Stephen McCauley

Stephen McCauley’s knack for creating quirky characters and dysfunctional families continues with his latest novel, You Only Call When You’re in Trouble. Cecily’s world is slowly crumbling — she is being investigated at work for harassment, things with her long-time boyfriend are not well, and her unstable mother wants her to come visit. The only steady person in her life, her uncle Tom, is having troubles of his own, but he always manages to fix things for Cecily. McCauley uses different characters to narrate how Cecily, Tom, and their large, unconventional family blunder their way through each disaster. McCauley fans and readers of Emma Straub, Curtis Sittenfeld, and other smart, chick-lit style novels will enjoy this family story.… (altro)

You Only Call When You're in Trouble is author Stephen McCauley's seventh book. It follows the lives of the Kemp family and their friends and acquaintances. Tom Kemp is a sixtysomething architect about to be replaced by a younger employee. He specializes in tiny houses. Sister Dorothy has never had stable employment but managed to raise daughter Cecily. Cecily is a 34 college professor who is being investigated for improper behavior with a student. Tom has always supported Cecily and Dorothy to the detriment of his romantic relationships. After decades of lying about the identity of Cecily's father, Dorothy decides to invite both of them to the opening of her new business where she has promised herself that she will tell Cecily the truth.

I thought the first half of the book was entertaining but got bogged down in all the details of this weekend business opening. There were several other characters who didn't provide much insight into the story. When these other characters failed to offer a reason for the action, or lack of action, I became a little bored. While in the beginning I thought this book was going to be a 5 star read, it fizzled into a 3 star story. The novel was the first of McCauley's that I have read and I am sad that it will probably be my last. It had such promise.… (altro)