Sex of the Midwest

by Robyn Ryle

One foggy morning, an email appears in inboxes across the small town of Lanier, Indiana, population 12,234. “Invitation to Participate: Sexual Practices in a Small Midwestern Town,” the subject line reads. A link leads to an extensive survey. But why has Lanier been chosen? And by whom? Street by street and resident by resident–from the Covid-stricken basketball coach, to the bartender finding her way to writing, to the bureaucrat with a vendetta against the hot-dog vendor–the email opens up the secret (and not so secret) lives of one small town, and reveals the surprising complexity of Midwestern life in our post-pandemic times.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, Contemporary

232 pages, Paperback

Published October 14, 2025

About the author

Robyn Ryle is a writer who also teaches sociology and gender studies at a small liberal arts college in Indiana. Her young adult novel, FAIR GAME, about a girls' basketball team that challenges the boys to a high stakes game, putting their season, their futures and three cherished friendships on the line, is available for pre-order now.

She's also the author of three nonfiction books. THROW LIKE A GIRL, CHEER LIKE A BOY: THE EVOLUTION OF GENDER, IDENTITY, AND RACE IN SPORTS will be available in paperback in August 2023. SHE/HE/THEY/ME: AN INTERACTIVE GUIDE TO THE GENDER BINARY is a 2020 ALA Stonewall Book Award Honoree. She's also written a sociology of gender textbook, QUESTIONING GENDER: A SOCIOLOGICAL EXPLORATION, available in its 5th edition in October 2023.

She has essays and stories at Newsweek, Gawker, CALYX Journal, Tin House and Belt Magazine, among others. You can find her on Twitter, @RobynRyle and IG, @robynrryle.

Reviews

[Kate Connell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another addition to the recurring theme of my recent reads being, you never know how you are perceived and should give yourself the grace you give to others. When the residents of Lanier get a survey for a study focused on sexual life and practices in a small midwestern town, no one knows what to make of it. Some are curious, others affronted, but everyone is captivated. While the survey is the impetus for the story, the collection dives much deeper into each character and leaves you with a solid view of this town, a clearer view than any of its inhabitants will ever get. This book includes a food inspector who spends a lot of time and energy focused on shutting down a new hot dog vendor at the farmers market, a woman feeling lost who applies to a writing fellowship just to be able to stay in the Virgina Woolf room, and a 'new' doctor in town who unfortunately shares a name-but no relation- to the old doctor. I was thoroughly entertained and wish I could pop down to the Saloon and have a drink with some of these characters.

I recommend this to people who enjoy short story collections, small town gossip, figuring yourself out (or failing to), and frank discussions of taboo topics.

Thank you to NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

[Jess Mcalister · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book. Part of the fun for me is that I live in the town Lanier is based on, so I couldn’t help but laugh at all the little Easter eggs sprinkled throughout. But even if you don’t have that connection, you’ll love it.
It’s told as a collection of short stories, but everyone is connected just like in a real small town. If you like books that let you peek into other people’s lives, you’ll love this one.
I found myself in every character in some way and it’s nice in a post-Covid world to remember that we really are all connected.
Thanks to NetGalley and Galiot Press for an eARC of this book!

[Anna Marie Switzer]

I picked up this book of short stories at the library because I live in the Midwest and I loved the Secret Lives of Church Ladies. Unfortunately, this one just didn’t hit for me.

I think this is partially my fault. I read the majority of the book on my Monday travel day, but I finished the book today, on my travel day back home. This was a fatal mistake because pre-onsite Anna Marie is receptive to reading characters’ perceptions and insecurities, while post-onsite Anna Marie wants nothing to do with that. In fact, after three days of 11 hour work days and 5 hours of sleep each night, I can’t deal with anyone else’s thoughts. I don’t even want my own. So timing certainly plays a factor.

There were some delightful moments of literary short storiness — the kind of moments that captured my heart in middle school with stories like the Yellow Wallpaper — but the majority of the collection was just… there. The sex survey sent to small town is intended to be the central thread throughout the story, but despite the initial allure, it managed to be completely uninteresting by the end of the book. Like sure. People in the town of all ages thought about their own sex lives and other people’s briefly… but we never got anything meaningful beyond that. The survey didn’t actually uncover anything, nor did anyone uncover anything about the story.

Maybe I’m just drained and mad that my phone is dying and I forgot my charger. Or maybe it just wasn’t my favorite. Either way! Swipe for some pics of my onsite week and the friends I’ve made because of the Midwest.

[Gabrielle]

Don't let the title lead you astray- this is a quiet, character-driven novel and sex is not the main plot 😅 Mostly writing this review for my Goodreads friends so they don't judge me 😜

[Dana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this! It was quirky and different with a subtle sense of humor.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

i couldn’t tell you what this book is about - flat characters and no plot made it difficult to get through. read til the end bc i thought there would be redemption — there wasn’t

[kenzie · Rating 3 out of 5]

more about the email blast, less "i love my small town" vibes. although at least this small town seemed to be as forward thinking as Indiana can get.

I didn't get the meaning of the dancing at the restaurant. "you have to be there to see Joshua's dancing in between the dinner rushes. i can't describe the feeling of watching him dance." literally a busboy, and i hate to sound gen-z but that gave me the ick. maybe it's because I'm picturing applebees and that one coworker who won't stop following you around?? i would have liked this more if it was all of the people in this town reacting super scandalized to the email because that initial part was funny! the hot dog vendor with the washing women's hair fetish? funny!! but why are we romanticizing this? it would have been 10 times better for me if it was just ludicrous and obviously satire throughout.

[Allie · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I finished this, my exact words: “oh my god, that was beautiful. That was the best book I’ve read all year.”

[Kkraemer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Everyone in town was invited to respond to an e-mail survey on their own sexual practices, and, in an odd way, it brought people together. Some were anxious that anyone (who?) would even ask about such things; others wondered what everyone's answers would be. Many refused to even look at the survey, while one person responded 12 times. Everyone, though, had a concern: would someone "innocent" stumble into this morass of questionable morals? would it single someone out? would someone learn about others' responses?

and, through this all, a series of wonderful pictures emerges, pictures of folks' inner thoughts and feelings, their questions and their bewilderment. This is a small town, and everyone seems, mostly, to leave everyone else to their own devices. Questions like these, though..

and woven through these pictures of the inner lives of people are hints about how to see the world, how to write, how to allow the passage of time to be a gift of deeper and deeper understanding.

What begins as a fairly trivial book turns out to be deep, satisfying, and certainly much more than a sex survey.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

My sense is that a lot of the lower reviews for this book are due to the disconnect between the title and the actual content of these interconnected short stories. I wish it had been called “Lanier,” as it’s actually about a group of people who live in the (fictional) small town of Lanier, Indiana and their struggles to find who they are in a post-pandemic world. Some of the characters will ruffle feathers, but I think that’s exactly the point. It felt like each (imperfect) character was on a journey to find their place and their people after the pandemic turned the whole world upside down. Liked it.

[Will · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect book where nothing happens and everything happens.

Found it because I love surveys, and the book's central thread is a small, Midwest town receiving a rather direct and pointed survey about their sexual habits. It's loosely based on a true story.

And yet, it's not. It's Real Life, as it can only be described. Messy, quaint, hungry, beautiful, full of yearning and regret and what might've been. This book is alive, in the best sense of the word. There is largely no plot but the characters' own lives.

[Katelyn Childs · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book ended up being nothing like I expected it to be (i.e., not raunchy in the slightest lol) but it was still a good read. The internal monologues and “secret thoughts” of the characters were very real and I liked those a lot. I imagine if I was from the midwest it would resonate even more, but since there are a lot of similarities between “Midwestern nice” and southern hospitality, it was a fun read.

[Charles Fried · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this, though it is not the kind of thing I usually read. it has a bit of Prairie Home Companion vibe, but in a good way. The author is clearly very observant of people and likes them (I am more in love with cats) and gives the folks in these stories sympathetic treatment.

[Kaitlyn Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

it had some really beautiful parts! but generally didn’t really feel like the author totally knows her voice yet. or if she does know it, it gets lost at times. it felt like there was soooo much depth to explore in sexuality here, but the book was shallow and didn’t scratch the surface of sex.

[Renee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful. Robyn captures Indiana in the best way, and I was all in for the journey.

[Chloe Kent · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wut????

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5/5 -- Don't let the title fool you.... It is NOT very connected to the story. Instead, it tells of the lives in a small town. The things we know and don't know. I liked the stories and how they wove together. Next time, let's not title a book for shock value.

[Ronalee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories that all involve living in a post Covid small town. Reminiscent of Olive Kitterage.

[Rebecca W · Rating 4 out of 5]

This started out slowly, featuring characters who were unlikable or boring at best. There was basically no plot. But about halfway through, I felt the character portraits coalescing in a subtly humorous, deep, and honestly beautiful way. The author handled them with such tenderness and care. I walked away with a real appreciation and fondness for this quirky little Midwestern town.

[Staceyalgren · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is a bit of a misnomer. The book was not really about sex at all, but more about a collection of people in a small town in Indiana. The townspeople receive a survey on sex but no one knows where it came from and it's poorly explained.... The book focuses on the peoples lives and interactions.

[Samantha Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

This amazing novel of stories is raw, real and veiled in beautiful vulnerability. The characters and their experiences feel so relatable and loosely connected much like real life itself. At its heart, this novel is about knowing you are loved, especially for those of us still learning to believe it.

[Bea Croteau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Small town gossip where everyone’s gossiping about themselves to you. (They’ve got a few things to say about their neighbors too.)

Enjoyable cast of characters that were satisfyingly interconnected.

First book I’ve read that actually discusses the pandemic, as this book is fundamentally a post-Covid story. Neat stuff.

[VinGirl · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not enjoy this. The stories were much more centered around Covid talk than they were about the sex survey, which barely featured at all. I also felt like I might scream at one more mention of the Main Street Saloon.

[Cathy Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too dumb and too disjointed

[Sara Edwards · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book, but it was just too disjointed and I never felt connected to any of the characters.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't understand how this is a collection of short stories. They just feel like chapters in a strange, bland book. I know there are novels that are a series of semi-related individual stories that come together in unexpected ways, and this novel seems to follow that model. But it just doesn't work. I didn't care about anyone, I didn't like almost anyone, and I found it weird to be continually dropped in the middle of events rather than having anything building towards conclusions or revelations or whatever.

The book's premise is that an anonymous researcher has sent an email to every resident of Lanier, Indiana, and from this question, various people think about their sex lives and those of other people in the town. We get inside their heads, as most of the book is third-person stream of consciousness rather than exposition or dialogue. So the author jumps us into the minds of a couple dozen people as they go about their lives, think about sex, and interact with family, coworkers and neighbors.

Since it's a small town that many people live in their entire lives, people know a lot about each other, including stuff they know but don't mention. And a questionnaire about sex could raise those topics. But the book seems more about post-Covid trauma than about the sex questionnaire. Why the town's residents are still reeling from Covid 4-5 years after its height isn't quite explained, and while I believe individuals are struggling, the black cloud of Covid over an entire town doesn't quite work for me. The black cloud that is MAGA is more believable.

The book has some lovely and poignant moments, but overall it's blah. One story-chapter called "The Virginia Wolfe Room," resonates with me. It's about a woman who, apparently, has some level of ability as a reader and writer, who takes a week off her job as a bartender and goes to Florida for a writing seminar. She realizes that her life has been empty, or at least less full than it might have been, but she's also scared by that revelation. The story does an excellent job of getting in the mind of a person who is sensitive but has to tamp down that sensitivity to get through life just doing what needs to be done. And it's also a pretty funny takedown of writers' retreats.

But other chapters just aren't very good. There's one about an 80-year-old woman who was a mayor or something, and an old guy who's a rich doctor flirts with her, and then I guess they have a fling later on. Whatever. She's unappealing, just an old lady who drinks in the afternoon and is pleased with herself because she doesn't fear or hate gay people like some folks in the town.

And there's a woman who was inches from a PhD in folklore but dropped it to care for her evil mother. I can understand her caring for her ailing mother temporarily, but not her non-return to the degree when her mother died a couple of years later, nor her decision to take a job as a food health inspector in her hometown. And why would she get the job as a food inspector when she's a folklore expert?

And then there's a guy named Don, who I guess was a no-vaxxer who got a bad case of Covid and almost died. He's a curmudgeon in general and a sexual prude, or at least doesn't want young people to have fun sex. He seems to look the other way if old White men have flings. But anyway, he goes on an anti-sex crusade over an offhand remark from his wife that there are cases of STDs in middle school, where she has been a guidance counselor. She, meanwhile, has become distanced from him since his Covid hospital stay, as she realizes he had been limiting her life for decades.

These and other stories potentially are interesting to pursue. They're just not in the hands of this writer. Sorry.

[Bonny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sex of the Midwest completely won me over in a way I didn’t quite expect. Going in, I was intrigued by the premise, a mysterious town-wide sex survey arriving in inboxes, but what unfolds is something much richer and more nuanced than that hook suggests. This is very much a novel-in-stories, following a wide cast of residents in Lanier, Indiana, each chapter offering a glimpse into a different life, a different struggle, a different quiet longing. The connections between characters are subtle but satisfying, creating a layered portrait of a community that feels hopefully authentic and deeply human.

It’s been compared to Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout, one of my all-time favorite books, and I’ll admit I was a little skeptical. That’s a high bar for me, but I was pleasantly surprised by how well this measured up. Like Strout’s work, Sex of the Midwest captures the small, often unspoken moments that define people’s lives, and it does so with empathy and insight rather than judgment.

One of the book’s greatest strengths is how attached I became to these characters. Nearly every story left me wishing for just a little more time with them. I was genuinely sad to see each chapter end, and by the final pages, I realized I’ll miss many of these people, like the man waiting for his lung transplant after having covid, the aspiring writer behind the bar, the quietly simmering bureaucrat, and so many others.

It’s also worth noting that the title is a bit of a misnomer. Despite the provocative setup, this book has surprisingly little to do with sex itself (aside from one particularly enthusiastic survey respondent). Instead, it’s about connection, isolation, identity, and the strange ways people try to understand themselves and each other, especially in a post-pandemic world.

Thoughtful, quietly funny, and deeply compassionate, Sex of the Midwest is a beautifully constructed mosaic of small-town life. If you enjoy interconnected stories and character-driven fiction, this is absolutely worth your time. Four and a half stars rounded up because I may read it again in a short while; it ended way too soon.

[Madalene · Rating 4 out of 5]

This style of book is one of my favorites: regular everyday life of a variety of characters. In this case, the thread tying all of them together is an emailed survey about sexual behaviors, and how it sparks discussion or suppression of discussion around town. But the survey is NOT actually relevant nor used in storytelling in the book.

This would be a great read for those who love, live or travel through small Midwestern towns. It was enjoyable throughout - with only one major blind spot. From the stories, you'd guess that there are very few people of color in the town and that race relations are fairly seamless and kind, and that acceptance of LGBTQIA+ is the central issue, and only for the very few who refuse to enter the 21st century. That seems incorrect, based on many studies showing perception of racial difference as a threat to be the central dividing political line. And it is a noticeable hole in the storytelling - but one that perhaps Midwestern-nice won't allow to be surfaced in what is supposed to be a fun book to read.

[Kym · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first heard about Sex of the Midwest by Robyn Ryle from a friend whose reading taste I trust, and whose opinions I value. She liked the book quite a lot, and she even mentioned it in the same breath as Olive Kitteridge, which is really saying something. And I’m glad I listened to her recommendation, because once I got going, I really liked Sex of the Midwest, too. (Although I’ll probably leave Olive Kitteridge out of it.)

If you enjoy interconnected stories featuring characters you’ll love . . . living anything-but-mundane lives . . . in post-Covid, small-town Southern Indiana, this charming (and really too-short) novel might be just the ticket for you. Great writing, complex characters, and a surprising lack of sex (given the title and all) mix together for a perfect little novel to get your thoughts off . . . well . . . life right now.

Highly recommended.

4 stars.

[Shana · Rating 3 out of 5]

***Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review***

Despite the title and the blurbs about this book, this isn't about the sexual practices of folks in a small Midwestern town. Yes, the book kicks off with the mysterious appearance of a survey sent to residents of said town, but apart from some questioning of where it came from, it plays a very small role. This novel read like a less corny, slightly modernized version of Fannie Flagg novels (excluding her most recent, which I also reviewed). It's small town cutesy and quaint with a layer of post-pandemic fog and the "scandalous" parts have to do with older people dating and the existence of a gay college-aged step-daughter. All in all, this was an easy read but not a particularly memorable one.