OHIO

OHIO

By Stephen Markley

“Riding back
To where the highway met
Dead end tracks
The ground is now cement and glass
And far away
Heal her soul, carry her, my angel, Ohio
Green green youth
What about the sweetness we knew
What about what’s good what’s true
From those days
Can’t count to
All the lovers I’ve burned through
So why do I still burn for you
I can’t say
Sorry that
I could never love you back
I could never care enough in these last days
Heal her soul, carry her, my angel, Ohio” – Carry Me Ohio- Lyrics by Mark Kozelek

I’m not sure I can give this book the review it deserves. Ostensibly, it is a novel about turmoil, the inner feelings and the outer experiences, that transpired in the years since 9/11, specifically for a group of small town high school friends who came of age during this time. However, as I read it, I felt a pull back to my own youth and the observations and feelings we experienced during the Viet Nam war. There are many differences, to be sure, but the same conflicted emotions and beliefs, the same struggles to make sense of it all in the midst of the exuberance and wild excesses of youth – none of that has changed.

This novel weaves in and out, backward and forward, among students in New Canaan, Ohio. They are the jocks, both football heroes and the hero-worshipping volleyball-playing girlfriends or cheerleaders. They are geeks and nerds. They are children trying to figure out who and what they are and what they believe, in a town where alcohol and meth and oxy and sex and love and sorrow and Christianity cross all lines and blur together. The story is told in separate chapters from the points of view of the main characters, and move from the present to the past and back again in each chapter. This writing style could go horribly wrong in some books; in this one, it works to perfection. This is an intricate, detailed story; every character is key, and it’s important to pay attention all the way through. I made the mistake of slightly skimming through the prologue, because I erroneously believed at that point that the book would be mostly narrative, and I wasn’t sure I was going to like that. I was wrong on both counts; there is substantial dialogue throughout, and I found myself, at 75% through, going back to re-read the prologue because I loved the book so much, I wanted to make sure I understood every step the author had led me through before I reached the end.

This is not a pretty book, but it’s a beautifully written one. It is filled with darkness and horror, despair and pain. The sadness is overwhelming at times, but never does it not seem absolutely, one hundred percent real. There are lines that made me want to weep with the beauty of them, with the sheer lyrical loveliness of them. I’m a sucker for any story that paints a picture so heart-breaking that you believe while you’re reading it that you’ll never read anything more perfect. Ohio did this for me.

Be aware that this may not be an easy read for some of you. There are events that happen throughout that are unpleasant and traumatic, all the way to the very end. But I loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster for the privilege of an advance reading copy in exchange for my honest review. #Ohio #NetGalley

Reviewed March 2018