Jim Gavin’s MIDDLE MEN was praised in reviews by Vogue, the New York Times, ZYZZVA, The Millions, and was also reviewed on-air by Oscar Villalon for his weekly public radio show, “The California Report.” Vogue named the book one of its twelve “Essentials for Airplane Travel,” while in another feature on breakout fiction, they called the book a "dryly funny, classically American collection" and noted that "these stories are perhaps most remarkable for their astute self-awareness, especially in recognizing the inability of irony to change the characters’ circumstances."