In Middle Men, Stegner Fellow and New Yorker contributor Jim Gavin delivers a hilarious and panoramic vision of California, portraying a group of men, from young dreamers to old vets, as they make valiant forays into middle-class respectability. In " Play the Man" a high-school basketball player aspires to a college scholarship, in " Elephant Doors" , a production assistant on a game show moonlights as a stand-up comedian, and in the collection' s last story, the immensely moving " Costello" , a middle-aged plumbing supplies salesman comes to terms with the death of his wife. The men in Gavin' s stories all find themselves stuck somewhere in the middle, caught half way between their dreams and the often crushing reality of their lives. A work of profound humanity that pairs moments of high comedy with searing truths about life' s missed opportunities, Middle Men brings to life a series of unforgettable characters learning what it means to love and work and be in the world as a man, and it offers our first look at a gifted writer who has just begun teaching us the tools of his trade.