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In the Middle of Almost: and Other Stories
An engrossing collection of funny, poignant and bittersweet stories about busy young women who find men in all the wrong places (the garage attendant across the street, the stay-at-home dad in the playground, the younger man at the diner counter) and discover something about themselves in the process.
PRAISE FOR IN THE MIDDLE OF ALMOST AND OTHER STORIES
PRAISE FOR IN THE MIDDLE OF ALMOST AND OTHER STORIES
"Beautifully written. I really enjoyed all the stories, especially Out on a Ledge ...which was both touching and bittersweet." - The Aussie Zombie, blog
"These stories resonate long after you put down the book."- Les Edgerton, novelist, author of nine books, including Hooked and The Bitch.
"I loved this collection of stories...Each story is well written, relatable, and never tries to be more than it is. It's like hearing a story from your friend and knowing exactly what she's talking about."-Melissa Field, author of The Good Luck Knot.
- GenresShort Stories
70 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 13, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
April 25, 2012
From Lilac Wolf and Stuff
This is a VERY fast read. In fact, I would call it flash fiction rather than short stories.
I really enjoyed every story. They were romantic in nature, but not the happy ending kind. More the reality kind. Where that warm and fuzzy feeling either isn't there or it isn't enough. There was one story about a recently widowed mother. I recognized the lost feeling as she's sitting at the park she thinks:
"Watching my four-year-old son isn't exactly work, but neither is it relaxation. It's like being a sentry in peacetime - it's important, but there's not much to do."
The book includes 5 short stories, an excerpt from a novel and 2 short memoirs. Both deal with her parents survival of the holocaust. Her father was so much older when she saw the pain it caused him. The following quote is from when the author, as an adult walks into her father's office and spots him, looking at photos from his youth back in Poland.
"'Did anyone else survive?'"
"He kind of shrugged at first. 'No...well, I was just looking at them...'"
The book read very fast, but it was all really good. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good chick lit, but can live without the "love conquers all" type themes. It really was refreshing.
This is a VERY fast read. In fact, I would call it flash fiction rather than short stories.
I really enjoyed every story. They were romantic in nature, but not the happy ending kind. More the reality kind. Where that warm and fuzzy feeling either isn't there or it isn't enough. There was one story about a recently widowed mother. I recognized the lost feeling as she's sitting at the park she thinks:
"Watching my four-year-old son isn't exactly work, but neither is it relaxation. It's like being a sentry in peacetime - it's important, but there's not much to do."
The book includes 5 short stories, an excerpt from a novel and 2 short memoirs. Both deal with her parents survival of the holocaust. Her father was so much older when she saw the pain it caused him. The following quote is from when the author, as an adult walks into her father's office and spots him, looking at photos from his youth back in Poland.
"'Did anyone else survive?'"
"He kind of shrugged at first. 'No...well, I was just looking at them...'"
The book read very fast, but it was all really good. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys good chick lit, but can live without the "love conquers all" type themes. It really was refreshing.
May 22, 2017
I enjoyed the first two stories a lot. But I felt like everything after that got shorter and shorter and could have done with a bit more story.
January 27, 2012
I really enjoyed this collection of short stories...I felt very connected to the women portrayed here even though we have many differences.
How Lerner connects the women throughout the book (even though this is a collection of short stories where the women all are dealing with different circumstances) is really key here. Usually short stories feel disjointed and disconnected which is something I shy away from generally, but that is not the case with this one.
I think another strength of this work is Lerner's descriptions of the setting. I have never been to New York City, or any other major urban area for that matter but I really did feel like I was there envisioning the lifestyle that these women lead. One thing that really stunned me is how truly isolated these characters were despite being surrounded by thousands of people - very telling. I had read an article lately about how people in urban areas feel more alone than others who are geographically isolated and that really connected with this book for me.
This is the kind of book where you really find yourself rooting for the characters - Lerner presents them so well that they jump right off the page and connect with you emotionally and you can't help but want everything to turn out well for them.
I highly recommend this book, it really is worth your time and a great quick read. S.B. Lerner has now become a new favorite of mine!
How Lerner connects the women throughout the book (even though this is a collection of short stories where the women all are dealing with different circumstances) is really key here. Usually short stories feel disjointed and disconnected which is something I shy away from generally, but that is not the case with this one.
I think another strength of this work is Lerner's descriptions of the setting. I have never been to New York City, or any other major urban area for that matter but I really did feel like I was there envisioning the lifestyle that these women lead. One thing that really stunned me is how truly isolated these characters were despite being surrounded by thousands of people - very telling. I had read an article lately about how people in urban areas feel more alone than others who are geographically isolated and that really connected with this book for me.
This is the kind of book where you really find yourself rooting for the characters - Lerner presents them so well that they jump right off the page and connect with you emotionally and you can't help but want everything to turn out well for them.
I highly recommend this book, it really is worth your time and a great quick read. S.B. Lerner has now become a new favorite of mine!
February 11, 2012
In the Middle of Almost is a collection of short stories about women and their experiences in meeting men, whether randomly or by design. Without giving too much away, there are stories of love that can never be, realization of the importance of freedom, not settling for Mr. Right Now and conflicts between safety and excitement. There is also an excerpt from the novel A Familiar Stranger and two short-story memoirs focused on family, and in particular, parent-child relationships.
All the stories are beautifully written (some in first person POV, others in the third-person), and although it is difficult to bring characters fully to life in a short story, all the characters are individual and their personalities shine through. Whether I agreed with the choices the characters made or not, I still felt a connection with each and every one of them.
I really enjoyed all the stories, especially Out on a Ledge where I felt a particular affinity to Jessica and her story which was both touching and bittersweet.
If you’re looking for a short story collection that is well-written, engaging and thought-provoking, you should really pick up a copy of In the Middle of Almost and Other Stories – I highly recommend it.
All the stories are beautifully written (some in first person POV, others in the third-person), and although it is difficult to bring characters fully to life in a short story, all the characters are individual and their personalities shine through. Whether I agreed with the choices the characters made or not, I still felt a connection with each and every one of them.
I really enjoyed all the stories, especially Out on a Ledge where I felt a particular affinity to Jessica and her story which was both touching and bittersweet.
If you’re looking for a short story collection that is well-written, engaging and thought-provoking, you should really pick up a copy of In the Middle of Almost and Other Stories – I highly recommend it.
April 27, 2012
Review: My thoughts:
This is a nice collection of short stories about women and their encounters with men. Some are fleeting encounters and some are potentially much more. Each story gives the reader an inside glance at the woman and where she is at in her life. They are touching, personal, and thought provoking. Each story is different, but all encourage the reader to look at the piece of their life that the story reminds them of. I both liked and disliked the unfinished aspect of the ending for each short story. I am usually looking for either closure or a "...to be continued" feel at the end of a story, but these stories don't actually have either of those. Each story leaves the reader with the opportunity to find the ending in their own story or imagine what happened next.
I am normally a strict "not about real life" story reader, in other words - I am all about fiction. I tell people I have enough reality in my day to day life that I read solely for pleasure and solely about things that are no where near my life. Having said that, this was not my normal, average read. I am pleased that I had the chance to read this well-written collection and will look for more stories written by S.B. Lerner.
This is a nice collection of short stories about women and their encounters with men. Some are fleeting encounters and some are potentially much more. Each story gives the reader an inside glance at the woman and where she is at in her life. They are touching, personal, and thought provoking. Each story is different, but all encourage the reader to look at the piece of their life that the story reminds them of. I both liked and disliked the unfinished aspect of the ending for each short story. I am usually looking for either closure or a "...to be continued" feel at the end of a story, but these stories don't actually have either of those. Each story leaves the reader with the opportunity to find the ending in their own story or imagine what happened next.
I am normally a strict "not about real life" story reader, in other words - I am all about fiction. I tell people I have enough reality in my day to day life that I read solely for pleasure and solely about things that are no where near my life. Having said that, this was not my normal, average read. I am pleased that I had the chance to read this well-written collection and will look for more stories written by S.B. Lerner.
June 2, 2012
Review: My thoughts:
This is a nice collection of short stories about women and their encounters with men. Some are fleeting encounters and some are potentially much more. Each story gives the reader an inside glance at the woman and where she is at in her life. They are touching, personal, and thought provoking. Each story is different, but all encourage the reader to look at the piece of their life that the story reminds them of. I both liked and disliked the unfinished aspect of the ending for each short story. I am usually looking for either closure or a "...to be continued" feel at the end of a story, but these stories don't actually have either of those. Each story leaves the reader with the opportunity to find the ending in their own story or imagine what happened next.
I am normally a strict "not about real life" story reader, in other words - I am all about fiction. I tell people I have enough reality in my day to day life that I read solely for pleasure and solely about things that are no where near my life. Having said that, this was not my normal, average read. I am pleased that I had the chance to read this well-written collection and will look for more stories written by S.B. Lerner.
This is a nice collection of short stories about women and their encounters with men. Some are fleeting encounters and some are potentially much more. Each story gives the reader an inside glance at the woman and where she is at in her life. They are touching, personal, and thought provoking. Each story is different, but all encourage the reader to look at the piece of their life that the story reminds them of. I both liked and disliked the unfinished aspect of the ending for each short story. I am usually looking for either closure or a "...to be continued" feel at the end of a story, but these stories don't actually have either of those. Each story leaves the reader with the opportunity to find the ending in their own story or imagine what happened next.
I am normally a strict "not about real life" story reader, in other words - I am all about fiction. I tell people I have enough reality in my day to day life that I read solely for pleasure and solely about things that are no where near my life. Having said that, this was not my normal, average read. I am pleased that I had the chance to read this well-written collection and will look for more stories written by S.B. Lerner.
May 27, 2012
I received this book from First Reads and it took me *maybe* an hour to finish it. It's 66 pages long.)
When I read the reviews on the back, particularly the one stating "for anyone who enjoys chick lit, but can live without the 'love conquers all' type themes", I was pretty excited to dig into this book.
I would say the assessment is fair. It is very much like chick lit. If you were to go through the any chick lit book, just yank out a chapter, stick it in this binding and bring it down to Earth, you would have something like these stories. I don't want to say they're cautionary tales, but there were a few that clicked something in the back of my mind, making that story a little more memorable than others in the book.
French Fries, Out on a Ledge, and Familiar Stranger were my favorite stories.
Overall it's a quck read. If you know a girl who is dealing with the ups and downs of love, it may be a good recommendation for her- if she likes short stories.
I'm going to nitpick just a bit and say as an ex-smoker, it annoyed me that almost every protaganist smoked or talked about smoking. What a turnoff for me as a reader.
When I read the reviews on the back, particularly the one stating "for anyone who enjoys chick lit, but can live without the 'love conquers all' type themes", I was pretty excited to dig into this book.
I would say the assessment is fair. It is very much like chick lit. If you were to go through the any chick lit book, just yank out a chapter, stick it in this binding and bring it down to Earth, you would have something like these stories. I don't want to say they're cautionary tales, but there were a few that clicked something in the back of my mind, making that story a little more memorable than others in the book.
French Fries, Out on a Ledge, and Familiar Stranger were my favorite stories.
Overall it's a quck read. If you know a girl who is dealing with the ups and downs of love, it may be a good recommendation for her- if she likes short stories.
I'm going to nitpick just a bit and say as an ex-smoker, it annoyed me that almost every protaganist smoked or talked about smoking. What a turnoff for me as a reader.
April 17, 2012
3.5 stars/Fiction; Short Stories
At first, I wasn't sure what to make of this book and its novella length stories. They ended so abruptly that I was certain I had missed something or that somehow they would all be tied together. After reading the first four stories, I realized that they were not related so I started the book over and then finally understood what the author was trying to say in her writing.
Each story explores a character's life and the choices they make. Some decisions are instinctual, some come by way of the "ah-ha" moments in life. All are thought provoking.
I enjoyed how Lerner presents each scenario as an almost "truth or dare" situation. It made me question the character's choice while at the same time making me wonder what my own would be. I also enjoyed the richness of detail in each setting. As the reader, I could imagine myself in the same place with these characters.
In the end, I liked this book more than I thought I would. It was a nice change from my usual reading.
At first, I wasn't sure what to make of this book and its novella length stories. They ended so abruptly that I was certain I had missed something or that somehow they would all be tied together. After reading the first four stories, I realized that they were not related so I started the book over and then finally understood what the author was trying to say in her writing.
Each story explores a character's life and the choices they make. Some decisions are instinctual, some come by way of the "ah-ha" moments in life. All are thought provoking.
I enjoyed how Lerner presents each scenario as an almost "truth or dare" situation. It made me question the character's choice while at the same time making me wonder what my own would be. I also enjoyed the richness of detail in each setting. As the reader, I could imagine myself in the same place with these characters.
In the end, I liked this book more than I thought I would. It was a nice change from my usual reading.
December 7, 2011
It's been a while since I've read a short story collection. What holds this one together nicely is that the women in it tend to have something in common. Many are professional single women trying to navigate the world of career politics and dating--sometimes with disastrous results. Some are dealing with cheating boyfriends. The memoirs deal mostly with family memories. The last one, "Memories in a Desk Drawer," being perhaps the most moving part of the whole collection.
Lerner does an excellent job of painting pictures for her readers. I've been to NYC a few times, so I felt in familiar territory as the author dropped in descriptions of setting and weather. What I feel Lerner does best, however, is reach women where they are or where they were at some point in their lives. I don't think a woman out there can't relate to at least one of these characters.
I look forward to more from this author.
Lerner does an excellent job of painting pictures for her readers. I've been to NYC a few times, so I felt in familiar territory as the author dropped in descriptions of setting and weather. What I feel Lerner does best, however, is reach women where they are or where they were at some point in their lives. I don't think a woman out there can't relate to at least one of these characters.
I look forward to more from this author.
December 15, 2011
I think that the short stories in this book will resonate with all woman, even if they have not had the exact experience as some of the characters, they will know of someone who has been in at least one or more of the situations. I found that all of the stories engage the reader right away which made me ready to go right on to the next, then the next, and so on.
What really made an impression on me was how much story was in so few words. This is what I always find defines a so-so writer and a great writer, by how much detail can be found in a short story. If you have hundreds of pages to tell a story anyone can do it, but if you are limited to only a few pages you need to know how to keep your words effective and efficient. S.B. Lerner does this well in this book.
I recommend this book to all woman, even if you don't normally read short story collections be sure to give this one a try!
What really made an impression on me was how much story was in so few words. This is what I always find defines a so-so writer and a great writer, by how much detail can be found in a short story. If you have hundreds of pages to tell a story anyone can do it, but if you are limited to only a few pages you need to know how to keep your words effective and efficient. S.B. Lerner does this well in this book.
I recommend this book to all woman, even if you don't normally read short story collections be sure to give this one a try!
December 25, 2011
In the Middle of Almost is a wonderful collection. A collection deserving of a good read. The title story vividly describes the angst many women confront in an urban setting. The theme of fear of loneliness against the conflicting fear of intimacy filters through many of the pieces.
In 'French Fries' the theme emerges again and the author works it deftly. In other hands, it could have devolved into a Larry David episode, but Lerner is sure-footed and compels us to think who is the neurotic: the teller of the story, or aptly, the psychiatrist who has a 'slight' quirk surrounding eating. The one dissonant note is that of the matchmaker, gone too quickly and without the accent of someone speaking a post-positional language.
The collection ends with a poignant memoir, 'Memories in a Desk Drawer;' it highlights the isolation and quiet desperation of survivors' guilt. A fitting close to a solid work.
This is strong debut writing and is highly recommended.
In 'French Fries' the theme emerges again and the author works it deftly. In other hands, it could have devolved into a Larry David episode, but Lerner is sure-footed and compels us to think who is the neurotic: the teller of the story, or aptly, the psychiatrist who has a 'slight' quirk surrounding eating. The one dissonant note is that of the matchmaker, gone too quickly and without the accent of someone speaking a post-positional language.
The collection ends with a poignant memoir, 'Memories in a Desk Drawer;' it highlights the isolation and quiet desperation of survivors' guilt. A fitting close to a solid work.
This is strong debut writing and is highly recommended.
September 22, 2011
What an impressive literary debut! Susan Lerner’s story collection, In the Middle of Almost and Other Stories, offer up deft, deeply insightful glimpses of women who live in urban landscapes, surrounded by millions of people, but are uniquely isolated amidst the throngs. Her characters are looking for connection but are never desperate in their quest. Strong women who are often disappointed but you never get the sense that the flawed men her characters meet will destroy their optimism and turn them bitter. The protagonists in her stories exude a deep sexuality and abiding intelligence that make the reader root for her to find the man who’s truly deserving and even though it doesn’t happen, you know it will. These stories resonate long after you put down the book.
September 3, 2012
I received this book from the author as a first read. For the most part, all of the stories were good, but I only wish they contained a little bit more detail. While I completely understand that it is a collection of short stories, more detail would have made the book at least four stars.
January 4, 2012
Very good suggestion by the readers of Goodreads. I did thoroughly enjoy the short short stories.
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