Ohio by Stephen Markley

 Holy Shit! This book is incredible, memorable and full of well developed characters who's stories are interconnected. This book will have a permanent spot in my collection, one I will reread and recommend to others. 

Four former high school friends via a variety of reasons all find themselves back home in New Canaan, Ohio. What transpires all takes place in one night with flashbacks  to the past.  Markley, tells the story of small town Ohio in four different parts in which each character's life unfolds.  

The story is at times bleak, depressing and gritty but it's what makes it good because life is messy and chaotic. Markley's debut novel of this fictional small town deals with the themes of war, drugs, poverty, suicide, unemployment and rape. 

Ohio is a through provoking novel that shows the plight of current day America with an ending you won't see coming.