NEW RELEASE
Objects of My Affections - Jill Smolinski (2012)
Personal organiser Lucy Bloom is in a pitiful situation. She has been recently dumped, her first book on organising sold hardly any copies and she had to sell her house to pay the enormous fees at a drug rehab centre for her son. After giving up everything she owns - including her most personal belongings - Lucy finds herself sharing a bedroom with a five-year-old and hoping that she can find a job that will bring in some quick money. Luckily, she meets with a man named Will who needs someone to organise the home of his mother - a world-renowned artist and hoarder. As if it isn't hard enough to clean out the home of a hoarder, it also has to be done within a certain amount of time. While Lucy is thrilled to have the job (it comes with a very big bonus if finished on time), she's also a bit sceptical that she can finish it since Marva is so intent on holding on to everything. Literally, everything - even things that seem to be trash. But, Lucy has it in her mind that she will finish on deadline and she will get her son better and make a new home for him to return to. However, life throws her curve balls in every direction when her son leaves rehab abruptly, she stumbles upon a secret diary of Marva's that reveals some not-so-good secrets and her ex makes a return and tries to help her with her problems. Considering everything she's facing, it's safe to say that Lucy is a brave and formidable character, who gave up everything, even her own chance at happiness, for the one she loved most. Whether or not she succeeds in cleaning out Marva's home, it seems that just being around the older woman has influenced Lucy and makes her stand on her own two feet. This is a great novel that is easy to associate with - after all who doesn't have a love of "things"? Often we have too many and have trouble letting go, just like Marva. And Lucy, who is selfless and loving, even though she shouldn't be, is a great character who represents the true bond between a mother and her child. Jill Smolinski hit the nail on the head and wrote a novel that is so true to fact that it could be a real life story. Don't miss it! (AS)
In Objects of My Affection, by Jill Smolinski, a personal organiser must convince a reclusive artist to give up her hoarding ways. The summary says: "Lucy Bloom is broke, been dumped by her boyfriend, and had to sell her house to send her 19-year-old son to drug rehab. Although she's lost it all, she's determined to start over. So when she's offered a high-paying gig helping clear the clutter from the home of reclusive and eccentric painter Marva Meier Rios, Lucy grabs it. Armed with the organizing expertise she gained while writing her book, Things Are Not People, and fuelled by a burning desire to get her life back on track, Lucy rolls up her sleeves to take on the mess that fills every room of Marva's huge home. Lucy soon learns that the real challenge may be taking on Marva, who seems to love the objects in her home too much to let go of any of them. While trying to stay on course toward a strict deadline - and with an ex-boyfriend back in the picture, a new romance on the scene, and her son's rehab not going as planned - Lucy discovers that Marva isn't just hoarding: she is also hiding a big secret. The two form an unlikely bond, as each learns from the other that there are those things in life we keep, those we need to let go - but it's not always easy to know the difference." Objects of My Affection is out in May.