As If It Were Real

A week ago I listened to an audiobook made by author Jeff Maehre. Jeff is a friend of mine, a friend of Erik's too, from grad school, and he made this audiobook of As If It Were Real that runs about three hours. I couldn't recommend it enough to you. It's about a man named Elliot and his girlfriend Elizabeth. Elliot is a poker player. We get to see his friends in jail, once he goes to jail, and some of the story is told from their perspectives. The book is interconnected short stories, but it feels like a novel to me. Elizabeth is one of the most vivid, interesting characters I've ever read. She and Elliot are complicated. It's a very realistic book. It's somewhat dark but never too much to handle, and it made me cry at one point--I was very moved by one character's desire to be held. This is first rate storytelling, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes a good read. You can contact me at my email address so I can get you in touch with Jeff, who will give you a copy of the audiobook. My gmail dot com email address is robotmad.