The Hearts of Men - A Novel by Nickolas Butler (US edition, paperback) - 9780062469694

"[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 LovesongsCamp 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.A sweeping, panoramic story spanning a half century, from the Vietnam War to the modern day, The Hearts of Men begins at Camp Chippewa during the summer of 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, who, in scrambling to protect Nelson against the merciless bullying of the other boys, finds he has much to learn about the extent of his own courage and empathy. Over the years, Nelson, irrevocably scarred from Vietnam, becomes scoutmaster of Camp Chippewa, while Jonathan marries, divorces, and turns his father’s business into a highly profitable company. When something unthinkable happens at a camp get- together with Nelson as scoutmaster and Jonathan’s daughter-in-law and teenage grandson as campers, the aftermath demonstrates the depths—and the limits—of Nelson’s selflessness and bravery.’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 “Butler captures the rites and rhythms of young manhood in intimate, clear-eyed