Book Review: Shotgun Lovesongs by Nickolas Butler

I originally meant to read Shotgun Lovesongs during the mini readathon hosted by the fabulous Tika at Reading the Bricks, as I figured out the perfect way to justify this book to fit in with the MINI theme: it is set in Wisconsin, and I was born in Wisconsin, and when I was born, I was a MINI human being. (I am all about the justification. I was born to justify.)

But then there was a terrible snowstorm last week and my store closed early and I had to brave the scary, snowy roads to pick up my mom at the airport 'cause she was coming to visit that same night. I was without a book, so I semi-randomly grabbed this one from the bookcase in my office and tossed it into the vehicle, along with water, a shovel, snacks, a flask of good rum, a flashlight, and other other provision that I could think of and was handy. Mom's flight was delayed (but not canceled: the airport in Hartford is a serious little workhorse, even in the snow) and we headed immediately to the nearby hotel where I had cleverly reserved a room before the rates went exorbitantly high. We put our jammies on; mixed some not-bad rum punch, thanks to the generosity of Dion at the front desk of the Fairfield Inn, who provided us with some complimentary Ruby Red grapefruit juice; ate my snacks (good call, since ALL of the restaurants had closed by the time her flight landed); and ducked under the covers while the storm raged outside.

In other words, perfect reading conditions.  I picked up reading in the book about 75 pages in, as I had also been listening to the audio book format on the drive down to the airport. This is a debut novel from a graduate of the Iowa Writers' Workshop. Nickolas Butler also has happened to earn a living  as a hot dog vendor, an inn keeper, an author escort, and a coffee roaster, which frankly interested me more than his degree from the most expensive writing program in the country.

I can't say that this book did or did not live up to my expectations, because I didn't really have any.  It's a mostly quiet story about some guys from a small town in Wisconsin.  One of the guys (Leland) went on to become a world famous indie rocker; one of the guys (Kip) became a hot shot Chicago farm broker, one of the guys (Ronnie) explored his wild side by becoming a bull-riding rodeo man, and one of the guys (Henry) stayed in Wisconsin and farmed the same land that his father and grandfather before him had.  Eventually all of the men end up back in Little Wing, WI, and each chapter is told from the first person POV of one of these guys, plus Beth, who was friends with all of these guys in high school but ended up marrying Henry.

So far, so good, the multiple points of view not withstanding.  I tend to really like quiet books that explore the life in small towns.  The fact that Shotgun Lovesongs also takes place in my home state of Wisconsin was a plus.  Novels that explore place as much as they explore character?  I like 'em. Novels that also give dignity to the people and places that the wider world overlooks?  I love 'em.

That being said, I didn't exactly love Shotgun Lovesongs.  As a reader, it ended up being a little heavy on the testosterone for my personal preferences.  Even Beth's chapters mostly revolved around what it was like to be married to Henry or what it was like...spoiler alert...to fool around with Leland one night long before she and Henry married. Kip is kind of a douche and wonders why his old high school buddies don't like him the way they used to.  Leland is a wandering soul who uses Little Wing as his touchstone, especially after his relationship with Hollywood's It Girl falls apart. Ronnie is now the town drunk who's had one too many concussions from his rodeo days and his mind doesn't work the way it used to.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

My main criticism with this book is that all of the voices sounded alike. There was no discernible difference from the way they thought, read, or spoke, from one character to another, with the exception of a few grammatically incorrect dialogue bits from one or two of them.  Beth sounded like Ronnie sounded like Leland sounded like Henry sounded like Kip.  Which is fine, but more than a little bit lazy and rather defeating the point of having multiple first person narrators.

My second criticism with the book is another bit of spoiler alert. About three quarters into the book, Leland gets stoned and confesses to Henry that he once slept with Beth.  Never mind that it was a year and a half before Henry and Beth were married, and that Henry and Beth weren't even dating at the time.  Henry gets so outraged that he wants a divorce. He drops Leland as a friend and gives Beth the cold shoulder for several months before he's able to get over it.  I mean, sure--it's worth getting upset over the fact that your spouse and your best friend slept together and you didn't know about it until now.  But to want a divorce for that?  Puh-leeze.

If you like books set in small towns, exploring the lives of the people there, and you're not as finicky as I am about multiple points of view and you have a greater tolerance for reading about men who do stupid things, this book is absolutely up your alley.  There were plenty of moments when I enjoyed this book, so don't let my pet peeves get in the way of your reading this novel if you think it might be for you.

NB: This book will be published in March 2014 by Thomas Dunne Books, a division of St. Martin's Press.  I read an advance reading copy provided by the publisher.