THE GAME CAFÉ

During a pandemic that quiets their beloved city, New Yorkers find new ways to connect with joy and peace in Lerman’s short story collection.

These brief works serve as a tribute to resilient men and women born and raised in New York (with a few New Jersey transplants). The Covid-19 pandemic is present in these stories, although discussion of it doesn’t linger; its effects, however, provide a constant backdrop for its protagonists, who are between 49 and 70-odd years of age, and an atmosphere for them to ponder their existence and make changes. For instance, Paul, an English teacher, is motivated by grief over his deceased brother, Adam, to start using Adam’s ham radio in “Murmansk”; Paul embraces it as a new way of connecting. Many stories have similar trajectories: Characters who live alone have apprehensions about getting old. After having a conversation with someone—a family member, friend, neighbor, or stranger—they’re motivated to evolve by making a bold move (“Woman and Dog”), rebuilding a lost relationship (“Pain Management”), or accepting the inevitable (“Game Café”). Traumatic relationships with parents appear in several stories, as well. Still, despite the formulaic patterns, the earnest characters and relatable situations make the stories heartwarming and endearing. One particularly appealing work is “Someday Soon,” featuring 68-year-old Anna, who hears a Judy Collins song in a grocery store that triggers memories of her youth. On a park bench, where she sits to relieve her severe back pain, Anna frets about her growing sadness and grim concerns about death. When Lucy, whom Anna raised, senses the elder woman’s melancholy during a phone call, she tells Anna that she’s “no old lady, just an old hippie”; the younger woman effectively serenades Anna with loving words, removing the distance between them.

A somewhat repetitive but engaging set of tales of city dwellers starting anew in a time of isolation.