Meeting Stuck Man

Having recently reread Meeting Stuck Man from author Brittney Ramirez, I realized how taken I am with it's unconventional nature. It shows a direction and your brain connects the patterns only for the story to surprise the reader at every turn while never disappointing in any divergent tangent it leads too. Most astonishing is the continued sense of connection with the main character Susie. So many thoughts she has echoed my own and each read through just solidified how much there was in this well fleshed out woman that spoke directly to me as a human being. I'm positive other readers will feel the same. The redemptive arcs in this short fiction tale are fully realized and never feel rushed. I would say this is an exercise in getting what you wanted without ever realizing that want was a need. The journey in this story has twice kept me totally invested. I closed the book with a smile I earned through investing in the experience of this short, beautiful tale.  -Gary

The whole idea behind this novella, as far as the authoress (are you allowed to say that these days?) was concerned, was to write a story that could be read in one or two sittings. This, she certainly succeeded in doing.

You get to know the main character, Susie, straight away, and once you have a feel for her personality, the story moves along at a good pace, bringing us to the titular character, our Stuck Man. I won’t go into why he has this nom de plume, as that would spoil the opening of the story, along with much of the reasoning behind the book.

The story unfolds through the idiosyncrasies of its three main characters: Susie, the Stuck Man, and Susie’s husband. The problem the Stuck Man faces gradually becomes Susie’s problem, largely because she wants to solve it—or at least help him—whichever proves to be the quickest option!

There are a few twists and turns, along with at least a couple of things you wouldn’t expect. At least, I didn’t! At certain points, I wasn’t sure I liked the three characters, given some of the things they did. But I believe that, in the end, this was precisely the point of the story.

All in all, considering this was the first time the authoress (I don’t care—call me reckless, lol!) had put pen to paper with the aim of getting a book published, I’d say she did rather well.

It’s a good thing she did, too, and I’m glad she did. I look forward to her next offering, which I hope will arrive around the same time next year.  -Terence Brown

 Meeting Stuck Man introduces readers to a cast of funny, intriguing and, above all, relatable characters. From a most unlikely first encounter, the protagonists embark on a journey of personal growth and discovery, both as individuals and as potential partners.