Bay Windows - July 1, 2004
J.S. Hall

Now that summer is upon us, it's only fitting that the perfect summer novel has arrived in time for some good escapist fun. But make no mistake - while "Almost Like Being in Love" outwardly appears to be a lightweight trifle, it possesses greater depth than its initial premise might suggest.

In 1978, Craig McKenna and Travis Puckett meet during their senior year at a New York prep school and fall madly in love. Considering that Craig's a star baseball player and Travis is a nerdy, budding Broadway queen/activist, this is no mean feat. In this case, opposites not only attract but complement, with Travis learning to love the great American pastime and also awakening Craig's latent troublemaker streak. After graduation, they spend a magical summer in New York City, but in the fall are destined for colleges in different coasts: Craig to Harvard and Travis to the University of Southern California. But surely their love can transcend a 3,000 mile distance, can't it?

Twenty years later, our heroes have led very different lives than the ones they imagined they would. Craig has set up a successful legal practice in Saratoga Springs, New York, with Charleen (his best friend from college) and has been in a 12-year relationship with Clayton Bergman, a muscular type-A personality who's a bit too overassertive for his own good.

Travis, now a history professor at USC, gets jocks to pay attention in his classes through his unorthodox comparisons of early American history with similar situations in the history of baseball. After years of bad luck in the dating arena, he eventually realizes that Craig McKenna is - and always will be - his one true love. In a moment of reckless abandon, he decides that he has to find Craig again and tell him exactly how he feels. There's just one problem: he has no idea where Craig is. But obstacles like this have never been insurmountable to Travis, he who hitchhiked 300 miles in prep school to obtain a recording of "Greenwillow."

Exuberant, romantic and achingly funny, "Almost Like Being In Love" will win over all but the most jaded of readers with its engaging characters and crackling pace. All of Kluger's dramatis personae have their quirks and foibles, and the reader never stops cheering Travis on - even though he might inadvertently break up an essentially happy 12-year relationship in the process. Further complicating matters, Kluger resists the temptation to make Clay a total asshole and instead makes him a complex, credible character. To make matters worse, Travis meets up with Clay before he makes contact with Craig, and discovers the vulnerable, insecure person behind the aggressive fa ade; readers and other characters alike are on tenterhooks regarding Travis' next move.

While the plot is compelling, unquestionably the most innovative thing about this novel is how Kluger tells it. Foregoing traditional narrative, he assembles the story out of a collection of journal entries, school assignments, interoffice and interdepartmental memos, faxes, email and courtroom transcriptions, all to great comic effect. By rights, this ungainly mixture shouldn't succeed; instead, it triumphs.

When faced with a book this winning and whimsical, it seems more churlish than usual to quibble about plot points. However, it seems rather unlikely that neither Craig nor Travis ever wonder if the other had died of AIDS. After all, both would have been prime candidates for infection during the plague's height. But to be fair, Kluger harrowingly acknowledges the advent of AIDS during Craig's college years at Harvard; as he watches friend after friend die, he becomes a dyed-in-the-wool activist. But even in the grimmest moments, Kluger finds gallows humor, as Craig and Charleen wearily bicker over whose turn it is to organize the latest memorial service.

"Almost Like Being in Love" is a madcap romp with both a heart and a brain. It'll sweep you up in Travis' noble yet errant quest for his first love. Travis' roommate Gordo observes that "everybody you touch falls in love," and that will include readers of this superb novel as well.

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