''Equal Affections'' is a 1989

novel A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, typically written in prose and published as a book. The present English word for a long work of prose fiction derives from the for "new", "news", or "short story of something new", itsel ...

by David Leavitt.

Plot summary

Louise, an aging woman, is coming down with cancer. Her husband Nat is having an affair with another woman. Meanwhile, Walter, partner of Louise and Nat's son Danny, has

cyber sex "Cyber Sex" is a song by American rapper and singer Doja Cat. It was released alongside a music video through Kemosabe and RCA Records on November 7, 2019, as the fourth single from her second studio album ''Hot Pink'', which was released on th ...

and

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with other men. April, Danny's sister, visits her brother in suburban New Jersey. With their mother's death looming, they all fly to California where their parents live. To avoid a funeral, Nat throws a lukewarm farewell party. April ends up fighting with her father over his cheating on her mother. Two months later, Nat is publicly seeing his mistress. Danny and Walter invite April and Nat to stay with them at a rented cottage on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

. The final part is a

prolepsis Prolepsis may refer to: * Prolepsis (rhetoric), a figure of speech in which the speaker raises an objection and then immediately answers it *Prolepsis (literary), anticipating action, a flash forward, see Foreshadowing * Cataphora, using an expr ...

to Louise's conversion at Catholicism although she is a Jew.

Characters

*Louise Gold *Nat Cooper, Louise's husband. *Xavier, one of Louise's first lovers; a fortyish sailor. *Tommy Burns, one of Louise's first lovers; a WASPish young man. *April, Louise and Nat's lesbian feminist daughter. *Joey Conway, one of April's ex-boyfriends. *Karl Mathias, one of April's ex-boyfriends. *Tina Tompkins, April's manager. *Mary McLaughlin, a lesbian singer who works with April at one point. *Danny, Louise and Nat's gay son. *Walter, Danny's partner. *Eleanor, Louise's sister. *Cousin Joanne *Jaime Delgado, a burnt patient. His mother is called Dorell, his father Jesus.

References

* 1989 American novels 1980s LGBT novels Novels by David Leavitt American LGBT novels {{1980s-LGBT-novel-stub