In Short Measures

August 10, 2015
Bestselling food writer Ruhlman (The Soul of a Chef) turns to another form of sustenance—love—in these three novellas. In the emotionally satisfying title story, the longest in the book, Grimsley Feller is a middle-aged single woman, a curator of Duke University’s rare books collection. One day, on campus, she bumps into Emerson Randall, the man who, when they were students at Duke 25 years ago, was the love of her life. He is back to attend the memorial service of his one-time mentor. Now a Hollywood writer, and married with children, he and Grimsley excavate their shared past and wind up in bed together. The consequences of this act form the basis for a soap opera-ish situation that the author rescues through his sensitive handling of Grimsley’s predicament and how she negotiates it. In “Strong Conspirators,” a middle-aged husband and wife find the bonds of their relationship tested when an automobile accident forces one of them to make a huge sacrifice. This intense, gripping story will keep readers hooked. In “Sally Forth,” a less consequential variation on the first story, with echoes of James Salter, two former college lovers from 20 years ago meet accidentally in New York City, where they find that, though both married, they are still attracted to one another. Although all three stories are narrow in terms of the variety of characters and the social worlds they explore, they are deep in their exploration of the characters’ divided hearts, making Ruhlman’s trio a worthy read.

August 1, 2015
A bestselling food writer tries his hand at fiction.After 20 nonfiction books and cookbook collaborations, Ruhlman (Egg, 2014, etc.) has written three novellas linked by themes of nostalgia, midlife sexuality, marital fidelity (or lack thereof), and drunk driving. The first, In Short Measures, set at Duke University, explores a midlife reconnection between college lovers occasioned by the funeral of an important writing professor. The woman has remained at the college as a classic single-lady librarian; the man is a successful screenwriter in Los Angeles, married with children. Despite much literary window dressing-Gatsby is read aloud in its entirety; Ben Jonson and Shakespeare make contributions-the story of this interrupted affair has a bit of a romance-novel feel. The third story, Sally Forth, is similar to the first: again college lovers, one of whom is a writer, are center stage; again, their reconnection has dramatic consequences; again, the action is set among references to Hardy, Nabokov, Dickinson, etc. Fortunately, these two are separated by a quite different story, perhaps the most successful of the three. Strong Conspirators is more of an emotional thriller than a romance. Here, the central couple has good reason to yearn for "the way we were" since they are currently embroiled in covering up the truth about an alcohol-fueled vehicular homicide a few days before Christmas. The wife, who wasn't even in the car, lies to the police to protect her husband; the questions of whether or not they will get away with it and who they will become because of it create the most powerful narrative momentum in the collection. Strong Conspirators, which doesn't have characters who are writers and is not filled with literary hat-tipping, suggests the direction Ruhlman might best pursue if he continues to play this side of the street. The rarely seen but quite enjoyable novella form serves this maiden effort well.

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