Men Like Us is a novel about David, a factory worker in Comstock, Michigan in his late twenties, who attempts to understand the death of his friend, Ben, and choose a future for himself, even as all the paths leading into his future seem to become more and more desolate. David faces the challenges of his life with his friends and roommates Mark and Andy, who also work in the local factory. In addition to Mark and Andy, David’s father plays an integral role in the plot as the head factory supervisor. The story is written in the first person and is recollected by David from a point in the future. The critical introduction for the novel examines the way in which the Great Recession in the Midwestern United States has provided the region’s writers with a unique voice, and how Men Like Us adds to that voice.