Alternatives to Sex - Softcover

* 'Hilarious, poignant and true. Wickedly insightful about the new millennium's two greatest obsessions: Sex and Real Estate' Darren Star, creator of Sex and the City * 'McCauley's engaging fifth novel recalls the odd, impulsive behaviours that overtook Americans in the year following September 11, 2001... McCauley gets it exactly right' James Klise, Booklist * 'McCauley delivers the promise of emotional progress for his flawed, charming protagonist in this clever take on the desire for love, sex and real estate' Publishers Weekly

William Collins, a Boston realtor, has known for some time that his habits are slipping out of control, but 'I figured that as long as I acknowledged my behaviour was a problem, it wasn't one'. He finally decides to do something about his compulsive cleaning binges, his lacklustre sales figures, and his penchant for nightly anonymous online sex, but he needs a role model for calm stability. Enter Charlotte O'Malley and Samuel Thompson, wealthy suburbanites looking for the perfect apartment in the city. 'Happy couple' William writes in his notes. 'Maybe I can learn something from them'. But what William learns challenges his own assumptions about love, real estate and desire. And what they learn from him just might unravel a budding friendship, not to mention a very promising sale. Stephen McCauley's new novel is a cunningly spun chronicle of life in post-traumatic, morally ambiguous America, where the heartfelt desire to do good, is constantly tripped up by the need to feel good.