Almost Like Being in Love: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author) "All-star quarterback and shortstop Craig McKenna has been awarded Beckley's Victory Cup as the year's most outstanding athlete, in the first unanimous vote since the..." (more)
Key Phrases: Saratoga Springs, Travis Puckett, Red Sox (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Kluger's latest epistolary novel (after the well-received Last Days of Summer) is an engrossing, often laugh-out-loud tale of two unlikely lovers. High school jock Craig McKenna and Broadway musical-obsessed Travis Puckett fall in love during their senior year at the Beckley School in Tarrytown, N.Y., spend a summer in Manhattan, then drift tearfully away to different colleges: Travis to USC, Craig to Harvard. Twenty years later, oddball Travis, now a history professor at his alma mater, is a favorite with students thanks to some unorthodox teaching methods, but he's laughably unlucky in love. An injury ended Craig's college football career, and he's now an upstate New York attorney with activist inclinations and a soft spot for runaways. He's also about to marry long-term boyfriend Clayton-though he's never forgotten his first romance. As Travis wades through the dating pool (most of his dates score badly on his "Boyfriend Checklist") and doles out advice to his straight screenwriter roommate Gordo, Craig takes on the biggest case of his life: a run for the state assembly. When Travis becomes determined to reunite with Craig, he sets off on a wild cross-country adventure, providing perfect fodder for Gordo's ultimate screenplay. In true fairy-tale fashion, Travis insinuates himself back into Craig's life, but will the pair end up happily ever after? Though the narrative is overlong, Kluger keeps it absorbing with a parade of newspaper articles, letters, diary entries, checklists, court transcripts and charts, all composed to brilliant comic and dramatic effect.
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Product Description

A high school jock and nerd fall in love senior year, only to part after an amazing summer of discovery to attend their respective colleges. They keep in touch at first, but then slowly drift apart.

Flash forward twenty years.

Travis and Craig both have great lives, careers, and loves. But something is missing .... Travis is the first to figure it out. He's still in love with Craig, and come what may, he's going after the boy who captured his heart, even if it means forsaking his job, making a fool of himself, and entering the great unknown. Told in narrative, letters, checklists, and more, this is the must-read novel for anyone who's wondered what ever happened to that first great love.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; First Edition edition (May 11, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0060595833
• ISBN-13: 978-0060595838
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (67 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #288,737 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Creatively written and highly enjoyable, September 26, 2004

By	Michael T. Rognlien (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

When I started this book, I was a bit leary of reading an entire story full of narratives and articles, as I'd never been presented a novel in that storytelling format.

Having read the book in one sitting, though, I can say with confidence that it worked extremely well. Mr. Kluger has a natural sense of comic timing and wit, without being excessively catty or bitchy in the process. While I would have liked a bit more at the end of the book (after so much buildup, it felt rushed) the journey with the characters was well worth the somewhat stilted ending.

If it's any help, after reading this, my first Kluger novel, I bought the rest of his catalog on Amazon. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Perfect Summer Book, May 26, 2004

By	M. Jensen (Tacoma, WA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Saying a book is a summer book usually means it's fun, but brainless. Nothing could be further from the truth when talking about Almost Like Being In Love. Mr. Kluger's book is certainly fun and easy to read, but what makes it a summer book is the heartwarming, breezy tale of a love that has to be despite the odds against it. Like Last Days of Summer (Mr. Kluger's previous book) Almost is cleverly told through an endlessly imaginative array of emails, letters, newspaper clippings, menus, and, my favorite, the boyfriend checklist.

The more I read of the book, the more I wanted to learn how everything turned out, especially since Mr. Kluger set himself the challenge of giving us a happy ending when someone had to be hurt at the end. Yet, he does it and you walk away from Almost Like Being in Love feeling that life can be great and love does sometimes win in the end. I hope that this book is as big a hit as Last Days of Summer despite it's gay content. Only a grinch (or conservative Republicans as I call them) could not read this book and feel good at the end.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Truly Different, but very Refreshing Book!, September 30, 2004

By	Tiffany Ann (Black Diamond Bay) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

What immediately sets "Almost Like Being in Love" apart from other books is that there is very little narrative. This wonderful story is told almost strictly through newspaper articles, faxes, e-mails, letters, diary entries and the "boyfriend checklist." Through these documents, we get a clear picture of the characters (their strengths, weaknesses, desires) and are invited into their world for a peek at their personal lives.

The story revolves around the unlikely first love of Craig McKenna and Travis Puckett. They run in different circles, Craig being a jock and Travis a fan of musicals, but are somehow drawn to each other until drifting apart when enrolling in different colleges. Some twenty years later, Travis decides to look Craig up and embarks on a wild adventure from California to New York in order to win him back. Meanwhile, Craig is about to marry his long time boyfriend, although secretly he's never quite gotten over Travis.

Upon finishing this book, I was left to reflect that maybe it is possible for love to survive against the odds.

"Almost Like Being in Love" is my first Steve Kluger novel, but it certainly will not be my last. It has been a very long time since a book has so impressed me that I have raved about it to all my friends and co-workers. I'd go so far as to say this is the most enjoyable book I've read in years!