The Electric Affinities

The Electric Affinities A Novel by Wade Stevenson The Electric Affinities examines the interior lives and motives of six affluent, artistic friends as they struggle to find love and meaning in the summer of 1969, “the year that changed everything.” Set in the Hamptons and New York City, the novel brilliantly captures the decadent, freedom-loving lifestyles of characters trapped in a “prison of opulence.” Andre, a film director with a volatile temper and Robert, a romantic, yet self-absorbed, Vietnam War veteran, are obsessed with the enigmatic Maya, a former Vogue model; free-spirited Carolina, seeks solace in a quest for spiritual transcendence while her own relationship crumbles; French-born Louise sacrifices her own dreams in a self-appointed role as Maya’s protector; and Ben, the older, wildly successful architect, avoids confronting his own loneliness as he fills his Sag Harbor home with lovely, yet broken souls. The paths these characters take mirror the disillusionment inherent in the late ‘60’s, as they turn inward in a quest for self-understanding that presages the attitudes of the “Me Generation” of the 1970s. The Electric Affinities encompasses the excitement of youth, sexual freedom, mistakes, and ultimate losses that lead to the sober awakening from a dreamlike existence to a clear-eyed understanding of the realities of life.