"Shotgun Lovesongs,"
by Nickolas Butler
(Read by Ari Fliakos, Maggie Hoffman, Scott Shepherd, Scott Sowers, and Gary Wilmes; Macmillan Audio; 8 CDs; 10 hours)
The story kicks off when four old friends from Wisconsin farmland come together as adults for a wedding. The narrator is a married guy who’s the steady center. The others are a famous country music star, a bigwig businessman, and a struggling alcoholic (the sweetest of the bunch). Though first-time novelist Nickolas Butler occasionally overstates, at heart this is an unabashedly sentimental story that simply delights. Using different narrators for the various characters was a brilliant move. Each is polished and well worth hearing. (Warning: Listeners may find some language offensive.) Grade: A–
