Almost Like Being in Love (book)
Encyclopedia
Almost Like Being in Love is a 2004 gay-fiction romance novel by author Steve Kluger
. Like his previous novel Last Days of Summer
, Almost Like Being in Love is an epistolary novel
; the story is told primarily through diary entries, newspaper clippings, office documents, letters, e-mails, menus, post-it notes and checklists, with only minor reliance on narrative. He uses life experiences and people in his life for inspirations for his novels.
. Travis is the school nerd
, obsessed with musicals and constantly picked on. Craig is the school jock, lauded with the school's Victory Cup for athletic achievement. The two meet on the set of the school's production of Brigadoon, and the unlikely couple began a whirlwind romance. However, after their summer together, they part and set off to different colleges. The book moves forward 20 years later, to 1998. Travis and Craig have fallen out of touch, and they both have strong careers and potential suitors. Travis is the first to realize that his first love is his only true one, and he embarks on a cross-country journey, risks his job and enters the great unknown to try to get Craig back.
Steve Kluger
Steve Kluger is an American author and playwright.Kluger's writing is noted for its baseball, gay, and historical themes....
. Like his previous novel Last Days of Summer
Last Days of Summer
Last Days of Summer is 1998 novel written by Steve Kluger. It is an epistolary novel told completely through forms of correspondence; letters, postcards, interviews with a psychiatrist, progress reports, and newspaper clippings....
, Almost Like Being in Love is an epistolary novel
Epistolary novel
An epistolary novel is a novel written as a series of documents. The usual form is letters, although diary entries, newspaper clippings and other documents are sometimes used. Recently, electronic "documents" such as recordings and radio, blogs, and e-mails have also come into use...
; the story is told primarily through diary entries, newspaper clippings, office documents, letters, e-mails, menus, post-it notes and checklists, with only minor reliance on narrative. He uses life experiences and people in his life for inspirations for his novels.
Plot introduction
The book centers around the relationship between two men, Travis and Craig, who meet and fall in love in 1978, during their senior year of high schoolHigh school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
. Travis is the school nerd
Nerd
Nerd is a derogatory slang term for an intelligent but socially awkward and obsessive person who spends time on unpopular or obscure pursuits, to the exclusion of more mainstream activities. Nerds are considered to be awkward, shy, and unattractive...
, obsessed with musicals and constantly picked on. Craig is the school jock, lauded with the school's Victory Cup for athletic achievement. The two meet on the set of the school's production of Brigadoon, and the unlikely couple began a whirlwind romance. However, after their summer together, they part and set off to different colleges. The book moves forward 20 years later, to 1998. Travis and Craig have fallen out of touch, and they both have strong careers and potential suitors. Travis is the first to realize that his first love is his only true one, and he embarks on a cross-country journey, risks his job and enters the great unknown to try to get Craig back.