Charlie and Vivian were married for four years. They were young and definitely infatuated with each other, but they faced an uphill battle. Charlie left and Vivian eventually built a new life for herself.
Now, 40 years later, Charlie has returned to their small Wisconsin town and is excited to find that Vivian is still there. He reaches out and they feel both nostalgia and the remnants of a love that ended too soon. They tentatively take steps toward one another again, unsure of where things might go.
After 40 years apart, there are a lot of things that have gone unsaid, hurts that haven’t quite healed, and fears that arise again. But if they are to have any chance at starting over, they have to accept each other for whom they are—and are not—and address some of the issues that caused problems all those years ago. It also means that there are secrets which will need to be brought out into the open.
The characters are definitely flawed, but I found myself rooting for them all the same. It’s natural to think about the one that got away or the one you lost, but the range of emotions both Charlie and Vivian felt were raw and powerful.
I’ve been a huge fan of Butler’s since I read his debut, Shotgun Lovesongs, a number of years ago. His storytelling is so self-assured; there were a few places where the plot could have veered into melodrama in the hands of a less-talented writer. His books leave me thinking about them long after I’ve finished, and this will be no exception.
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