, and the many others that led up to it. In short: if you enjoy a good mystery, character-driven, with intriguing writing, and a realistic depiction of small town struggles, grab this book next August!

"Because they were just kids, and that day they drank and they danced and they laughed at the sky-blue heavens, and it really felt like anything could be fixed and anything could be forgiven."

Perhaps this is a poignant foreshadowing of doom to come, but it kept me reading on. This novel is dark - and the vulgar language of the first chapter especially, may be off-putting for some, but this novel was hard to put down. The story involves a "rust belt" town, down on its luck, and features a group of high schoolers struggling to find their way amidst the chaos. The follow up as their paths diverge and reconnect is well structured and intriguing. I craved more moments of levity, but the realism is profound. The voice of an abused teen is perhaps one of the most clear and heartbreaking narratives I have ever read.

Fans of "White Fur" by Jardine Libaire will appreciate the cadence and content of Stephen Markley's new work.

It's hard to believe this is Stephen Markley's first novel. His voice captured my attention as his words made the mundane beautiful. I took my time reading so I could enjoy the pictures his words brought to life in my mind's eye. The setting is a small town in northeastern Ohio. Life in New Canaan is like life in many small towns across America. Everybody is hurt by the recession. Factories are vacant and many of the small businesses are closed. Add to this angst four people who are returning for very different reasons.

The story is well told in a nonlinear fashion. This is not a book for the faint hearted. Some of the subjects are difficult to read about but the telling is necessary to advance the story. Mr Markley did an amazing job weaving the characters stories together to bring this book to a gut wrenching conclusion. I strongly recommend this book to serious readers.

Thank you Simon and Schuster and NetGalley for providing an Advanced Readers Copy.

Four linked novellas following a group of Millenials from a small rural Ohio town, “ Ohio” dispenses with linear time, jumping back and forth from high school, one particular night ten years later, and their lives in the years between. The writing is sharp and concise, the characters believable .This debit novel shows Stephen Markley as a stunning new and major writer. I have not been able to stop thinking about "Ohio"
Thanks to the author, publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

This is the kind of totally immersive novel that can keep you up at night. One night in 2013, four former classmates find themselves once more in New Canaan, Ohio, or as they call it, The Cane. Their reasons differ, but each is afforded a novella-length section for their story to be told in overlapping precise detail. Stephen Markley has written two other books, but this is his first novel, and as with many journalists, his prose is clear, incisive and totally involving. Despite its length, there isn't a superfluous word and no repetition. This is how the generation called "the Millennials" came to adulthood, and underlying it all, how Donald Trump became president. The former generation is hardly fleshed out at all - Millennials are front and center, their history developed under the effects of 911, the subsequent wars in the Middle East, the opioid crisis and the great recession. As if that weren't enough, crime plays a large part, but not in an ordinary or cliched way. People disappear, reappear, sometimes with little or no warning. I look forward to what Markley's does next.