A forty year kiss A novel

Forty years after their brief but intense marriage in the early 1980s, Charlie still can't get Vivian out of his head. They had married too young and too quickly, and Charlie was the opposite of husband material in his wilder years, but maybe the intervening decades have taught him a thing or two. After reconnecting in small-town Wisconsin, Charlie and Vivian are pleasantly surprised to find they still enjoy each other's company--maybe even more than when they were married. Butler (Godspeed, 2021) wrestles with the weight of what's left unsaid when a marriage dissolves, offering the pair's opposing perspectives on their shared history and newly appealing future. Readers who enjoyed Kent Haruf's Our Souls at Night, Wallace Stegner's Crossing to Safety, and Erica Bauermeister's No Two Persons will appreciate Butler's focus on introspection, growth, and self-discovery, all influenced by decades-old patterns. This charming and empathetic portrayal of the Midwest and its denizens explores late-in-life romance, the pangs of regret, and the possibility of renewal no matter how much time has passed.