Buckeye by Patrick Ryan: In-Depth Study Guide

Quick Facts

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Short Summary

In Bonhomie, Ohio, Cal Jenkins—rejected from WWII service due to his shortened leg—marries medium Becky Hanover, whose séances comfort the grieving. Their strained marriage cracks further when Cal begins an affair with Margaret Salt, an orphan who married the closeted Felix Salt. Felix survives a Pacific torpedo attack but carries survivor’s guilt and hidden love for shipmate Augie. A secret pregnancy binds the two families: Tom “Buckeye” Salt is Cal’s son, though only the adults know. Over decades, the paternity lie festers. When Cal’s son Skip dies in Vietnam, the truth erupts, sending Tom into estrangement. Ultimately, through illness, confession, and Becky’s spirit connection, hard-won forgiveness threads through the wreckage.

Full Summary

Cal Jenkins is born in 1920 with one leg two inches shorter than the other. When World War II arrives, he is declared unfit for service while his peers go overseas. He feels emasculated and adrift. On V-E Day, a stranger named Margaret Salt kisses him in the street. That same day, he meets Becky Hanover, a young woman who hears voices from the dead. Their courtship is swift; Becky gifts him a sealed childhood letter, and they marry.

The Jenkinses settle into a home provided by Becky’s father, Roman, who also gives Cal a job at his hardware store. Becky’s “gift” draws grieving locals who seek contact with lost loved ones. She places a newspaper ad as a “Spirit Liaison,” and séances move into the front parlor. Cal resents the intrusions and his wife’s growing independence. Their son, Cal Jr.—Skip—is born after a difficult pregnancy.

Meanwhile, Margaret Anderson (later Salt) was abandoned as an infant at Open Arms Orphanage. After aging out, she moves to Columbus, survives a coercive encounter to land a cafeteria job, and later reinvents herself. She meets Felix Salt, a junior executive who hides his homosexuality. Their marriage is a practical arrangement, emotionally distant and sexually unfulfilling. When Felix’s job transfers them to Bonhomie, Margaret feels isolated and dissatisfied.

As Cal and Margaret’s paths cross again, an affair begins. They meet secretly, finding in each other an escape from their respective marital frustrations. Felix, serving in the Navy, is torpedoed on the Teague. He escapes with survivor’s guilt, haunted by giving away his kapok life preserver and by his lost love Augie Varick. After his return, Felix withdraws into PTSD.

Margaret discovers she is pregnant. Unsure whether the father is Cal or Felix, she gives birth to Thomas Aquinas Salt in 1946. She ends the affair and keeps the child’s paternity hidden, even from her husband. Cal understands and steps back. The two families remain in Bonhomie, their yards separated only by a buckeye tree.

Skip and Tom meet as boys when Skip defends the redheaded Tom from bullies. Skip nicknames him “Buckeye,” and the two become inseparable friends, exploring the town, visiting Cal’s hoarding father Everett, and collecting buckeyes. They are unaware they are half-brothers.

The 1950s grind on. Felix loses his executive job, works at a furniture factory, and finally visits Becky as a medium. In a series of sessions, Becky channels Augie’s spirit, allowing Felix to accept his love and his own identity. Margaret, meanwhile, finds a love note in Felix’s jacket, and the couple’s mutual deceptions collide. Margaret confesses the affair and reveals Tom’s paternity. She then abandons her family, driving away from Bonhomie and separating from Felix. Cal and Becky agree to keep the secret, a pact that will hold for over a decade.

In the 1960s, Skip enlists in the Marines and is sent to Vietnam. Tom becomes an anti-war activist at college. Cal and Becky live on worry and sparse letters. Skip dies in the Battle of Huế when his vehicle triggers a landmine. Grief paralyzes Becky; her mediumship cannot reach him. Tom, after graduation, visits the Jenkinses and himself appears briefly at protests on national television.

In 1969, Tom receives a high draft lottery number, sparing him from Vietnam. Felix, now facing his own mortality, finally tells him the truth: Cal Jenkins is his biological father, and Skip was his half-brother. Devastated, Tom breaks all contact. He drives to Columbus to find Margaret but cannot bring himself to approach her, retreating to Toledo and severing ties.

The final years bring slow reconciliation. Felix finds companionship with fellow veteran Bishop. When Felix receives a terminal lung disease diagnosis, Cal travels to Toledo and brings Tom back. Father and son slowly mend their wounds. Felix dies in 1976, with Tom, Bishop, and the Jenkinses at his side. Margaret arrives after the funeral; she apologizes, discloses her own abandonment as a baby, and shares a brief embrace with Tom before he returns to Felix’s wake.

On Becky’s sixtieth birthday, she and Cal revisit Huron, the site of their postponed honeymoon. They reflect on Skip’s death and their decision not to have biological children. In a laundry room, Becky finally hears Skip’s spirit—a message of love and forgiveness. Cal gives her the sealed childhood letter she wrote to herself. They ride a Ferris wheel, a quiet testament to the endurance of love and the slow work of correcting mistakes.

Main Characters

• Cal Jenkins – Born with a shortened leg, rejected from WWII, he struggles with purpose and embarks on an affair that reshapes two families.
• Becky Hanover Jenkins – A spiritualist who contacts the dead, she navigates skepticism, marital strain, and the weight of secrets while helping the grieving.
• Margaret Salt – An orphan who reinvents herself, she marries Felix but begins an affair with Cal, eventually abandoning her son after the truth is exposed.
• Felix Salt – A closeted gay man and World War II survivor, he hides his love for Augie until a séance helps him accept his identity.
• Everett Jenkins – Cal’s father, a hoarding WWI veteran whose grief, drinking, and eventual death mark the family’s history.
• Tom “Buckeye” Salt – The secret son of Cal and Margaret, he grows from a bullied redheaded boy into an anti-war activist, learning the shattering truth about his parentage as an adult.

Themes

• Secrecy and Family Lies – A concealed affair, hidden paternity, and suppressed sexuality fester over decades, fracturing relationships.
• War Trauma and Survival Guilt – Felix’s and Everett’s wartime experiences isolate them, shaping their inability to connect with loved ones.
• Mediumship and Grief – Becky’s sessions bring solace to the bereaved but raise ethical questions, culminating in a compassionate lie for Everett and her own post-loss struggle.
• Marital Estrangement and Hidden Identities – Characters live parallel lives, hiding homosexuality, infidelity, and spiritual disbelief until crises force confrontations.
• Forgiveness and Reconciliation – Slowly, characters rebuild bonds: Cal and Becky, Felix with Augie, Tom with his biological father, and even Margaret’s brief return.

Symbols

• Buckeye tree – The tree in the Jenkinses’ yard witnesses births, friendships, and secrets, symbolizing rootedness and resilience.
• Séance parlor – The converted front room becomes a liminal space where the living meet the dead, blending spiritual comfort with commercialized grief.
• The basket – The basket in which Margaret was abandoned recurs as a symbol of rootlessness, mirrored when she later abandons Tom.
• Kapok life preserver – Felix’s decision to give away his life jacket haunts him, representing survival guilt and his lost connection with Augie.

Ending Overview

The novel concludes in 1975‑1976. Felix, terminally ill, reconciles with his estranged son Tom after Cal drives Tom back from Toledo. Felix dies surrounded by Tom, Bishop, and the Jenkinses. Margaret arrives after the funeral, apologizing and revealing her own abandonment; she and Tom share a brief, uneasy embrace. On Becky’s sixtieth birthday, she and Cal revisit Huron. Becky finally hears Skip’s spirit, delivering love and forgiveness. Cal presents her with the childhood letter she had sealed decades earlier. Their day at Cedar Point, capped by a Ferris wheel ride, signals a hard-won peace—not a forgetting, but an acceptance that love can endure across silence and loss.

Chapter-by-Chapter Summary

Common Questions

1. Who is Tom “Buckeye” Salt?
   Tom is the secret son of Cal Jenkins and Margaret Salt, born in 1946. Skip gives him the nickname “Buckeye” after the buckeye tree, and he grows up to become an anti-war activist before learning his true parentage as an adult.

2. Why does Cal Jenkins feel emasculated?
   Cal was rejected from WWII service because of his shortened leg, while other men went to fight. This rejection festers into a deep sense of purposelessness that colors his affair and his distance from Becky.

3. What secret does Margaret reveal to Felix?
   After discovering a love note in Felix’s jacket and learning about his sessions with Becky, Margaret confesses her affair with Cal and that Tom is Cal’s biological son. This disclosure leads to their separation.

4. What role does Becky’s mediumship play?
   Becky’s abilities bring comfort to many grieving families, but her work strains her marriage and forces ethical compromises—like lying to Everett. Her sessions also become the catalyst for Felix’s self-acceptance and for her own final connection with Skip’s spirit.

5. How does Skip Jenkins die?
   Skip enlists in the Marines and is killed in the Battle of Huế during the Vietnam War when the transport vehicle he is in triggers a landmine.

6. What does the buckeye tree symbolize?
   The buckeye tree in the Jenkinses’ yard serves as a silent witness to the family’s history. It is where Skip and Tom bond, and its name forges Tom’s identity, representing rootedness and the inescapable ties of family.

7. What is the significance of the kapok life preserver?
   During the sinking of the Teague, Felix gives away his kapok life jacket. The memory haunts him, embodying his survival guilt and the weight of losing Augie, the man he loved.

8. How does the novel end?
   Felix dies reconciled with Tom and Bishop. Margaret briefly returns to apologize. Later, on Becky’s sixtieth birthday, she and Cal revisit Huron, where Becky hears Skip’s spirit offering love and forgiveness. Cal gives her the childhood letter she sealed; the day closes with a Ferris wheel ride, signaling a hard-won peace.

Explore Deeper

• Ending Explained – A closer look at the final chapters.
• Questions and Answers – More detailed analysis of key plot points.
• Quiz – Test your knowledge of the novel.
• Essay Prompts – Ideas for writing assignments on Buckeye.