In Short Measures

Three Novellas

By: Michael Ruhlman

Narrated by: Lydia Mackay, Robert McCollum, Lauren Davis

In his three novellas, In Short Measures, Strong Conspirators, and Sally Forth, Michael Ruhlman delves deeply into the nuanced complexity of romantic and sexual love - and the inevitable evolution of the heart over the span of years and decades. Each novella asks questions about the nature of love in terms of loyalty and fidelity - what are one's obligations toward one's spouse, one's family, and one's heart?

In the first novella, In Short Measures, these questions are bound up in a writer's work and a long-ago love. In the second, Strong Conspirators, an unforeseen, cataclysmic event calls for responses from a husband and wife that have never been rehearsed because they have never been required nor even imagined. In Sally Forth, a pair of old friends is forced to explore lost youth and lost love relative to maturity, marriage, and the passage of time.

Profoundly thought provoking and satisfying, these novellas are beautifully written, with plot twists from beginning to end that will captivate the listener.

©2015 Michael Ruhlman (P)2015 Audible, Inc.

Critic reviews

"A propulsively well-written trio of novellas linked by a sense of loss and an inquiry into the impossible past." (Kate Christensen)

Great Narrators and Stories...

I don't typically leave reviews, but deemed necessary after finishing this audiobook. The stories sucked me in, and I couldn't "put this book down" until the end.

In Short Measures- Wow

The narrator of first is AMAZING and if she is the narrator of the other two, wow!
The story of the first is my favorite, listened to it twice and will save for another time. Truly an amazing story. It as told in a different technique that totally captivated me. I loved it. Truly unique.

Absolutely fantastic

Probably some of the best performances I've heard so far. Absolutely relatable, interesting, compelling stories that caught and kept my attention. I wish audible had more of his titles in their library.

Interesting stories…a bit confusing …

This was difficult listening at first but once sorting each story our I found it to be entertaining and well worth the time…

Lovely writing but deeply depressing, rough

I made it all the way through every word of book 1... but it was rough. Yes the writing is beautiful but oh so raw. The 1st story is written from the pov of a woman but in authored by a man. I felt this was evident and actually read as though I was reading a man's pov of how a woman would think. I did not ever feel that Grimsly was 1st person... it made more sense that Em was writing how he perceived Grims to think and feel. Still the chapters took me through so many arcs and valleys that by the end I felt as if I was a frayed electric wire. It is because of this emotional rollercoaster I've chosen to skim and skip through the remaining 2 stories.

The narration is very good.