Almost Like Being in Love

Almost Like Being in Love follows the story of Travis and Craig, who share an intense romance during their final year of high school in 1978. The narrative spans twenty years, tracking their lives after they separate for college and lose touch. The book uses an epistolary format, telling the story through diary entries, emails, newspaper clippings, and various documents. This structure captures the characters' lives through both their high school romance and their adult years in 1998. Travis, a musical theater enthusiast, and Craig, a celebrated athlete, forge an unexpected connection while working on their school's production of Brigadoon. Twenty years later, Travis embarks on a cross-country journey to reconnect with Craig, despite the established lives they've both built. The novel explores themes of first love, fate, and the courage required to pursue happiness despite life's uncertainties. Through its unique format and parallel timelines, the story examines how past connections shape future choices.

Readers emphasize the humor and charm of the narrative style, with many highlighting the blend of baseball facts, musical theater references, and LGBTQ+ romance. The format of letters, memos, and journal entries makes for quick reading. Readers liked: - The witty dialogue and banter between characters - Historical references and research woven into the story - Character development of Travis and Craig - Balance of comedy and emotional depth - Positive representation of gay relationships Readers disliked: - Some found the documentary-style format confusing - Secondary characters can feel underdeveloped - Baseball and theater references may not appeal to all readers - Pacing slows in middle sections Ratings: Goodreads: 4.17/5 (7,800+ ratings) Amazon: 4.6/5 (280+ ratings) "Like reading a feel-good rom-com movie" - Common reader sentiment "The format takes getting used to but pays off" - Multiple Goodreads reviews "Made me laugh out loud on public transit" - Amazon reviewer

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🎭 The musical "Brigadoon," which plays a pivotal role in the book, is about a mysterious Scottish village that appears only once every hundred years - a fitting metaphor for the novel's themes of time and reconnection. 📚 "Almost Like Being in Love" won the Lambda Literary Award in 2004, joining an elite group of books celebrating LGBTQ+ literature since the awards began in 1989. ✍️ Steve Kluger is known for his distinctive epistolary style, having used similar document-based narratives in his other novels, including "Last Days of Summer" and "My Most Excellent Year." 📝 The novel's title comes from a famous song from "Brigadoon," written by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe, which became a jazz standard recorded by artists like Nat King Cole and Frank Sinatra. 🌟 The book's format of using documents and ephemera was groundbreaking in 2004, predating the later popularity of similar storytelling methods in social media and modern epistolary novels.