Insignificant Others - by Stephen McCauley (Paperback)

About the Book

Originally published: New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010.

Book Synopsis

What do you do when you discover that your insignificant other is becoming more significant than your spouse?

Richard Rossi works in HR at a Boston-based software company and prides himself on his understanding of the foibles and fictions we all use to get through the day. Too bad he's not as good at spotting such behavior in himself.

What else could explain his passionate affair with Benjamin, a very unavailable married man? Richard suggests birthday presents for Benjamin's wife and vacation plans for his kids, meets him for "lunch" at a sublet apartment, and would never think about calling him after business hours.

Since Richard is not entirely available himself--there's Conrad, his adorable if maddening partner to contend with--it all seems perfect. But when cosmopolitan Conrad starts spending a suspicious amount of time in Ohio, and economic uncertainty challenges Richard's chances for promotion, he realizes his priorities might be a little skewed.

With a cast of sharply drawn friends, frenemies, colleagues, and personal trainers, Insignificant Others is classic McCauley--a hilarious and ultimately haunting social satire about life in the United States at the bitter end of the boom years, when clinging to significant people and pursuits has never been more important--if only one could figure out what they are.

Review Quotes

"Insignificant Others is vintage McCauley, offering up the usual mixture of hilarity, pathos, irony, and regret. It's The Office meets Jane Austen, with a twist." --Mameve Medwed

"A novel with pithy observations, lightness of touch, and generosity of spirit." --Kirkus Reviews

"Charming...McCauley displays terrific comic insight about our penchant for denial while still revealing a great deal of compassion for human foibles." --Connie Ogle, The Miami Herald

"The master of the modern comedy of manners." --USA Today

"A sparkling writer . . . he tosses off witticisms with the alacrity of a Noel Coward and Oscar Wilde." --Heller McAlpin, NPR.org

About the Author

Stephen McCauley is the author of Alternatives to Sex, True Enough, The Man of the House, The Easy Way Out, My Ex-Life, and The Object of My Affection, which was adapted into a film starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Visit his website at StephenMcCauley.com.