Insignificant Others

Insignificant Others

In Stephen McCauley’s rabidly funny novel Insignificant Others, a former psychologist named Richard Ross is initially excited when he scores a new gig as a hoity-toity executive in corporate America. Unfortunately, he starts questioning his timing as the economy teeters on the brink of collapse. He throws himself further into his career and every other aspect of his life seems to go to pot.

With his longtime partner, Conrad, spending a suspicious amount of time out of town, Richard finds himself overcompensating with brutal (though exhilarating) workout routines and an equally masochistic (though exhilarating) obsession with a married man. Between the job, workout routines and unhealthy romantic fixations, Conrad’s life begins to spin out of control as he finds himself completely unable to relax.

The drama reaches a fevered pitch when a seemingly inconsequential event causes his personal and professional lives to collide, forcing Ross to address the perverse priorities and glaring contradictions that have inexplicably come to define his existence. Fast-paced, funny and breathlessly engrossing, this is a comic opus that’s as shrewdly satirical as it is illuminating.

Hardcover: 256 pages

Publisher: Simon And Schuster, Inc. ( June 08, 2010 )

Item #: 46-8006

ISBN: 9780743224758

Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 8.25 x 0.58 inches

Product Weight: 12.0 ounces