Stephen Markley's 'Ohio' Novel Explores Rust Belt Despair

Stephen Markley's novel 'Ohio' is set in a forgotten corner of the US where white mortality rates have surged due to suicide, addiction, and disillusionment. In a fateful summer night in 2013, four former classmates reunite in their industrial hometown, each driven by regret, secrets, and lost love. The characters include Bill Ashcraft, an alcoholic, drug-addicted activist whose failed ambitions have taken him from Cambodia to Zuccotti Park to New Orleans, now returning to 'The Cane' with a mysterious package; Stacey Moore, a doctoral student reluctantly confronting her ex-lover's mother; Dan Eaton, a shy veteran with three tours in Iraq returning for dinner with his childhood sweetheart; and Tina Ross, whose meeting with the football team captain triggers the novel's shocking climax. The narrative reflects a generation raised on war, recession, political gridlock, racism, and environmental fears. In these deindustrialized areas marked by foreclosures, Walmarts, and opioids, white rural mortality has spiked due to suicide, addiction, and a pervasive sense of exclusion. 'Ohio' is published by Polar Verlag.