The Middle Men (2013)

The main characters in Middle Men pretty much all come off as versions of one another from slightly alternate realities: youngish white males suspended midway between a disappointing past and an uncertain future. But rather than making the book seem repetitive, this gives the cumulative impression that it is something more cohesive and lodged at the halfway point between novel and story collection. Gavin has a good ear for witty dialogue, and an even better one for inner monologue, as his various protagonists — an aspiring stand-up, an out-of-his-depths salesman, a manic screwup with an idea for a novelty product — try to figure out how to overcome the inertia of their lives. Usually they end up changed even if their situations haven't. B+