A Forty Year Kiss by Nickolas Butler

 

A Forty Year Kiss is a mug of hot chocolate on a cold winter day. Charlie returns to Wisconsin forty years after his divorce from Vivian hoping to rekindle their love after inheriting a farm he plans to fix up. Vivian never left the town where they’d lived. She remarried, cared for her husband until he died, and had a daughter she now lives with while babysitting her granddaughters. She also has a secret. Charlie drinks too much, but when he’s with Vivian he yearns to quit. This is an old-fashioned, Kent Haruf-style, upper Midwest love story about good people trying to do the right thing. 

Butler is masterful in the art of portraying older characters without stereotyping them. Charlie and Vivian are in their sixties and Butler shows them as complete beings not out-of-touch, old fogies. Fans of Lyle and Peg Hovde, the wonderful couple in Butler’s magnificent Little Faith will find the same type of normal Midwestern characters simply trying to do the right thing and live their lives with honor in Charlie and Vivian.

Charlie found Vivian on Facebook. He signed up just to find her. They’d messaged back and forth and talked on the phone a few times. Now, here he was sitting in the Tomahawk Room on Bridge Street in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin waiting for her to walk through the door. 

She walked in. “He was just standing there like a boy. Like a boy grinning on his birthday, or Christmas morning. And now she focused on the images of only a few moments ago. The man waving. She realized that it must have been him. She must have seen him waving, and then standing up from his stool and then sitting back down. Then awkwardly rushing to the door. And now here they were. Standing within inches of one another. As close as they had been in forty years, all of this she processed very quickly, and yet, she still could not believe it. That it was happening. That he was here, standing in front of her, smiling expectantly. He looked extremely happy to see her, his cheeks red with what looked like joy.”

They greeted each other, ordered wine, and talked for a while.

“Now, he turned to her, their knees practically touching, a faint electricity there, or magnetism, between them, and he said, Vivian, listen to me—I’m sorry if I wasted those years of your life. I’ve been thinking a lot about who I was back then and the mistakes I made. But I loved you very much and I’m sorry I was a bad husband.

She stared at him, at this new Charlie. . .”

Thus begins a tale of imperfect people trying to find happiness. What more could you want in a novel? 

Summing it Up: Read A Forty Year Kiss to enjoy a novel that’s as much an ode to the Midwest as it is a celebration of second-chance love and becoming the person you were meant to be. Nickolas Butler is unusual in that he treats his characters fairly. He shows them completely without making excuses for their behaviors or trying to portray them as more than they’re capable of being. That makes them real which makes his novels feel a part of you.

Caveat: I met Nickolas Butler when his first novel debuted and reconnected with him when he participated in the Harbor Springs Festival of the Book and again when he stayed as a guest at the Good Hart Artist Residency while finishing the final draft of a previous book. He’s one of the good guys and his writing exemplifies that.

Rating: 5 Stars

Publication Date: February 4, 2024

Categories: Fiction, Five Stars, Grandma’s Pot Roast, Book Club

Author Website: https://nickolasbutler.com/ 

Author Interview: https://chireviewofbooks.com/2025/02/04/a-forty-year-kiss/ 

What Others are Saying:

Book Reporter: https://www.bookreporter.com/reviews/a-forty-year-kiss/about 

“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.” —Booklist

“The novel is beautiful and full of complex characters. It is a love story, not only between Charlie and Vivian but also between the novel and the Midwest, as the characters journey between Eau Claire, Chippewa Falls, and Spooner, WI, along with Minneapolis and Chicago. Fans of Butler and of romance will be delighted with this novel.” —Library Journal

“A big-hearted, comforting novel about second chances—at love, at recovery, at forgiveness and redemption. Butler treats all his characters with dignity and affection. When we die, we’d all be lucky to come back as a character in a Nickolas Butler novel.” —Ash Davidson, author of Damnation Spring

“Life-affirming and straight up beautiful. Will stoke the good fire in your chest, I absolutely loved it. A must-read.” Matthew Quick, author of The Silver Linings Playbook

“Thank you, Nickolas Butler, for writing a love story that feels so powerfully real, a story that captures the hope, grace, and joy of new love—but also the mistakes, scar tissue, and regret of past love. It’s a wonder to behold, a novel. Capable of such breadth. This is the kind of book that makes me a better human.” —Nathan Hill, author of The Nix and Wellness

The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy

The Snowbirds by Christina Clancy is a delightful novel of love in midlife. Kim and Grant are in their mid-fifties and have been together for thirty years but have never married. They love each other and their relationship with their grown daughters. Kim doesn’t want to tempt fate, but Grant thinks they should marry and make their love official. When the college where Grant teaches closes and Kim’s gay ex-husband offers them his Palm Springs condo for the winter, Kim convinces Grant to leave their comfortable life in Wisconsin for a few months. She embraces the close-knit desert community while Grant is adrift until he begins hiking with a neighbor. All’s well until Grant goes on a solo hike in the mountains and disappears. Is he lost or has he left Kim? The crisis forces Kim and the reader to consider the vagaries of our relationships and wonder what love and commitment truly mean. 

Search parties form and the media descends so Kim begins hearing from people in her past. “Please let us know if you need anything, they all said.” 

Celia, Kim’s college roommate, contacted her after learning Grant was missing via a “Find Grant” Facebook page. Celia had recently unearthed a video her ex-husband had filmed at a party the night Kim and Grant met. She emailed it to Kim who immediately began watching it.

“There was Grant, his back a little straighter, his belly leaner, his skin fresh and unwrinkled, his hair thicker. And there I was, more attractive than I realized at the time, back when I wished I were delicate and small-boned. I gasped aloud, seeing with my own eyes the bending of our futures. How many couples got to actually see that?

How I wished I could show Grant that there was evidence of that emotional rocket launch that marked our beginning. I was mesmerized by the moment we’d come together, but also by the space that once existed between us, and how I’d been the one to close it. And thirty years later, I’d been the one to open it back up again.” 

What Clancy captures in those few sentences portrays how each of us feels as we look back on the beginnings of our relationships and how we’ve both changed and remained unaffected by time and our lives together. As the book moves between Kim and Grant’s early lives and the frightening days when he’s missing, we readers see ourselves and how we might react if faced with the same quandary. 

Summing it Up: With humor, clever and engaging minor characters (especially Kim’s ex-mother-in-law), lively dialogue, and a light touch, this is a wise, insightful page-turner. Publishers Weekly calls it “sparkling” because it is. When Booklist compares an author to Elizabeth Strout and Anne Tyler, you know her book is one you should read, and this one is just that.

Chicago area friends: New date rescheduled due to weather: Clancy will appear at Anderson’s Bookshop in Naperville at 2 p.m., Sunday, February 16 for a signing and presentation. 

Caveat: I met Christina Clancy when I moderated a panel with her and author Sarah Stonich at the Harbor Springs Festival of the Book. I later reconnected with her when she returned to the Festival as a moderator herself. She was a resident at the Good Hart Artist Residency where she wrote parts of this novel. I wasn't there at the time, but I love the thought of her writing this book in that setting. Those connections allowed me to see that Christina Clancy is as smart, discerning, and enjoyable as the novels she writes. 

Publication Date: February 4, 2024

Rating: 5 Stars

Category: Dessert, Fiction, Five Stars, Grandma’s Pot Roast, Book Club

Author Website: https://www.christiclancywrites.com/ 

Reading Group Guide: https://images.macmillan.com/folio-assets/discusion-guides/9781250284952DG.pdf

Read an Excerpt: https://static.macmillan.com/static/smp/snowbirds-9781250284952/Snowbirds_Excerpt.pdf?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0BMQABHaERLIEWMvxwNvVrJLAy7p-9RmXjNx-VTEl1QFvB76MYPAVh6u_M5dhyZA_aem_L8_qgPexkAioOjED6zI6IA 

What Others Are Saying:

Clancy skillfully blends flashbacks with the events of the present to reveal new perspectives on shared history. Readers who enjoy Elizabeth Strout and Anne Tyler will appreciate Clancy's emphasis on the impact of unexpected choices and the realization that it’s never too late to find a new path." —Booklist

In this sparkling latest from Clancy, a 50-something Wisconsin couple reevaluate their lives during a winter in Palm Springs, Calif. It's an enjoyable tale of love in middle age. —Publishers Weekly

“The Snowbirds is a beautifully written and propulsive novel, at once a page-turning mystery of a missing man and a moving portrait of a long-term relationship going through a midlife crisis. With humor, honesty, and keen insight, Clancy explores the struggles and joys of reexamining a 30-year relationship and remaking your life in a new community. I couldn't put it down." —Angie Kim, New York Times bestselling author of Happiness Falls

"The Snowbirds is an insightful, propulsive exploration of modern marriage in middle age, equal parts sharp-eyed and heartwarming. Is it possible to commit to a relationship without losing your identity? What epiphanies might we have while getting lost? Christina Clancy's novel ponders these questions and more with humor and warmth. Set against the vivid, zany backdrop of Palm Springs and its Hollywood history, populated by a delightful cast of locals and transplants, The Snowbirds asks whether it's ever too late to find your partner—and yourself." —Chloe Benjamin, New York Times bestselling author of The Immortalists

"The Snowbirds is a harrowing look at all the ways we find ourselves lost in relationships and what it takes to be found. Clancy has harnessed the unyielding sunshine of Palm Springs to shine new light on long-term love. Her observations are astounding." —Steven Rowley, New York Times bestselling author of The Guncle

“I loved spending time in Clancy’s Palm Springs, where the local color features a passel of voluble eccentrics as magnificent as the mountain views, and a twisty, harrowing hike of a plot. This life-affirming novel of being lost and found will shake you up." —Bonnie Jo Campbell, author of The Waters

"The Snowbirds is a sharp, often tender portrait of middle age: a period of life when we’re told we should know who we are but are often still trying to find ourselves. Against the intoxicating backdrop of Palm Springs, Clancy brings an incredible cast of characters to life with wit, precision, and empathy." —Rowan Beaird, author of The Divorcées

"Clancy’s latest features a long-time couple at the precipice of a romantic reckoning who head to Palm Springs, where the dry heat and their quirky neighbors only add to the tightrope tension. The perfect read for a cold winter night, and one that raises the fundamental questions of how well do we know our partner, or even ourselves? An absolute treat." —Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Stolen Queen

"The Snowbirds is Clancy’s best novel yet, and absolutely impossible to put down—a gripping, immersive story about the importance of community and the unexpressed depths of love within a family." —J. Ryan Stradal, New York Times bestselling author of Kitchens of the Great Midwest

The Best Books of 2024

 

Image Credit: https://quotefancy.com

Of the approximately 100 books I read in the last year, I gave 33 of them five star ratings. I also recommended over sixty of them as very good within their specific categories . Because I primarily read books only after reading either a review from a trusted source or upon receiving a recommendation from someone with similar reading taste to mine, I rarely dislike the books I read. I hope this list helps you identify books you’ll enjoy.

If the past year has been tough or confusing and the last few days have had you wondering what 2025 will bring, reread the quotation by Percival Everett atop this post. Whatever the coming year brings, reading will help you address its challenges while also presenting you with a means of facing, escaping, engaging with, and enjoying what’s to come. Note: Reading Mr. Everett’s novel James is a present you should give yourself. 

I’ve been pondering the words “comfort and joy” in this holiday season, and I’ve come to believe that many of us search for comfort and joy in life and in the books we read. We also look for wisdom, knowledge, insight, differing viewpoints, humor, escape, and a glimpse of places we’ve never visited. May you find comfort, joy, and/or a challenge in these titles. “Read. Always read. No one can take that away from you.” Thank you, Mr. Everett.

More information about each of these titles is on my Annual List.

My Favorite/Best Novels of 2024:

James by Percival Everett

Old King by Maxim Loskutoff (Read this recent opinion piece by Loskutoff for his insight on the Unabomber’s influence in light of the murder of UHC executive Brian Thompson.)

Honorable Mention Favorite/Best Novels of 2024: 

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker (See Mysteries.)

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon (2023)

I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger

Long Island by Colm Tóibín

The Mighty Red by Louise Erdrich

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout

Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange 

The Best Historical Fiction (Pigeon Pie) of 2024:

Float Up, Sing Down: Stories by Laird Hunt

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawton (2023)

Go as a River by Shelley Read (2023)

The Great Divide by Cristina Henríquez (Read this now for timely insight into the history of the Panama Canal.)

James by Percival Everett 

The Last Whaler by Cynthia Reeves

Old King by Maxim Loskutoff (While this is less than fifty years ago, I include it here because it includes important historical information about the Unabomber.)

The Best Feel-Good and/or Hope-filled Novels of 2024:

Crow Talk by Eileen Garvin

The Door-to-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell

What You Are Looking For Is in the Library by Michiko Aoyama (2023)

Best Book with Humor and Heart of 2024:

Sandwich by Catherine Newman (The laugh-out-loud scene about menopause is exceptional. Being a family’s emotional center is exhausting and enriching as Newman shows with irony and love.)

The Best Novels Dealing with Grief and Grieving of 2024:

After Annie by Anna Quindlen (Read the opening paragraphs; you’ll see.)

Crow Talk by Eileen Garvin

A Quiet Life by Ethan Joella (2022)

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy

We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman (2022)  (A great depiction of dying and hospice explored through the humor that helps get you through it.) 

The Best Mystery of 2024:

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker 

The Best Mysteries, Suspense Novels, and Thrillers of 2024:

Broiler by Eli Cranor

California Bear by Duane Swierczynski

The Grey Wolf by Louise Penny

Murder Outside the Box by Saralyn Richard

Spirit Crossing: Cork O’Connor #20 by William Kent Krueger

The Wealth of Shadows by Graham Moore

The Best Debut Fiction of 2024: 

888 Love and the Divine Burden of Numbers by Abraham Chang

All We Were Promised by Ashton Lattimore

Go As a River by Shelley Read (2023)

The Last Whaler by Cynthia Reeves

The Best Young Adult Novel I read in 2024:

Where Wolves Don’t Die by Anton Trever

The Best Nonfiction of 2024:

By the Fire We Carry by Rebecca Nagle

I’m Sorry for My Loss by Rebecca Little and Colleen Long

The Light Eaters by Zoë Schlanger

Note: This list includes the books I read between December 1, 2023 and November 30, 2024. If I had read The Comfort of Crows and The Serviceberry during that time, they’d be on this list, but I read them this month so they aren’t included here. They will be on my 2025 list. Read more about them here.

Holiday Gift Ideas

 

The Bookworm by Carl Spitzweg

Looking for ideas for holiday gifts this season? Books make great gifts when they fit the reader’s interests. As many of us in the U.S. enter the cold, dark months, reading becomes a path to worlds beyond our reach. Most of these suggestions are on my annual list.Two are new additions that I’ve noted.

For nature lovers and those who enjoy the world around us:

The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year by Margaret Renkl, This love letter to the natural world by the longtime New York Times columnist is one everyone will enjoy. I suggest giving both the audio version and the hardcover. I listened to Renkl’s northern Alabama/Tennessee accent as she showed me the world outside her Nashville home. This almanac of essays on daily life in nature warmed me on the coldest of days. I had planned to read the applicable chapters during each season they covered, but the moment I heard Renkl reading, I couldn’t stop listening. We had a recent cold spell with heavy winds that kept me from my usual outdoor walks for a few days and this book was solace. Her  language comforted me: “We were never cast out of Eden, we merely turned from it and hid our eyes.To return and be welcomed, cleansed, and redeemed, we are only obliged to look.” (Published in 2023, this has not appeared previously on this site.) G/GPR/R/SN, BC

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World by Robin Wall Kimmerer, An Indigenous scientist, the author of the classic Braiding Sweetgrass, shows how the serviceberry plant embodies a gift economy empowered by reciprocity. Serviceberries give their wealth, their nourishing sweet berries, to all around them and show us that flourishing is mutual. Filled with exquisite illustrations, this little gem celebrates the best of us including public libraries that remind us that we don’t have to own everything to benefit from it. This is an invitation to connection with each other and nature. Published in November, it has not appeared previously on this site. G/SN/T, BC

 For anyone over sixty:

Slow Rivers: Poems from My Sixties by Joseph Neely contains poems similar to those by Billy Collins in that they’re accessible and reflective of everyday life. Neely’s words and tone will particularly appeal to readers over sixty. His poem “Reasons I Go to Church” knocks me out every time I read it—and that’s often. Buy it. Reading it feels like having a conversation with an old and cherished friend. GPR/T

For the reader who loves a powerful story, great characters, and exceptional writing:

Old King by Maxim Luskotoff, This is the book that everyone on your list will find mesmerizing. Publishers Weekly and NPR put it on their best novels of 2024 lists and it’s one of my two favorites as well. Read my full review and buy it for someone who will want to fall under its spell. I keep repeating my favorite lines and can no longer drive along wooded roads without thinking of the trees leaning over and examining me as I pass them. That Luskotoff managed to write such a compelling story while incorporating the real, documented details of Ted Kaczynski’s life is a testament to his extraordinary skill. G/GPR/PP, BC

For the reader who likes the classics, major award winners, fine writing, and who has a sense of humor:

James by Percival Everett, won the National Book Award and is a favorite to win the Pulitzer Prize Yes, it reimagines Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from Jim’s viewpoint and it’s engrossing, fast-paced, and accessible, but it’s also packed with nuance, riveting dialogue, and an entire world beneath the story we’ve all read. English majors will adore it. Anyone who understands or wants to know the difference between proleptic and dramatic irony will rave about it. Buy it for your favorite reader. It’s the other of my two favorite novels of 2024. G/GPR/PP, BC

For a friend or family member who likes romance and wants well-developed characters and a finely told tale:

Slow Dance by Rainbow Rowell is for the rom-com lover who likes heartfelt, kind, witty, well-written novels that deliver them from the tedium of daily life. If the holidays feel like too much, this is the place to escape. D/GPR/SF, BC

For the historical fiction reader who likes a touch of mystery along with wonderful characters and an engaging, fact-based narrative:

The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon delivers the reader to 1789 Maine where Martha Ballard, a respected midwife, sees that a man entombed in ice has been murdered, but a new young doctor contradicts her. Martha and her husband Ephraim are characters everyone will enjoy meeting. That this book is based on a real midwife and her journal, will please the biggest historical fiction fan. GPR/PP/SN, BC

For the reader who wants a kind, heartwarming story with delightful characters set in an English village: 

Sipsworth by Simon Van Booy introduces the reader to 83-year-old Helen Cartwright who’s returned to the English village she left over 69 years earlier. An encounter with a mouse leads her to connections with others in the village and reveals her unique story. Give this to someone who wants a charming fable that isn’t simplistic or saccharine. GPR/SF, BC

For the woman caught in the sandwich generation with young adult children and aging parents who’s also going through or has recently been through menopause:

Sandwich by Catherine Newman is written with humor and heart as it explores generational trauma, abortion, and depression with irony and compassion. Newman’s descriptions will make anyone who’s experienced menopause laugh out loud. Her illustrations of the toll that being the emotional, responsible center of a family brings will connect with every mother. GPR/S, BC 

For the reader who adored Colm Tóibín’s Brooklyn or the 2015 movie based on it and is looking for a book to discuss in book club: (If you don’t think the reader has read Brooklyn and the reader loves great novels, give them both Brooklyn and Long Island.)

Long Island by Colm Tóibín revisits Eilis of the exceptional Brooklyn in 1976 as she lives with her family on a Long Island cul-de-sac surrounded by her husband’s mother and brothers. When a man says his wife is pregnant with her husband’s baby and he’ll leave it on her doorstep as soon as it’s born, she visits family in Ireland and reconnects with the man she previously loved. This brilliantly devastating novel will have book clubs debating what the characters should do. G/PP, BC

For the Elizabeth Strout fan who’s read all her novels:

Tell Me Everything by Elizabeth Strout features memorable characters from her previous novels reunited in Crosby, Maine. Bob Burgess, Lucy Barton, Olive Kitteridge, and others explore friendship, grief, life, and aging in a book only Strout could write. It encapsulates the breadth, depth, and meaning of love with simplicity and care. GPR, BC

For the mystery lover who wants a book with great characters, incredible writing, and unexpected twists. Bonus, if the reader also likes art:

All the Colors of the Dark by Chris Whitaker is simply spectacular. It’s 1975 and Patch, named for the patch covering his eye socket intervenes to save a girl assaulted in the woods and is himself kidnapped and kept in a dark cellar where a girl visits him and offers him hope. After escaping, he and his best friend Saint search for Grace and other victims. Phenomenal characters, twists, resilience, and art make this the best mystery/thriller I read this year. GPR/SBP, BC

For the espionage lover who likes fact-based, character-driven World War II historical fiction:

The Wealth of Shadows by Graham Moore is based on the true, but barely known story of the American economists who waged a secret battle to cripple Nazi Germany. Using real people, both famous and unknown, Moore supports the story with exceptional footnotes that share mind-boggling information related to what happens in the book. PP/SN, BC

For the person who loves the water especially in the Great Lakes region and who enjoys an adventure tale:

The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Sea, Revised 20th Anniversary Edition with New Introduction by Jerry Dennis. Anyone who hasn’t read this masterpiece will love it and those who read it twenty years ago, will enjoy rereading it. With climate change endangering our lakes and shorelines, it’s fascinating to see what Dennis was noting twenty years ago. At its core though, this is an adventure tale. Anyone would want to open this gift. My book club discussed it when the original came out, and we could have talked all day. SN, BC

For the curious, science lovers, and those who like new information:

The Light Eater: How the Unseen World of Plant Intelligence Offers a New Understanding of Life on Earth by Zoë Schlanger will change the way you see and understand plants. The chapter on hearing that shows a flower forming a bell shape like a satellite dish and the one about plants changing their composition to ward off leaf-eating caterpillars captivated me. Seeing evidence of plant negligence and communication in Schlanger’s exquisite writing entranced me. G/SN, BC

For the history lover who wants to learn more about the Trail of Tears and treaties the U.S. made with Native tribes and wants to understand the emotional impact of generational trauma brought about by unkept promises: 

By the Fire We Carry: The Generations-Long Fight for Justice on Native Land by Rebecca Nagle is an exceptional chronicle of the U.S.promise that the Muscogee people forced from their lands in the 1830s would retain their new land “for as long as the grass grew and the waters ran.” Nagle includes the part her own ancestors played in the removal and brings the story full circle to the 2020 Supreme Court murder case that threatened the reservation’s existence. With powerful language and careful research, Nagle weaves an engrossing story that engages and enrages the reader in the quest for justice. GPR/SN, BC

For the reader who wants to know more about maternal health and reproductive care and who appreciates snarky dialogue along with compassion and documented research:

I’m Sorry for My Loss: An Urgent Examination of Reproductive Care in America by Rebecca Little and Colleen Long is an intimate, fact-based exploration of the deteriorating state of reproductive care in America. While packing the book with facts and footnotes, the authors make you feel a part of their real, wry, irreverent, and heartfelt conversations. These established journalists experienced pregnancy loss and share their journeys poignantly. Full review here.GPR/SF/SN, BC

Fellow Chicago South Suburban residents—I have good news for you. There are new places to shop for books in our area this year. The Rock Shop, 18109 Dixie Highway, Homewood sells rocks, guitars, vinyl, and a great selection of books. A member of the American Booksellers Association, the store will order books for you and offers discounts. For those who don’t like parallel parking on Dixie Highway, the shop is just steps across the street from a municipal parking lot. The owner, a former journalist, knows books well and is stocking what locals want to read.

If you want a large selection of current titles, Barnes and Noble opened a store in November in the Town Square Shopping Center on Indianapolis Boulevard across from Whole Foods at 124 US-41, Suite A, Schererville, IN.