Insignificant Others

April 26, 2010
Narrator Richard and his partner, Conrad, are a well-adjusted gay couple living in Boston at “the end of the American Century” in McCauley’s adroit latest (after Alternatives to Sex). They have an understanding that allows for the occasional infidelity, but when Richard realizes that Conrad’s current fling may be luring him away, he begins to worry. It doesn’t help that Richard is becoming infatuated with his own insignificant other, Benjamin, who leads a double life as a supposedly happily married father of two. Richard’s problems, though, go well beyond his love life, and with a dry, caustic wit and the occasionally weighty social observation, he describes how he’s coping with his own exercise addiction, his suspicious sister, a client at work who may or may not be on the brink of going crazy, a friend who can’t bring himself to tell his wife about his health problems, and his deeply confused feelings about Conrad and Benjamin. But it’s an unlikely alliance with Conrad’s business partner and the slow unraveling of his problems that adds an unexpectedly and refreshingly sentimental dimension to this accomplished comedy.

May 1, 2010
A breezily funny, affecting tale by the author of the novel-turned-film The Object of My Affection, about the entanglements of a gay Bostonian facing a midlife crisis.

Richard Rossi is a"psychologist by degree" working in the human resources department of a software company, Connectrix, who could use some counseling of his own. His partner Conrad, with whom he has lived for eight years in a Beacon Hill condo, has been secretly seeing someone else during his out-of-town trips as a consultant (he tells rich people what art work to hang in their homes). Richard's occasional lover, Ben, an architect with whom he sublets a studio apartment and thinks of as his real"husband," is spending more time with his wife and kids. At work, Richard is responsible for keeping a young hire from leaving Connectrix and for coaching a hostile supervisor involved in a discrimination suit. He also must soothe a resentful sister in Buffalo and provide support for a married friend with heart disease. Failing in his attempt to escape reality through daily visits to the health club, Richard is forced to confront his ideas about fidelity, obligation and fulfillment. An amiably rendered gay man's guide to contemporary life, this is a rare novel that details its characters' imperfections without imparting judgment. McCauley invests them with a romantic outlook that no amount of disappointment can diminish.

A novel with pithy observations, lightness of touch and generosity of spirit.

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

June 15, 2010

As a chronicler of modern mores, few authors are as readable and entertaining as McCauley (Alternatives to Sex; The Object of My Affection). In his latest, Richard Rossi, a middle-aged human resources manager, confronts several delusions about his life: that his relationship with his partner, Conrad, is strong, despite infidelity on both sides; that he isn't really in love with Benjamin, a married father of two; and that his career is going well and he likes his job. As Conrad drifts away on frequent business trips, Richard is forced to think about what might have been. Set in Boston during the last years of the Bush administration, as the economy is starting to teeter, the novel has an end-of-an-era feel that fits Richard's contemplations about love, the generation gap, compulsive fitness, and the worship of material goods. What could have been depressing or morbid is leavened with trenchant wit, perhaps best appreciated by readers over the age of 35. VERDICT A good read for those who enjoy character studies mixed with social commentary. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/15/10.]--Devon Thomas, DevIndexing, Chelsea, MI

Copyright 2010 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2010
Winter in Boston sets the mood for Richard Rossis reflections. Once a psychologist, now working in HR for a high-tech company, he is often bemused by corporate nuances. His relationship with live-in lover Conrad has reached a level of mundane confusion, and the spice that insignificant other Benjamin provides now has less savor. What to do? Richard is an exercise junkie, performing two sessions a day, one in a sunny upscale gym, the other in a basementlike facility. The fact that Richard is on a quest for a more meaningful life is apparent to us, but not him, so he is astonished to find that his conversations at work and with friends and family have a new, more substantive feel and are having a greater effect than any of his therapy sessions. McCauleys turns of phrase give Richards jaded, ironic, and terse observations a magnificently elitist snarkiness, and as amusing as the story is, readers will truly care about Richards fate.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)