Alternatives to Sex: A Novel

William Collins is a real estate agent in Boston in a boom market but isn't going to many closings because of his addictions to ironing, cleaning, and making "dates" using the Inernet with men who have fake names. His best friend Edward is a flight attendant who is scared to fly since 9/11. His renter won't pay the rent and makes it seem like William's fault. One day while he is in his office, Charlotte and Samuel Thompson walk in looking for help with finding an apartment to purchase in Boston. To William, they appear to be the "perfect" couple, but he soon learns otherwise and along the way also learns some things about love and commitment and how to jump in and live his life versus standing on the sidelines and watching it go by. show more Very witty, well-written book which I thoroughly enjoyed. show less

From the very first sentence, Alternatives to Sex is amusing as well as entertaining. William Collins is an obsessive-compulsive, forty-something, gay, real-estate agent working near Boston. Since 9/11, he has found his various bad habits getting worse and decides it's about time he gets around to changing some of them.

William is accompanied by an entire cast of fascinating characters, from his best friend and flight attendant Edward (who is terrified of flying) to Kumiko, who has managed to avoid paying most of the rent she owes to William. Against a backdrop of real-estate and neuroses, McCauley paints a satirical picture of American life and one man's search for love and happiness.

Funny and touching, Alternatives to Sex was show more thoroughly enjoyable to read.

Experiments in Reading show less

Post 9/11 slice of life novel. William, a middle aged gay man can't seem to find a purpose in his life. Selling houses and apartments in Boston doesn't fill his soul, nor does trolling the internet in search of one night stands. This is a first person account of his day to day life, his friends, his clients. His clients are the best parts of the novel. How William tries to «analyze» his clients, the university professor/writer, the middle aged couple in crisis. The rest is pretty much like watching paint dry.

"Alternatives to Sex" is a likable middlebrow gay novel, set in Boston shortly after 9/11. The central character, William Collins, is a middle-aged realtor, single, who at the outset of the book makes a half-hearted commitment to celibacy. The plot follows Collins' professional life as much as his personal one. Really, this is as much an example of the "real estate" genre, as Collins is shown making several lucrative deals involving a variety of colorful characters. If you've ever been curious about the real estate scene in Boston, this may be the novel for you!

McCauley deals deftly - though lightly - with a number of important themes: individual and collective trauma, aging, casual sex, fidelity, friendship, the importance of getting a show more good inspection before signing a real estate deal. Nothing is too profound here, as the novel moves inexorably toward an all-too predictable "happy ending", but there's a lot of good humor along the way, some very funny bits and more than a few laugh-out-loud lines. show less

A post 9/11 novel about sex and real estate. The usual mix of McCauley humour pathos and human frustrations.

William, an estate agent and single gay man is struggling to stop having anonymous sex. He meets a couple who make him reflect on his own situations and the realtionships in his life.

A funny and interesting book where nothing much happens yet you travel with William on his thoughts and frailities.

I enjoyed it as with other of his books, you can bank on a main character that it relatable and realisitic and some wonderful secondary characters.

Most people are familiar with McCauley’s first work that was turned into the movie “Object of My Affection” Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd.
Writing in the first person, McCauley is a witty writer and the reason he’s one of my favorites is his propensity for self examination. He’s very honest about his flaws and foibles. In this case, he’s decided to give up one night stands and concentrate on house cleaning, including his neighbor’s ironing. He decides to see if he can learn anything about relationships by observing his new real estate clients, Samuel and Charlotte. - Tom Joselyn

Works best as a gay romance. Tries a little too hard with profundity on escapism as protection, but otherwise fun and entertaining.