The Hearts of Men: A Novel
"[A] tender, insightful book... Perfectly paced and leavened with humor, it's a wonderful read." -- People
*SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2018 WILLIAM SAROYAN INTERNATIONAL PRIZE FOR WRITING*
An epic novel of intertwining friendships and families set in the Northwoods of Wisconsin at a beloved Boy Scout summer camp—from the bestselling author of Shotgun Lovesongs
Camp Chippewa, 1962. Nelson Doughty, age thirteen, social outcast and overachiever, is the Bugler, sounding the reveille proudly each morning. Yet this particular summer marks the beginning of an uncertain and tenuous friendship with a popular boy named Jonathan.
Over the years, Nelson, irrevocably scarred from the Vietnam War, becomes Scoutmaster of Camp Chippewa, while Jonathan marries, divorces, and turns his father’s business into a highly profitable company. And when something unthinkable happens at a camp get-together with Nelson as Scoutmaster and Jonathan’s teenage grandson and daughter-in-law as campers, the aftermath demonstrates the depths—and the limits—of Nelson’s selflessness and bravery.
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.
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Community Reviews
The Hearts of Men by Nickolas Butler
386 pages
What’s it about?
This novel spans three generations in Northern Wisconsin between 1962 and 2022. The book is told in four separate parts and centers around a Boy Scout camp named “Camp Chippewa”. The book begins as 13-year-old Nelson tries to find a place among the other boys and men at camp.
What did it make me think about?
This was a coming-of-age story about fathers, sons, bullies, war, and ultimately about honor and integrity. Although the novel focuses on the father-son connection, Butler never downplays the role that mothers play in the lives of their sons.
Should I read it?
As many of you know I am a sucker for a good coming-of-age story. As this novel says, “We all start out as little kids.”- and maybe that is why we can all relate to parts of any story that begins in childhood. This book had one of the strongest characters I have read in a while. Nelson was the heart of this book and I personally felt that the stories were strongest when Nelson was most present. This novel has a lot to say, and although I thought the last half of the book was not as strong as the beginning, I would still recommend it.
Quote-
“He can’t pinpoint it, the one thing about his personality, his being that, if changed, might win him more friends.”
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