Man of the House

I check the Stephen McCauley page frequently in hopes that I'll find a new book. I think he is a master of this kind of book, the modern novel of manners. I can imagine Jane Austen being very amused. I've read all of his books more than once, but they don't get tired. I sincerely hope that whatever is in the way of his writing is exorcised. I am sure that many others also miss his voice.

An incredibly insightful and devoted writer, Stephen McCauley does it again with The Man of the House. A must for any man whose had it tough with his father, or for any person who feels they are the only sane member of the human race (and then doubts it!). McCauley plants unforgettable characters in our hearts. Utterly ridiculous and poignantly true.. a chance to laugh at life's injustices. Tickles the nose like a cheap champagne and leaves you dying for more.

Reading The Man of the House is like having a fabulously juicy gossip about family and friends. McCauley is absolutely spot on with his depiction of the young-at-heart, aging around the middle generation. I feel like I know he's everyone writing about, and his deft descriptiveness pulls you right into their world of minor mishaps and überangst. The author clearly loves his characters, and while he doesn't hesitate to take aim at their foibles, he writes about them with a tender humor. Along with a few shivers of anxiety, I laughed out loud while reading the book. It's a treasure for anyone who's ever wondered whether Mr./Ms. Right really exists, why God created families, or indeed, at what age you finally have to become a grown-up. Highly recommended.

I was a bookseller for 15 years and have been a fan of his writing since his first book. We have a term in bookselling, called "handselling a book", which basically means you put a book in a customer's hand and insist that they buy it. That was never hard to do with Stephen McCauley's books. I look forward to more from this talented, funny and sensitve writer.

I think S. McCauley does something in this novel that I have not seen in other contemporary novels recently: he writes in a unique style that makes the reader laugh while at the same time touching the heartstrings. Normally, this is not so unusual but his style is different. In MAN OF THE HOUSE he's both arch and simple. The scene in the restaurant where the two friends meet and try to discuss their problems while not listening to each other is full of comic details, as is the fantastic scene in the revival movie house where the audience talks through CAROUSEL, comments loudly on the performances and cries at the ending. It's the unexpected but true details that hit me: the audience crying at the ending of CAROUSEL, and the waitress at the empty restaurant pretending to know about Carl the unwitting heartthrob. These scenes, combined with the family dilemmas which result in the permanently lost dog, are totally involving