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What I'm Reading

 My husband is fully smitten with his sister's grown children; when these two visit, he is radiant. He does interpretive dance, makes jokes about Taylor Swift, and volunteers to watch rom-coms. He tries to lay out professional plans for these kids; he worries, in an endearing way. He proposes a slumber party--and if his invite is declined, he is undeterred.


For these reasons, I had a great time with "You Only Call When You're in Trouble," a new novel about a gay man and his grown niece.

The man--Tom--cares maybe too much about his "uncle" duties. He designs a guest house on his property--and he uses a blueprint that his niece (Cecily) created when she was ten years old. Tom's boyfriend, Alan, actually walks away because he is tired of playing second fiddle. And Tom daydreams about taking charge of Cecily's problems--just swapping bodies, so that he can manage certain professional storms in the place of a confused thirtysomething.

Cecily is as compelling as Tom. She has her own issues with martyrdom. When an undergrad at Cecily's place of work becomes "clingy," Cecily does *not* report the issue. She doesn't want to create stress for the undergrad. But the inappropriate relationship takes on more and more dimensions, and soon enough, Cecily is fending off a kiss. Cecily isn't malicious, but she hasn't handled this situation well, and when she is summoned to appear before an "internal complaints" board, she sort of suspects that she deserves to be right where she is. At the same time, Cecily's prospective mother-in-law, Neeta, is a bully; Neeta says, "I can't have a professional scandal in my family. Leave now, or I will make my son choose between his family and his fiancee." Cecily responds with passivity; it's easy to judge her choices, but her consistent "flailing" does seem relatable to me.

Two imperfect people--Tom and Cecily--try to help each other. That's the core of this sweet and engaging book.

I tend to like Stephen McCauley--and the new novel is another keeper.
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