The Object of My Affection

Enjoyable, upbeat sort of gay romantic comedy, in a similar register to Armistead Maupin's stories, but set mostly in Brooklyn. Very 1980s, but in a generally good way.
In some ways it's a very timid sort of book, though: the text is oddly coy about sex - almost as though it was written with the movie version in mind - and AIDS is never mentioned out loud. As we get towards the end of the book, the inevitable plot elements drop rather mechanically into place, and the surprise in the final chapter is that there's no surprise in the final chapter.
On the plus side, it's unusual to find a first novel that is so careful to avoid self-indulgence and pays so much attention to structure and staging. Most of the clichés of the gay coming-out show more novel are side-stepped, and even the inevitable scene where the Hero Returns to His Parental Home is cunningly postponed until almost the end of the book, then used in a quite unexpected way. So, well worth a look, even if it is a period piece. show less

I started reading "The Object of My Affection" back in August (2011) and didn't finish it until earlier this month (November 2011) -- which should be pretty telling about my thoughts of the book. From the blurb on the back cover, the story ostensibly is about roommates Nina and George, who've been sharing a small, cluttered apartment in Brooklyn for the better part of a year. When Nina learns that she's pregnant, she immediately distances herself from the baby's father and asks George to raise the child with her. George is flabbergasted: what does he -- a single gay man -- know about raising a child?!

I figured the greater part of the story would revolve around the stress put on their relationship as friends and roommates, but instead, show more more emphasis seemed to be placed on George's self-defeating attempts to establish a romantic connection with two different men. That makes for an interesting novel in and of itself, but I felt that Nina and her pregnancy took a back seat when they should have been in the passenger's seat right alongside George.

And to me, George and Nina didn't appear to have much chemistry. George was too wrapped up in a job he didn't like and trying to decide whether or not he should continue his romantic fling with a former professor. Nina kept herself closed off from everyone in the book, finding ways not to have to interact with the baby's father or, if he managed to worm his way into the apartment, she would placate and almost patronize him for no particularly good reason.

Maybe it's not that they didn't have much chemistry, but more that I didn't like either of them. Maybe dislike of the main characters permeated the entire book for me which would explain why it took so long to finish.

Well, at least I can say that I've read it. show less

One of his earliest and one of his best. Good novel about people - I really liked these characters.