Thursday, June 7, 2012

review: objects of my affection by jill smolinski

This post contains affiliate links.


Somehow Lucy's life ended up a bit of a metaphorical mess, but she hopes to turn it all around when she's hired to clean up Marva's literal mess.  As someone who makes an exception to her "no reality TV" rule for Hoarders (Intervention is the only other exception), Objects of My Affection had an immediate appeal.  Jill Smolinski expertly contrasts the lives of Lucy and Marva by depicting how out of touch with reality both are in completely different ways.  Marva's faults are readily apparent given the state of her house and increasing reclusiveness while Lucy's are harder to see, especially since she serves as the narrator.  When Lucy states that her boyfriend dumped her by saying she had to make a choice between him and her son, the reader takes her at her word only to find out the boyfriend sees things differently.  Lucy also has a hard time grasping just how serious a drug problem her teenage son really has.  The subject matter is heavy, but Smolinski writes with a humorous approach that keeps the novel from being depressing even when it takes a bit of a morbid turn with one of Lucy's discoveries in Marva's cluttered home.
5/5
Review copy provided by the publisher, Touchstone.

2 comments:

  1. I liked her earlier novel, so I've been waiting for this one to come out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This was the first time I'd read Jill Smolinski, but I'm definitely going to check out The Next Thing on My List because this one was great.

      Delete