SPOONER, Wis. -- Best-selling author Nickolas Butler will be reading from and signing his newest book The Hearts of Men at Northwind Book & Fiber in downtown Spooner this Thursday, June 15th at 7 p.m.
Butler is from the Eau Claire area, and his first book, Shotgun Lovesongs, about 5 high school friends returning to their small hometown, was a national bestseller.
In The Hearts of Men, Butler tells another story set in rural Wisconsin—at Camp Phillips in Haugen (renamed Camp Chippewa in the book). “His protagonist, Nelson Doughty, is an unforgettable character,” says Carol Dunn, owner of Northwind. In 1962 at the start of the novel, Nelson is thirteen, a social outcast, and the Bugler sounding reveille each morning. This particular summer marks the beginning of a tenuous friendship with a popular boy named Jonathan. We return to these characters and to the camp over the years, as generations attend the camp.
The Hearts of Men is a sweeping, panoramic novel about the slippery definitions of good and evil, family and fidelity, the challenges and rewards of lifelong friendships, the bounds of morality—and redemption.
The reviews of The Hearts of Men have been excellent:
’Gut-punch of a novel...I keep coming back to Nelson, Butler’s great creation. He is a character of such vivid goodness, such moving and precise sorrow, I don’t think I’ll ever forget him. And in the end isn’t that what we ask of a novel, that it be unforgettable?” — New York Times Book Review
“[A] beautiful story of love and courage...Butler’s storytelling is hypnotizing. Yet every time we’re about to get too comfortable, he reminds us of his powerful talent to cause “the feels” when he lays tiny tragedies at our feet.” — Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
“Butler captures the rites and rhythms of young manhood in intimate, clear-eyed detail, shifting nimbly between multiple perspectives, several generations, and two wars overseas...a potent exploration of friendship, betrayal, and all the markers of masculinity that can’t be measured by badges and trust falls.” — Entertainment Weekly
Butler will speak at 7 p.m., then be available to sign his books. For more information, contact Northwind Book & Fiber at 715-635-6811.
Last Update: Jun 16, 2017 7:36 am CDT
