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The Object of My Affection
The Object of My Affection
Author: Stephen McCauley
George and Nina seem like the perfect couple. They share a cozy, cluttered Brooklyn apartment, a taste for impromptu tuna casserole dinners, and a devotion to ballroom dancing lessons at Arthur Murray. They love each other. There's only one hitch: George is gay. And when Nina announces she's pregnant, things get especially complicated. Howard --...  more »
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ISBN-13: 9780671743505
ISBN-10: 0671743503
Publication Date: 3/15/1991
Pages: 320
Rating:
  • Currently 3.5/5 Stars.
 29

3.5 stars, based on 29 ratings
Publisher: Washington Square Press
Book Type: Paperback
Other Versions: Hardcover
Reviews: Member | Amazon | Write a Review

Top Member Book Reviews

reviewed The Object of My Affection on + 313 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
It's no mistake that Stephen McCauley's The Object of My Affection ends at a carnival, for the book is, shockingly enough, not about ballroom dancing or Jennifer Aniston's hair, but rather a funny, bittersweet rumination on the thrill rides we endure and the trick mirrors through which we peer, all in the name of relationships.
George is a gay kindergarten teacher, holding a torch of the inextinguishable variety for his not-worth-it ex-boyfriend. Nina is a pregnant "almost-psychologist" feminist with a nail-polish obsession and an overbearing boyfriend. The focus of the novel is certainly on the relationship between these two, but McCauley also brings an entire fictional ensemble to life, richly nuanced with quirky humor. After a night utterly devoid of sleep, romance, or even physical comfort on a stranger's futon, George decides to cut his losses and leave in the middle of the night, silently wondering about his generation's aversion to mattresses: "I've never trusted people who feel compelled to replace them with uncomfortable, expensive substitutes." As he leaves, his blind date caps off the evening with some unsolicited dietary advice, advising him that he should really cut down on dairy. "Thanks," George deadpans. "I've been meaning to eliminate it from my diet. This should give me the extra push."

The Object of My Affection gets you to care about this screwed-up lot of characters as they attempt to force the square peg of life-as-it-is-wished into the round hole of life-as-it-is. It offers no pat resolutions but rather an overall sense of hope, made all the more believable by the fact that the author has not frantically tried to tie up every single loose end. Instead, George, Nina, and those who touch them manage to push off from their unreasonably idealistic visions of the future and anchor, albeit tenuously, to the blessings of the present, resolved to remain standing amidst the forces that move them, as McCauley writes, "as inevitable as death and much stronger than love."
reviewed The Object of My Affection on + 13 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Very witty writing; interesting characters; good sense of NYC/Brooklyn
ilovedale3 avatar reviewed The Object of My Affection on + 524 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Beautifully written novel. The love and affection between George and Nina is palpable, even though George is gay. The incredibly tender way that his need for love and his subsequent heartbreaks are written make this story a must-read.
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reviewed The Object of My Affection on
This is one of my favorites.


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