The Object of My Affection [Paperback]

Stephen McCauley (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 1991

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 -- Nina's overbearing boyfriend and the baby's father -- wants marriage. Nina wants independence. George will do anything for a little unqualified affection, but is he ready to become an unwed surrogate dad? A touching and hilarious novel about love, friendship, and the many ways of making a family.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

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." --Bob Michaels

From Publishers Weekly

This is the gently comic story of two insecure young people who share a Brooklyn apartment: a gay man and a pregnant woman who are both on the brink of financial and emotional disaster. PW found the first novel "leisurely and meandering," its characters "vibrant" and "charming."
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (March 15, 1991)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671743503
• ISBN-13: 978-0671743505
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,238,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forget Will & Grace. Get to know George and Nina!, December 18, 2004

By 

In Xanadu - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Object of My Affection (Paperback)

A two-word review for this novel would be, "wonderfully bittersweet." If Jerry Seinfeld's TV alter-ego considers helping a friend move "going all the way" in a friendship, he hasn't read this novel. This is the final friendship frontier.

This book poses the question, "Can we be there for each other always and still have other significant others?" far better than that ubiquitous sitcom has in the past six seasons, and the humor is more subtle. Stephen McCauley skillfull enraptures the reader with situations in which we don't know what we would do in the characters' shoes. He more than adequately captures that feeling of being with someone and wondering, "What the heck am I doing here?"

Remember this book was written in the 1980s when a gay main character in a mainstream novel was revolutionary. We like George. We wish that like George, we have a friend like Nina. We're pulling for them all the way to the end of the book, though we're not sure what we want for them any more than they are. When I finished the book, I felt like I was saying goodbye to some old friends whom I like even though they annoy me lots of times.

Notes to those who've seen the movie: This book is told from George's perspective, not Nina's. Nina exudes more self-confidence in the book than in the movie. George, slightly less. I think the book works best from George's P.O.V., but I had no problem with the change in the film. When I was reading the book, I was picturing Rebecca DeMornay more than Jennifer Aniston, who was still good--and whose comic timing made up for the fact that George was less humorous than in the book.

Also, the cousin wonderfully played by Allison Janney in the film is not a character in the book. But George is more humorous than in the movie, so that makes up for it. The character George hooks up with is totally different as well.

In general, the humor in the book is more subtle, and that's all I'm going to say for fear of talling too much. I actually thought the changes made for the film didn't harm it, but I still recommend the book first.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BEST NOVEL ON THE PLANET, January 6, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Object of My Affection (Paperback)

I've only read this book 5 or 6 times so I'm not sure I'm really qualified to review it BUT it's hilarious. If you like intelligent humor you will love all of Stephen McCauley's novels. He's a genius. His word choice is so precisely perfect, his similes are so appropriately amusing, his characters are so refreshingly REAL -- as in weak and defective -- you just adore them. This is a great book to read alone --you'll be howling with laughter and your eyes will water but it's so much fun you'll just be dying to share it . I recommend that you read it aloud to a friend or lover. Male or female, gay or straight, everyone will get a kick out of this insightful so delightful book which is almost NOTHING like the MOVIE. The movie didn't capture the spirit of the story or get much of the plot or characters right either. Skip the movie, read the book. But I dare you to read it just once. IMPOSSIBLE! F.Y.I McCauley fans should check out his new and improved website for more McCauley news including event information, "recent rants" and an interactive message center called the spin cycle forum. www.stephenmccauley.com.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT dialogue!, July 3, 2006

By 

Teresa Jansen "tsj57" (Lompoc, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Object of My Affection (Paperback)

I loved this book because of the story and characters but the clincher was the dialogue. So many authors simply cannot master believable dialogue but McCauley does; in fact he does it so well, I even wondered if he sat around listening to people and taking notes!