Objects of Desire

by Neil Blackmore

Hugo Hunter was the most celebrated gay novelist of the 20th century. He published two masterpieces, securing his place alongside the dazzling literary greats of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and rubbing shoulders with everyone from Truman Capote to James Baldwin, Gore Vidal and George Orwell.

But after decades of fame and excess, just as New York City enters the 1980s and awakes to the coming horror of AIDS, Hugo finds himself running out of money. Out of nowhere, he receives an extraordinary an offer from his longtime publisher. Two million dollars, for a memoir and a new novel.
The money will solve all his problems – except for one thing. Hugo Hunter is an imposter. He stole both of his novels. Now, how far will he go to produce a third?

At once dark, moving and deliciously vicious, OBJECTS OF DESIRE traverses the 20th century, featuring an astonishing cast of characters. It is both a colourful glimpse into the lives of the cultural elite, and a tense, gripping story of betrayal, deceit, and literary fraud.

Genres: LGBT, Fiction, Historical, Queer, Historical Fiction, Gay

349 pages, Hardcover

First published May 15, 2025

Reviews

[Andreas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a good book - gossipy and fun, while also painting the literary world and some of my favourite writers in an extremely vibrant way. I could see the ending coming miles away, but it was one of those books where it didn’t matter and still kept me on edge.

[endrju]

It's faggy, it's queeny, it's bitchy, it's angrily queer, and it's chock full of literary references. It's everything I ever wanted from a queer novel and then some. The takedowns of queerphobia and the straight literary and non-literary world are both hilarious and cutting. I can't remember the last time I felt so much sheer joy while reading. Fingers crossed that Neil Blackmore actually writes those three Hugo Hunter novels. I'd be all over them.

[Aoife Cassidy McM · Rating 3 out of 5]

A literary novel that the word "romp" was made for, Objects of Desire is centred on fictional writer Hugo Hunter, Hugo is a flamboyant gay man from humble beginnings in Wales, living as a struggling writer in London, who hits the big time when an unfortunate event one day leads to a lifetime of good fortune landing in his lap.

Years later, it's the 1980s and Hugo is living in New York during the AIDS crisis, when he is made a lucrative offer of two million dollars for another novel and a memoir - but can he produce the goods under pressure?

Replete with drama, sex, scandal, literary fraud and name-dropping, Objects of Desire is an entertaining romp that grew just a bit tiresome for me towards the final third of the book and ran out of steam. An enjoyable read, just a little overcooked at times. Be warned there is lots of graphic sex in it too, whether that's something you avoid or enjoy! Many thanks to the publisher Hutchinson Heinemann and author Neil Blackmore for the advance copy via Netgalley. 3.5/5⭐️

[franzi · Rating 3 out of 5]

As always, thank you to NetGalley and Random House UK for the eARC of this book.

When I was about a quarter of the way into this book, I knew how I felt about it was going to largely depend on the ending which doesn’t happen a lot these days. Usually I know pretty quickly how I feel about a story I’m reading — most times the ending only determines half a star or so.

I have very mixed feelings about this book. Having your main character and narrator be a self-diagnosed sociopath can be fun in its own way but I think there needs to be something to catch the reader, something that makes a character with next to no redeeming qualities worth spending your time on. I believe the two major ways to do it is to give the reader something to feel sympathy for or through suspense. Here, I personally think Blackmore succeeded with neither of these options. Hugo Hunter’s backstory is a tragic and horrific one without doubt, yet there’s nothing in particular that stands out, that gives you a hint as to why he specifically turned into a lying, murdering fraud and none of the other gay men of his time did. Again, I cannot stress enough how horrifying and unfair the treatment of Hunter and his peers was in the 30s, 40s and 50s, no one deserves to be beaten and shunned and criminalised for their mere existence. But I’d wager that most queer men of the early 20th century didn’t murder and fraud their way into a literary career — Hunter did. And what precisely makes that difference never really shone through for me.

So, there’s tension left and here I can clearly say: there is none. Not that there is no attempt at creating it, but having your narrator turn to the reader and almost cartoonishly say ‘I bet you’re wondering how that happened! Just wait a little more!’ doesn’t really cut it. Yes, of course people want to know how Hugo Hunter stole his two novels, but that’s what the book is about, the reader knows that that’s a question that’s inevitably going to be answered, so having your main character look metaphorically into the camera while monologuing like Caesar Flickerman during the Hunger Games to really hammer it home isn’t nearly as effective as it was probably intended to be. In general I’m not very fond of having a narrator repeatedly grab my hand and drag me through the novel, and this habit of the narrator gets worse as the story goes on. I can make this trek on my own, thank you.

Despite my ragging on this book, there are things that I liked about it. How visceral Hugo Hunter’s emotions felt, for one. His rage, his fear, his self-righteousness. For all his flaws, our main character is still human, terribly so. He’s insecure and lost and yearns for love even though he barely admits that last one to himself. His feeble attempts at true connection with various men over the decades are tragic but one of the few gripping things about the story.

The premise of this book is right up any #bookish reader’s alley: a renowned celebrated writer who frauded his way to where he is and rubs elbows with some of the most notorious authors of the 20th century. I’m not too well-versed in that particular area so I can’t judge how accurate the (albeit fictional) portrayals of Baldwin, Capote, Vidal and co truly are but the literary scene through the 20th century feels alive and Hunter seems deeply immersed and a vital part of it. (Blackmore’s portrayal of Christopher Isherwood and James Baldwin are particularly dear — here they are warm, kind men, offering true friendship.)

Now, I did say the ending would determine how I felt about this book and I’ll try to make my point without spoiling anything: The ending was a saving grace. Had this story ended any other way, I would’ve walked away not liking it at all. The conclusion is entirely logical and consequential and I’m glad the author did not back down here.
To tell you without telling you: Hugo Hunter finds an ending very befitting of him.

All in all, this is a fine book — it didn’t dazzle me but it also wasn’t entirely abhorrent to me. To be honest, I’m quite ambivalent about it. It’s certainly given me a lot to talk about, whether it be in the form of long tangents to family or my poor co-workers. That’s gotta be something, right?

If you like not particularly sympathetic main characters, biography-style narration and the writers sphere of the 20th century, give this book a try, you might end up really loving it. Or you’ll end up like me, with no clear opinion but something to talk about.

[Mia · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘I am not an object to be stolen,' I said to him in a winking way. He laughed, so blackly delicious, as if I had said the stupidest thing.
'All beautiful things are asking to be stolen, Hugo Hunter, you know that. That is the nature, the raison d'être' - slow as molasses - 'for their beauty, and fame is the greatest beauty. The famous exist to be stolen. That's all they are! Objects of desire! Objects of others' desire!'

I love Neil Blackmore with my whole entire heart, this is the 4th books of his I’ve read and the 4th 5 star. He occupies such a unique and necessary space where he writes queer historical fiction but it’s still fun - the gay people he writes are still fun, and here especially they are catty and bitchy and so fun. And yet it never feels unbelievable, the horrors of existing as a queer person in an oppressive society are always looming around the corner, rendered even more tragic by the sheer joy of his queer characters.
He is also phenomenal at crafting an unreliable narrator that we should hate but against all reason find ourselves rooting for. Hugo here is a horrid evil man, yet his desire to be loved is so earnestly presented that I found myself rooting for him, the same as John Church in Radical Love.
This was a love letter to the gay writers of the mid 1900s - both the vindictive and the transformative. I found Neil’s reverence for James Baldwin a delight to read and his presentation was so accurate it felt like I was experiencing new James content. To have my favourite living author pay such homage to my favourite author ever was really special for me, and made me really happy.
This was brutal and funny and heart-wrenching and salacious. I ate up every second of gossip and hearsay, winced and gasped and chuckled and cried in equal measure.
It’s become a running joke that I always feel like cyber bullying Neil into writing his next book, and I will be anxiously awaiting news of it like a lovelorn teenager waiting by the phone. Neil baby, you’ve done it again!

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another darkly wry novel from Neil Blackmore!

The novel follows the fictional Hugo Hunter, who is surrounded by real (famous) people. Through Hugo’s eyes we meet James Baldwin, Truman Capote, even George Orwell, and it creates this vision of the 20th Century literary scene that is filled with egos and eccentrics. How close to their real life counterparts these characters are, we can only guess, but Hugo fits perfectly among them. He fits every archetype of the literary genius, with that one crucial exception.

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Hugo is gloriously unlikeable, and while it did start to grate in the middle section of the book, as we got to the end we could revel in his unpredictability and amorality. Obviously I won’t spoil the ending, but it was one of those perfect endings where I couldn’t have predicted it but I also wasn’t surprised after the fact – it all made complete sense.

On a personal note I really liked the inclusion of some Welsh language and dialect. Every time there was a particularly good Welsh-ism I would read it out loud to my (Welsh) fiancée, they were all so spot on! It also linked into a very good and subtle depiction of British class differences, and how important accent and dialect are in conveying class in Britain.

If you like your protagonists unlikeable this is definitely the book for you! It’s another enjoyable read from Neil Blackmore, that has all the layers and depth we can expect from him.

I received a free copy for an honest review.

[Eyejaybee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this was wonderful. I have always enjoyed books about writing books – metafiction, I suppose I should call it, and this is a superb example.

Set in the mid-1980s, just as AIDS had first been identified and was starting to take its dreadful toll, it is recounted by celebrated novelist Hugo Hunter. He had not been the most prolific of writers – in 1984 his oeuvre extends just to two books, with the first published in 1950, and the second in 1968. Both had, however, been met with tumultuous receptions, and sixteen years on, his sales are still significant, although no longer likely to sustain the high-end lifestyle he has pursued for the last thirty years.

Despite the immense success, and the reputation as a leading literary figure that they had secured for him, Hunter has a secret. He hadn’t actually written either of the novels himself. No one else is aware of this, and Hunter knows that if the secret ever emerged, his life and reputation would be shredded immediately. Consequently, when he secures the offer of a huge new contract from a keen publisher, he does not know how to proceed.

The book moves around in time, with Hunter’s pursuit of his privileged way through the salons of literary New York interspersed with recollections of incidents from his past. Both his current life, and his past, are strewn with literary celebrities, and the book provides hilarious insights into the personalities of writers such as Gore Vidal (extremely unpleasant, but very amusing) and Christopher Isherwood (collected and seemingly at ease with himself). James Baldwin, known as a tireless campaigner against racism and other forms of oppression, is a particularly close friend. The picture that emerges of Arthur Koestler is far less flattering. Even my own particular idol, Anthony Powell, makes the odd appearance throughout the book.

I found the overall impact highly entertaining, especially as I had read a lot of novels by the subsidiary characters. A deft performance all round.

[Colin Hardy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fictitious novel about a gay author and and how he came to be famous. The structure of the book is a dual timeline, historical and current, with the former leading towards the latter. It is a story of how success is quite hollow and that despite good intentions it suits those who, like the lead character, are sociopathic and can justify any action in the name of the greater good.

Given the nature of the central character and many of those around him, there is little to be empathic about. That the character was gay is used as a device to highlight how marginalised people can act to rise above bigotry, but not every successful gay needs to be a bigot nor need to be successful to move beyond bigotry. As such the sexual orientation of the character is merely a device and one that was more widely used decades ago. As a sociopath he comes across to others, as well as himself, as being pleasant and well-meaning, but there is something clearly damaged inside. That he moves from success to success over the wreckage he leaves behind, there is always a hope that his past will come back to bite him. That the book is written in the form of a memoir also gives the reader hope that revelations will reach the light of day.

The book concludes as one stage in his life ends and he is free to move forwards again on the back of further success. It is difficult to judge if there was an implicit meaning here or that the author wished to leave things open.

This is a good read, it is clever and sharp and provides an intimate view of that group of authors, but this reader became more and more distanced from the central character and so I am afraid this book is not one for me.

[Gemma · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third of Blackmore's books that I have read and really enjoyed. He brings such a fresh and distinctive voice to his books that I can't help but feel he is very underrated.

There is a common thread in his books of morally questionable characters, historical settings and depictions of the cultural and, in this case, literary elite, which perfectly capture how inaccessible and insufferable those circles are on the outside, and how shallow they can be on the inside.

In this book, our protagonist is Hugo Hunter, who longs to be a famous and respected novelist but doesn't have the skills to actually write anything. Instead, he achieves his goals by stealing manuscripts and publishing them as his own work.

The story moves in alternating timelines, with flashbacks to Hugh's youth and early days in London society in the 1940s, and the current storyline set in New York in the 1980s at the height of the AIDs crisis. As a gay man, this setting provides a tense backdrop to Hugh's inner turmoil and elevates his fear of getting "caught" one way or another.

It is easy to get the unreliable narrator trope wrong, but Blackmore does it very well with Hugh. The indications of his sociopathic nature are woven seamlessly into his narration so it never feels overdone.
I've always liked how Blackmore does not force us as readers to feel any particular way about a character or plot. The complexities are laid bare and it is up to us what we make of them.

I find Blackmore's blend of historical fiction, cultural exploration and vivid and memorable gay characters original and exciting. I am looking forward to seeing what he publishes next.

[Haxxunne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delicious, devilish, supremely catty
—
Literary fraud seems to be a new and growing sub-genre of novels about writing, but when it’s as delicious and devilish as this one, I’m not complaining. Hugh Hunter is not who or what everyone says he is. He isn’t a genius author. He isn’t a great friend. He isn’t even any good in the kitchen. He IS gay, and he was once upon a time Welsh, but now he lives in Manhattan, as far from his hometown as you can get. He’s had two phenomenally successful novels published under his name, and now decades into a slump he’s just been offered $2M to write a memoir and a novel. The problem is he didn’t write either one, and how he got them and what arrangements he made with the authors is too much for this little review.

You just have to read this supremely catty book, with fictional cameos from Gore Vidal, Truman Capote ad Christopher Isherwood, and a co-star in James Baldwin, a panoply of gay literary greats that Blackmore deploys to great effect. Hunter is a brilliantly devised character: ambitious, arrogant and quite literally willing to do anything to keep his life intact as it is. Alongside the real people in imagined scenes, the supporting cast is just perfectly rendered to give Hunter the means, method and opportunity. I devoured this and you will too.

[Daren Kearl · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a novel of two aspects. I revelled in the worlds of some of the great writers of the twentieth century and enjoyed the main character's interaction with the icons of gay literature. Capote, Baldwin, Vidal and Isherwood's conflicts with other male writers (some would be classed as misogynists now) like Orwell, Mailer and Koestler; with each other with catty remarks and put downs; and with themselves as they struggled with fame, relationships and love (both adoration and personal).
This was enough for me.
The storyline of the main character as a sociopath, whose writing career and fame was solely based on stealing other people's manuscripts and murdering them, I found less appealing. It mirrored John Boyne's excellent A Ladder to the Sky but did not have the conviction of making its central character completely self-obsessed and unlikeable. As it was narrated by Hugo himself, it gave some insights into his character:
'..can a sociopath love?' I asked, my voice almost a whisper. ..'It's not impossible for a sociopath to love, but it would be very hard for them to love without destroying the other person.' It's not impossible, I thought. It's not impossible.'
Self-centred and completely oblivious to the other person, but his care and love for Dorff were genuine before he found out he had written a novel.
You never really found out about Dorff's self-loathing and what had made him look for comfort with drugs. I was more interested in this relationship and its dynamics and was disappointed with the inevitable outcome.
Despite this, however, I thoroughly enjoyed reading Objects of Desire and its fictional exploration of gay writers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC. Objects of Desire is due to be published on 15th May 2025

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Neil Blackmore’s Objects of Desire is a masterful exploration of the literary world through the lens of Hugo Hunter, a celebrated 20th-century novelist whose legacy is both revered and deeply flawed. Hunter, a gay writer credited with revolutionising gay fiction through two landmark novels, is surrounded by a constellation of fascinating characters—each contributing to his work and life in complex, often painful ways. From Nancy, who introduces him to the gay scene and quietly battles her own rejection, to Paul, the student whose brief stay ends in scandal, and Dorff, the troubled young man Hugo truly loves, Blackmore paints vivid portraits.

As Hugo faces the challenge of writing a memoir and a long-awaited third novel— we are aware of the fact that Hugo did not write his celebrated works. The novel’s brilliance lies in its ability to evoke empathy for Hugo while never shying away from his moral failings. He is a criminal in more ways than one, yet Blackmore’s nuanced storytelling ensures readers remain captivated by his journey. Objects of Desire is a powerful, provocative read that interrogates authorship, legacy, and the cost of genius.

[Kate Vane · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was well-written and I liked the way the voice of the narrator shifted according to which of the named authors he was with. The scenes with Gore Vidal, in particular, were very reminiscent of the gossipy, world-weary tone of Vidal's Palimpsest. Overall, though, I was underwhelmed. I didn't feel like there was a single thing cthat surprised me.

There have been a few books in recent years with the stolen manuscript premise, and none of them, for me, has quite lived up to its promise. Maybe there's less to say about it than we think. Perhaps all authors find it hard to live up to the reputation of their public persona, and over time it's hard to reconcile your own identity with that of the person who once wrote that book. So then the plot reverts to the more formulaic story of how to obtain another manuscript you can pass off as your own. Whatever the reason, I'll probably pass on the next one.
*
Copy from NetGalley.

[Sean Sadler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Borrowed this Novel from Stirling Library
The first two thirds of this Book I very much enjoyed
I found the main character ( Huw/ Hugo) authentic and believable,his rise to fame and fortune was eloquently described and the use of real Novelists throughout ( Orwell, Angus Wilson, Isherwood, Auden,Capote , Baldwin and Gore Vidal )was beautifully realised
The mechanism of the stolen manuscript has become a device used with increasing frequency in contemporary literature ,in this novel this device works well and Blackmore captures time and place exceptionally well ,particularly London in the 1940’s &50’s
Unfortunately once Hugo strikes up his relationship with Dorff in the final third of the novel the book starts to sink for me,Dorff came across as uninspired and insipid and the novel ends in a somewhat predictable fashion I felt,that said much to commend overall.

[Matt Law · Rating 4 out of 5]

A literary giant Hugo Hunter published two critically acclaimed and commercially successful novels, which set a new direction for modern literature. He had just been offered two million dollars to write a memoir and a new novel. There might be a problem because he did not actually write the two previous books. How could he create a new work then..?

Hugo attempts to unravel his life and the truth to the readers in a memoir form. Sprinkled with references to his friends and connections with famous authors and literary critics. The narrator is witty, has big love for literature and eagerness for fame, but also vicious, full of jealousy and twisty. A fast-paced page turner. I enjoyed it!

Thank you to @hutchinsonheinemann for sending me a proof copy.

4 or 4.5 stars

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are elements of Patricia Highsmith and of William Boyd in this novel, replete with fictional accounts (among which are scattered real facts) about key authors of the mid-20th century, most of whom turn out to be gay. Blackmore weaves his way skillfully and entertainingly among them. He rather stretched my appetite for accounts of gay sex, but the interactions between the fictional Hugo Hunter and the semi-real James Baldwin, Truman Capote, Gore Vidal, Sonia Brownell and many others are very entertaining. Moral scrupples about murder are washed over with supposedly higher justification (the cause of literature, in this case) much as they are in Highsmith's tales (and she makes a brief appearance, too).

[Lydia Hephzibah · Rating 5 out of 5]

5

setting: UK, New York, California
rep: gay protagonist; mostly gay supporting cast (most of whom are real people)

one of my favourite kinds of book is a memoir/autobiography about a fictional character, and I love books about books, and I love queer books. this was literally made for me and I absolutely ate it up. it also made me so interested in the gay literature icons of the 20th century, some of whom I have never heard of and some of whom need bumping up my tbr immediately (here's looking at you, James Baldwin). I can't even imagine the amount of work and research that must have gone into this book

[Ellie T · Rating 4 out of 5]

Objects of Desire features a rather unlikeable protagonist, who believes himself to be a sociopath but sometimes exhibits a desire to change. Hugo Hunter, originally Huw from Wales, is a renowned novelist who's only produced two, much-lauded, books in his lifetime. He lives a debauched lifestyle in the US having fled the UK and its extreme homophobia many years ago.

The novel reads as a memoir of the past and of current times (1980s, the beginning of the AIDS pandemic). There's a lot of namedropping of authors that I don't really know much about, so I don't know how historically accurate it is. It's implausible, but well written so I was happy enough with that.

[A J HOOPER · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very gay novel, using as a jumping off point many of the gay but also not so gay writers of the 1960s. The writer (in the novel) knows he should be a literary giant but somehow can't manage to actually write a book.
Three deaths later he has survived everything, including AIDs. And he has three brilliant books to show for it. A small lifetime of authorship but a very big one as far as reputation. But he is a sociopath.

And the deaths are far from accidental.
Has made me think seriously about success. What it is. What it means.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the fourth novel I have read by Neil Blackmore and I feel much the same about this as I did about the others:that while much of the writing is fine and rich, while much of the humour is dark and wry, the characters and plot fail to rise above surface glitter.

Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher for the digital review copy.

[Matthew Metheney · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

thank you so much for the publisher for an early copy of the novel.

This novel was raw, filled with rage and so queer. Could not get enough!!

[Paolo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very entertaining. The price bitterly paid for Fame....by the man getting it ,but above all by all the others in his life.

[Joanne Coakley · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book is a witty and fast-paced look at the world of 20th-century authors, filled with lies, secrets, and unexpected twists. It's smart, entertaining, and a truly great read.

[Lea Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dark, vicious and confessional…it’s like having kiki with the worst sort of person but you can’t seem to tear yourself away from the conversation. The story flips back and forth throughout the 20th century name dropping the literary greats of that time whilst Hugo Hunter being the protagonist is always the centre of attention. Deceit, betrayal and fraud…but somehow you sort of root for the character even whilst gasping at their actions!

[Alan M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this, as the premise and story sounded great. Maybe I just wasn't in the mood but I just couldn't connect with the characters or the story. Perhaps one for me to revisit sometime.

[merlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good!

[William Wilson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terrific writing but leaves a nasty taste--possibly the intention? Not sure why Blackmore chose to write this.