Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.

A Forty Year Kiss

A Novel

ebook
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 18 weeks
0 of 1 copy available
Wait time: About 18 weeks

"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, New York Times bestselling author of The Nix and Wellness

From the critically acclaimed author of Shotgun Lovesongs comes an exquisitely written, small-town story about one couple's hard-won second chance at love, forty years after their divorce.

Charlie and Vivian parted ways after just four years of marriage. Too many problems, too many struggles, even though the love didn't quite die. When Charlie returns to Wisconsin forty years later, he's not sure what he'll find. He is sure of one thing — he must try to reconnect with Vivian to pick up the broken pieces of their past. But forty years is a long time. It's forty years of other relationships, forty years of building new lives, and forty years of long-held regrets, mistakes, and painful secrets.

A brave and triumphant exploration of redemption and sunset triumph, A Forty Year Kiss is a once-in-a-lifetime love story, written with dazzling lyricism and remarkable clarity of spirit, from a celebrated author at the top of his game. It's a literary valentine that promises to be a love story for the ages.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

  • Formats

  • Languages

  • Reviews

    • Library Journal

      September 1, 2024

      Butler, author of the bestselling Shotgun Lovesongs, offers another small-town tale with a love story at its heart. Charlie and Vivian divorced after four years of marriage. Forty years later, hoping for a fresh start and a second chance, Charlie returns to Wisconsin, intent on reconnecting with Vivian. Prepub Alert.

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Library Journal

      December 13, 2024

      Butler (Shotgun Lovesongs) delivers the story of Charlie and Vivian, two people in their 60s who reconnect after a failed marriage in their 20s. Charlie is recently retired and a three-time divorc� who finds himself thinking more and more about his first wife, whom he considers to be his only true love. He messages her on Facebook, and the two reconnect. The novel opens with Charlie and Vivian's first meeting in more than 40 years, at a bar in Chippewa Falls, WI. Although Charlie dreams of a whirlwind romance, Vivian is hesitant and still bearing the wounds of their marriage, from young Charlie's anger management problems and alcohol-use disorder. But the years have changed them both. This is the story of two people working to heal old wounds to become better, both for themselves and for their blooming relationship. VERDICT 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.--Sarah Michaelis

      Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      December 1, 2024
      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.

      COPYRIGHT(2024) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

Languages

  • English

Loading