HomeGroupsTalkMoreZeitgeist
Search Site
This site uses cookies to deliver our services, improve performance, for analytics, and (if not signed in) for advertising. By using LibraryThing you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Your use of the site and services is subject to these policies and terms.

Results from Google Books

Click on a thumbnail to go to Google Books.

Insignificant Others by Stephen McCauley
Loading...

Insignificant Others (edition 2010)

by Stephen McCauley

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
1385196,692 (3.54)1
Rossi works in HR at a touchy-feely 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.
Member:yooperprof
Title:Insignificant Others
Authors:Stephen McCauley
Info:Simon & Schuster (2010), Hardcover, 243 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:
Tags:American lit, gay/lesbian

Work Information

Insignificant Others: A Novel by Stephen McCauley

None
Loading...

Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book.

No current Talk conversations about this book.

» See also 1 mention

Showing 5 of 5
Richard Rossi, an HR professional at a software company in Boston, seems to be doing well in life. His job is stable - and he's being considered for a promotion - and things are going well with him and his partner, Conrad. But when Richard discovers a text message on Conrad's phone just prior to another of Conrad's business trips to Ohio, he finds himself wondering if things are quite as 'together' as they appear. But does Conrad have what Richard refers to as an 'Insignificant Other'? And, as Richard examines the choices he's made and the truth of his own life, what does it mean to him if his suspicions are true.

McCauley's first-person narrative is definitely an interesting read. There's a definite reality to Richard that I found easy to relate to (even his distaste for President George W. Bush, which comes up more than once) and an interesting development in Richard's character over the course of the book that seems natural and not forced at all. The writing is broken down into small sections (I wouldn't say chapters because some are as short as a page or less and others are a few pages long) which make it easier to follow the shifts in Richard's thoughts and feelings. This format did throw me just a bit at first as I was unclear on timelines, but after I was few pages in, I had little trouble following along.

It's definitely an interesting commentary on doing what's expected versus what we want and finding a way, no matter where you are in life, to be true to yourself. A recommended read. ( )
  crtsjffrsn | Aug 27, 2021 |
For me none of the characters in this book were very likeable. This might be why it took me such a long time to read. The main character is an aging exercise obsessed gay man who has had a lover for a number of years. That being said he also has an "insignificant other" who's a married man with children. Part way through the book we learn that his long term lover is thinking of leaving him for someone out of town. There's also some crises at work for the main character. Things do get better towards the end of the book. But on a whole the main character is not very likeable and seems to lament the way his life is going although he's the one who has engineered all of the problems that he's facing. ( )
  ChrisWeir | Oct 30, 2016 |
I liked this contemporary mm romance. More literary than most. ( )
  klandring | Dec 2, 2013 |
This is definitely an entertaining reading, without a lot of depth though. Actually, I was more interested in the part that takes place at the narrator's workplace (he is a HR manager in a new technologies company) than the relationships with both his partner and married lover, which I find pretty conventionnal and with secondary characters that lack substance. Easy and fun to read. ( )
  fredhosteins | Oct 14, 2010 |
The narrator, Richard, is a 50 something gay man in a long term relationship with Conrad, who is several years younger. He is also having an affair with a married man, Ben, who is struggling with his homosexuality. Richard's well ordered life starts to unravel when he learns that Conrad may leave him and move from Boston to Columbus, Ohio to live with a much older and richer man. The story is all about Richard, it is told solely from his point of view and there is little development of the other characters, except maybe for Ben. At the end readers know nothing about Conrad, which seems to be a major flaw. The way the book ends leaves things open for a follow up novel, which may close some of the gaps in this one. ( )
  BrianEWilliams | Aug 22, 2010 |
Showing 5 of 5
no reviews | add a review
You must log in to edit Common Knowledge data.
For more help see the Common Knowledge help page.
Canonical title
Information from the French Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
Original title
Alternative titles
Original publication date
People/Characters
Important places
Important events
Related movies
Epigraph
Dedication
In memory of some very significant others—Ed, Jones, Molly, and little Woodles
First words
Quotations
Last words
Disambiguation notice
Publisher's editors
Blurbers
Original language
Canonical DDC/MDS
Canonical LCC

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Rossi works in HR at a touchy-feely 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.

No library descriptions found.

Book description
Haiku summary

Current Discussions

None

Popular covers

Quick Links

Rating

Average: (3.54)
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5 2
3 16
3.5 4
4 11
4.5
5 4

Is this you?

Become a LibraryThing Author.

 

About | Contact | Privacy/Terms | Help/FAQs | Blog | Store | APIs | TinyCat | Legacy Libraries | Early Reviewers | Common Knowledge | 203,208,525 books! | Top bar: Always visible