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Love Objects
A stunning, simply told story of great compassion and insight, from the author of the Stella Prize-shortlisted An Isolated Incident. Nic is a forty-five-year-old trivia buff, amateur nail artist and fairy godmother to the neighbourhood's stray cats. She's also the owner of a decade's worth of daily newspapers, enough clothes and shoes to fill Big W three times over and a pen collection which, if laid end-to-end, would probably circle her house twice. She'd put her theory to the test, if only the pen buckets weren't currently blocked in by the crates of Happy Meal toys and the towers of Vegemite jars, take-away containers and cat food tins.
Nic's closest relationship is with her niece Lena. The two of them meet for lunch every Sunday to gossip about the rest of the family and bitch about work (they're both checkout chicks: Lena just for now, Nic until they prise her staff discount card from her cold, dead hands).
One Sunday, Nic fails to turn up to lunch and when Lena calls she gets a disconnection message. Arriving at the house she hasn't visited in years ('Too far for you to come, hon. Let's meet in the middle.') she finds her aunt unconscious under an avalanche of stuff.
Lena is devastated that her beloved aunt has been living in such squalor all this time. While Nic is in hospital, she gets to work cleaning things up for her. Her first impulse is to call in the bulldozers and start searching Gumtree for a roomy caravan. But with the help of her reluctantly recruited brother, Will, she gets the job done.
This heroic effort is not appreciated by the plastered up, crutch-wielding Nic. She returns to an empty, alien place unrecognisable as her home and the unbearable pity of her family who have no idea what they've destroyed. How can she live in this place without safety and peace? And how can she ever forgive the niece who has betrayed her?
Nic's closest relationship is with her niece Lena. The two of them meet for lunch every Sunday to gossip about the rest of the family and bitch about work (they're both checkout chicks: Lena just for now, Nic until they prise her staff discount card from her cold, dead hands).
One Sunday, Nic fails to turn up to lunch and when Lena calls she gets a disconnection message. Arriving at the house she hasn't visited in years ('Too far for you to come, hon. Let's meet in the middle.') she finds her aunt unconscious under an avalanche of stuff.
Lena is devastated that her beloved aunt has been living in such squalor all this time. While Nic is in hospital, she gets to work cleaning things up for her. Her first impulse is to call in the bulldozers and start searching Gumtree for a roomy caravan. But with the help of her reluctantly recruited brother, Will, she gets the job done.
This heroic effort is not appreciated by the plastered up, crutch-wielding Nic. She returns to an empty, alien place unrecognisable as her home and the unbearable pity of her family who have no idea what they've destroyed. How can she live in this place without safety and peace? And how can she ever forgive the niece who has betrayed her?
400 pages, Paperback
First published March 30, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 362 reviews
June 22, 2021
⭐️4 Stars⭐️
The cover on this book is absolutely stunning! Love Objects by Emily Maguire was really, really good! A totally thought-provoking read!
Love Objects is a brutal character focused family drama and a psychological portrayal of a hoarder, it slaps you in the face with the rawness of it’s harsh truths.
Our first of the three protagonists is Nic a single forty-five year old trivia buff who feeds the local stray cats and collects trinkets and random pieces of junk, imagine a discarded doll’s bonnet, ‘lost dog’ posters, VHS tapes, trophies, stacks of newspapers, pamphlets, empty jars, mountains of clothes and shoes, the objects are endless!
When Nic has a fall at home, her shocking living conditions and emotional attachment to objects are revealed and her vulnerability exposed.
Lena is a twenty year old student and is Nic’s niece and her closet relative, they usually meet up for lunch every Sunday. Lena’s trust in her latest love interest ‘rich boy’ Josh finds herself unwittingly and shockingly entangled in a sex scandal and star of a low budget porn video that has gone viral.
Nic’s nephew Will (Lena’s brother) has served a short stint in prison, it seems to run in his blood and all the men in his mother’s bloodline. Will returns to Sydney from North Queensland to help Lena with the family crisis while he is battling one of his own.
An insightful and startling read about a woman with a hoarding disorder and a close and loving connection with her sister’s children. Written both vividly and tenderly with depth and compassion and a touch of humour.
Very un-Marie Kondo!
Published March 30th 2021
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for an advanced copy of the book to review.
The cover on this book is absolutely stunning! Love Objects by Emily Maguire was really, really good! A totally thought-provoking read!
Love Objects is a brutal character focused family drama and a psychological portrayal of a hoarder, it slaps you in the face with the rawness of it’s harsh truths.
Our first of the three protagonists is Nic a single forty-five year old trivia buff who feeds the local stray cats and collects trinkets and random pieces of junk, imagine a discarded doll’s bonnet, ‘lost dog’ posters, VHS tapes, trophies, stacks of newspapers, pamphlets, empty jars, mountains of clothes and shoes, the objects are endless!
When Nic has a fall at home, her shocking living conditions and emotional attachment to objects are revealed and her vulnerability exposed.
Lena is a twenty year old student and is Nic’s niece and her closet relative, they usually meet up for lunch every Sunday. Lena’s trust in her latest love interest ‘rich boy’ Josh finds herself unwittingly and shockingly entangled in a sex scandal and star of a low budget porn video that has gone viral.
Nic’s nephew Will (Lena’s brother) has served a short stint in prison, it seems to run in his blood and all the men in his mother’s bloodline. Will returns to Sydney from North Queensland to help Lena with the family crisis while he is battling one of his own.
An insightful and startling read about a woman with a hoarding disorder and a close and loving connection with her sister’s children. Written both vividly and tenderly with depth and compassion and a touch of humour.
Very un-Marie Kondo!
Published March 30th 2021
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for an advanced copy of the book to review.
May 14, 2021
We all keep at least a few ‘worthless’ objects because of sentimental value – old ticket stubs or childhood toys. Or we buy stuff for aspirational purposes that never gets used – the full shelf of cookbooks, the snorkel & flipper set that hasn’t ever touched water. Love Objects examines this very human impulse to attach emotional importance to ‘stuff’… and how taken to extremes that becomes dysfunctional, even dangerous.
I love that this is a novel full of working-class characters without being a Working Class Novel, if you know what I mean. [Although hoarding disorder is inherently bound up with classism: no one calls it ‘hoarding disorder’ if you own 50 Bentleys, or if you keep a tonne of useless junk but have a huge house with lots of cupboard space to hide it all].
I love that the central relationship is one of aunt and niece, a bond that is rarely the focus in fiction.
I love that, without seeming didactic, this novel offers real insight into a poorly understood condition and makes it relatable. It offers a hopeful resolution without pretending there’s an easy fix.
This being a family drama there are other side plots too, all dealing in some way with the corrosive effects of shame, violations of privacy, and the uphill work of self-acceptance. Love Objects is a compassionate, textured, lived-in novel with a big heart.
I love that this is a novel full of working-class characters without being a Working Class Novel, if you know what I mean. [Although hoarding disorder is inherently bound up with classism: no one calls it ‘hoarding disorder’ if you own 50 Bentleys, or if you keep a tonne of useless junk but have a huge house with lots of cupboard space to hide it all].
I love that the central relationship is one of aunt and niece, a bond that is rarely the focus in fiction.
I love that, without seeming didactic, this novel offers real insight into a poorly understood condition and makes it relatable. It offers a hopeful resolution without pretending there’s an easy fix.
This being a family drama there are other side plots too, all dealing in some way with the corrosive effects of shame, violations of privacy, and the uphill work of self-acceptance. Love Objects is a compassionate, textured, lived-in novel with a big heart.
April 17, 2021
Love Objects is the sixth novel by Australian author, Emily Maguire. While twenty-year-old uni student, Lena Harris is getting hot and sweaty with her crush, a wealthy country jock, in the borrowed college bedroom of one of his mates, her aunt, Nicole Miller is precariously balanced on her bedroom dresser.
When, some forty-eight hours later, Lena is discovering just how truly despicable a male can be, Nic is drifting in and out of consciousness, not replying to texts about her late arrival for a regular lunch date with her niece.
After the police have broken down the door to Nic’s house in Leichhardt, and Nic is taken away in an ambulance, Lena absorbs the extent of her aunt’s hoarding. Visits to the hospital provide a minor distraction from the avalanche of messages, dick-pics and foul comments that the online video of Lena’s single encounter in that bedroom generates. Against Nic’s clear objection, Lena occupies herself with getting the house into the state that the hospital’s social worker will deem acceptable for Nic’s return home.
In far north Queensland, Lena’s older brother, Will Harris is nursing pain both physical and emotional: sacked from his job, one ill-considered bender triggers his girlfriend’s marching orders (he’s so going to miss being a family, and her two sweet kids), he’s virtually skint, and he’s got a massively painful tooth abscess that he can’t afford to have treated.
The flood of texts and photos of artefacts his sister is unearthing at the Miller Family Home conjures up memories of his childhood, and draws him back to Sydney for the first time since he was released from prison. Both siblings are distracted by their ongoing problems, but the process of sorting through the house does not fail to stir up unresolved issues, even as Nic’s life is being thrown into a skip.
On her return, Nic’s overwhelming reaction is anger at the betrayal her niece and nephew have wrought. How could they callously discard items that mean so much to her?
The story is told from three perspectives (Nic, Lena and Will) without ambiguity, and the somewhat fraught history that these three have with each other is gradually revealed. Her characters easily draw the reader’s empathy; Maguire’s descriptive prose is often wonderfully evocative; and the story ends on an optimistic note: not Hollywood, but rather realistic and believable. Some readers may appreciate a trigger warning for expletives (including the c-word) and explicit sexual description.
With Nic’s chapters, Maguire easily puts the reader inside the mind of the person afflicted by hoarding behaviour, illustrating the rationale and the thought process that leads to collection, storage and the inability to discard. Nic’s connection to the inanimate objects she keeps, endowing them feelings and emotions, recalling their history or imagining a story for them, gives readers insight into this insidious and often-debilitating condition. With humour and heartache, this is a moving and thought-provoking read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Allen & Unwin.
When, some forty-eight hours later, Lena is discovering just how truly despicable a male can be, Nic is drifting in and out of consciousness, not replying to texts about her late arrival for a regular lunch date with her niece.
After the police have broken down the door to Nic’s house in Leichhardt, and Nic is taken away in an ambulance, Lena absorbs the extent of her aunt’s hoarding. Visits to the hospital provide a minor distraction from the avalanche of messages, dick-pics and foul comments that the online video of Lena’s single encounter in that bedroom generates. Against Nic’s clear objection, Lena occupies herself with getting the house into the state that the hospital’s social worker will deem acceptable for Nic’s return home.
In far north Queensland, Lena’s older brother, Will Harris is nursing pain both physical and emotional: sacked from his job, one ill-considered bender triggers his girlfriend’s marching orders (he’s so going to miss being a family, and her two sweet kids), he’s virtually skint, and he’s got a massively painful tooth abscess that he can’t afford to have treated.
The flood of texts and photos of artefacts his sister is unearthing at the Miller Family Home conjures up memories of his childhood, and draws him back to Sydney for the first time since he was released from prison. Both siblings are distracted by their ongoing problems, but the process of sorting through the house does not fail to stir up unresolved issues, even as Nic’s life is being thrown into a skip.
On her return, Nic’s overwhelming reaction is anger at the betrayal her niece and nephew have wrought. How could they callously discard items that mean so much to her?
The story is told from three perspectives (Nic, Lena and Will) without ambiguity, and the somewhat fraught history that these three have with each other is gradually revealed. Her characters easily draw the reader’s empathy; Maguire’s descriptive prose is often wonderfully evocative; and the story ends on an optimistic note: not Hollywood, but rather realistic and believable. Some readers may appreciate a trigger warning for expletives (including the c-word) and explicit sexual description.
With Nic’s chapters, Maguire easily puts the reader inside the mind of the person afflicted by hoarding behaviour, illustrating the rationale and the thought process that leads to collection, storage and the inability to discard. Nic’s connection to the inanimate objects she keeps, endowing them feelings and emotions, recalling their history or imagining a story for them, gives readers insight into this insidious and often-debilitating condition. With humour and heartache, this is a moving and thought-provoking read.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Allen & Unwin.
October 11, 2021
Loved it. And that she wrote it as a collab with USyd medical research, it’s so factual and real!
I left this for a while and forgot to get back to it. I found a quote that I saved.
She bent and wrenched open the oven. You couldn't see its walls or racks. Couldn't see through to the back. Enough paper in there to burn down the neighbourhood.
People have died of sadness, Lena knew. Was this what it felt like, just before?
Will, she texted, how have we gone all these years and not known our aunty is completely and utterly batshit crazy?
The author is quite young, but her writing is certainly not green. She is a very talented woman, and there are many more of her books for me to read. Her themes are serious, edgy and dark.
Lena loves her aunt Nic and Nic adores Lena. It's almost a mother daughter relationship. This in itself is covered so well and Aunt Nic is Lena's mother's sister, and Lena's relationship with her mother is fractious at best. Nic was the cool Aunty, adored her niece and nephew and gave the so much love and attention. The girls meet up for lunch and eat out once a week, it's just the way it worked out. It suited Nic as she is a hoarder. The way this is approached is amazing, the author must have researched so much, this is very real and raw.
The accident Aunt Nic has that leads her niece to the realisation that this was happening was described in such vivid step by step way that was extraordinary. The bedroom so tightly packed with belongings that had a relationship with each other. One inanimate object keeping another company, propping up (with love and compassion) not necessarily with precious physical space. Everything had a relationship to the time grabbed (whether it be from the Big W clearance rack from ten years ago where Nic works) or whether dragged from a council clean up from blocks away, dragged on feet or dragged through rain. Nic falls and is not found for days, but really, her belongings still keep her company. The way Nic is reaching for a plastic tiara that is out of reach with such determination while on the ground unable to move, broken and on the ground is heart wrenching.
This is so unmanageable as all of us outsiders know from our position on the top, those of us who are so hopelessly unaware of what it is to suffer from hoarding disorder. (Yes it is in the DSM5. It is a thing).
Lena and her brother (there is a story there too about Aunt Nic dealing with her nephew Will's imprisonment) team up to empty the house of all this mess and disaster. Will has been away from his family for years and is suffering his own problems after a relationship breakdown. The siblings are reconnecting at the same time of being tasked with the impossible (it really is impossible to be able to clean up the property and keep Aunt Nic happy).
There is a lot achieved, and a lot more to be achieved but this lovely family do 'sort' out some of the physical problem and the beginning steps of loving each other again in harmony.
This book really is a treasure. Lena loves fiercely and is dealing with a scandal that is of sexual nature, all the while keeping her Aunt's head and hopes up as much as possible. Lots of important things to read about in this story which I highly recommend.
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for providing me with a physical copy to read and review. This publishing house is second to none!
I left this for a while and forgot to get back to it. I found a quote that I saved.
She bent and wrenched open the oven. You couldn't see its walls or racks. Couldn't see through to the back. Enough paper in there to burn down the neighbourhood.
People have died of sadness, Lena knew. Was this what it felt like, just before?
Will, she texted, how have we gone all these years and not known our aunty is completely and utterly batshit crazy?
The author is quite young, but her writing is certainly not green. She is a very talented woman, and there are many more of her books for me to read. Her themes are serious, edgy and dark.
Lena loves her aunt Nic and Nic adores Lena. It's almost a mother daughter relationship. This in itself is covered so well and Aunt Nic is Lena's mother's sister, and Lena's relationship with her mother is fractious at best. Nic was the cool Aunty, adored her niece and nephew and gave the so much love and attention. The girls meet up for lunch and eat out once a week, it's just the way it worked out. It suited Nic as she is a hoarder. The way this is approached is amazing, the author must have researched so much, this is very real and raw.
The accident Aunt Nic has that leads her niece to the realisation that this was happening was described in such vivid step by step way that was extraordinary. The bedroom so tightly packed with belongings that had a relationship with each other. One inanimate object keeping another company, propping up (with love and compassion) not necessarily with precious physical space. Everything had a relationship to the time grabbed (whether it be from the Big W clearance rack from ten years ago where Nic works) or whether dragged from a council clean up from blocks away, dragged on feet or dragged through rain. Nic falls and is not found for days, but really, her belongings still keep her company. The way Nic is reaching for a plastic tiara that is out of reach with such determination while on the ground unable to move, broken and on the ground is heart wrenching.
This is so unmanageable as all of us outsiders know from our position on the top, those of us who are so hopelessly unaware of what it is to suffer from hoarding disorder. (Yes it is in the DSM5. It is a thing).
Lena and her brother (there is a story there too about Aunt Nic dealing with her nephew Will's imprisonment) team up to empty the house of all this mess and disaster. Will has been away from his family for years and is suffering his own problems after a relationship breakdown. The siblings are reconnecting at the same time of being tasked with the impossible (it really is impossible to be able to clean up the property and keep Aunt Nic happy).
There is a lot achieved, and a lot more to be achieved but this lovely family do 'sort' out some of the physical problem and the beginning steps of loving each other again in harmony.
This book really is a treasure. Lena loves fiercely and is dealing with a scandal that is of sexual nature, all the while keeping her Aunt's head and hopes up as much as possible. Lots of important things to read about in this story which I highly recommend.
Thank you to Allen & Unwin for providing me with a physical copy to read and review. This publishing house is second to none!
April 27, 2021
I expected a book about hoarding and consumerism – and I got it with compassion and insight. I did not expect such a close consideration of class and its intergenerational implications and inherited traumas. Or the love between aunts and nephews and nieces. Or the eviscerating look at revenge porn and what it means to use a woman’s desire against her. I love when books are not what they seem and while there were moments when the bleakness of the subject matter was too much for me Maguire rose to my constant wish that Australian fiction interrogate class in meaningful and complex ways and I am so grateful.
July 16, 2021
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Love Objects by Emily Maguire. (2021).
Nic is in her early 40s, a trivia buff, amateur nail artist and feeder of stray cats. She's also the owner of 10 years' worth of newspapers, several shops' worth of clothes and a massive pen collection. The person she's closest to is her beloved niece Lena, who she meets for Sunday lunch. One day Nic doesn't show, and when Lena travels to her aunt's house to check in on her, she gets the shock of her life. This sets in train a series of events that will prove cataclysmic for them both.
Talk about an eye-catching cover, fascinating! Moving on to the inside... I, like a lot of people, find hoarders intriguing. My morbid curiosity enjoyed the descriptions of Nic's cluttered home, but my heart hurt for her. The incident, as well as the aftermath, that happens to Lena is disgusting but unfortunately a reality for some people; it's horrible to think of it occurring to yourself or someone you care about. What I really liked about this book was that it delved into this dysfunctional family where each person had their own respective issues; yet it was clear the three main characters genuinely cared for and loved each other. I appreciated that the perspectives included Nic, Lena as well as Will as it let the reader experience different point of views on the same scenarios.
Overall: I found this to be an absorbing novel about loving your family through their flaws and mistakes, as well as how to carry on after a life-changing event. I'd be happy to recommend this one.
*www.facebook.com/onewomansbbr
Love Objects by Emily Maguire. (2021).
Nic is in her early 40s, a trivia buff, amateur nail artist and feeder of stray cats. She's also the owner of 10 years' worth of newspapers, several shops' worth of clothes and a massive pen collection. The person she's closest to is her beloved niece Lena, who she meets for Sunday lunch. One day Nic doesn't show, and when Lena travels to her aunt's house to check in on her, she gets the shock of her life. This sets in train a series of events that will prove cataclysmic for them both.
Talk about an eye-catching cover, fascinating! Moving on to the inside... I, like a lot of people, find hoarders intriguing. My morbid curiosity enjoyed the descriptions of Nic's cluttered home, but my heart hurt for her. The incident, as well as the aftermath, that happens to Lena is disgusting but unfortunately a reality for some people; it's horrible to think of it occurring to yourself or someone you care about. What I really liked about this book was that it delved into this dysfunctional family where each person had their own respective issues; yet it was clear the three main characters genuinely cared for and loved each other. I appreciated that the perspectives included Nic, Lena as well as Will as it let the reader experience different point of views on the same scenarios.
Overall: I found this to be an absorbing novel about loving your family through their flaws and mistakes, as well as how to carry on after a life-changing event. I'd be happy to recommend this one.
May 16, 2021
I am giving this 3.5 stars, rounded up to 4.
This book is set in Sydney and follows Nic (Nicole) a woman in her mid-forties who fills her lonely spaces in her home quite literally. However, in a fall her life and hoard come tumbling down. Nic is laid up in hospital and unable to return home until it is considered safe for her.
Lena, Nic's niece who is fleeing her own life problems arrives at Nic's in desperation for help, only to find Nic living as a hoarder (in extreme) and in a terrible state having been trapped for days on the floor of her bedroom. Lena takes it upon herself to clear her Aunt's house out.
Will, Lena's brother arrives into this with all of his own personal baggage. An ex-con, unemployed and homeless. Will he prove to be an additional, unwanted burden to Lena or will he actually help her out of the mess?
A lot of family drama and dynamics play out in this book. It is a warts and all exposure of human weakness. Well told, however, the porn talk and swearing was a little excessive in my opinion and detracted from the story.
Thank you Allen & Unwin for the advanced review copy of this book that I won.
This book is set in Sydney and follows Nic (Nicole) a woman in her mid-forties who fills her lonely spaces in her home quite literally. However, in a fall her life and hoard come tumbling down. Nic is laid up in hospital and unable to return home until it is considered safe for her.
Lena, Nic's niece who is fleeing her own life problems arrives at Nic's in desperation for help, only to find Nic living as a hoarder (in extreme) and in a terrible state having been trapped for days on the floor of her bedroom. Lena takes it upon herself to clear her Aunt's house out.
Will, Lena's brother arrives into this with all of his own personal baggage. An ex-con, unemployed and homeless. Will he prove to be an additional, unwanted burden to Lena or will he actually help her out of the mess?
A lot of family drama and dynamics play out in this book. It is a warts and all exposure of human weakness. Well told, however, the porn talk and swearing was a little excessive in my opinion and detracted from the story.
Thank you Allen & Unwin for the advanced review copy of this book that I won.
April 13, 2021
Love Objects (Allen and Unwin 2021) by author Emily Maguire, is graced with a stunning cover by designer Sandy Cull and artwork by Cecelia Paredes: a gorgeous profusion of flowers with a woman hidden in plain sight in the riot of blooms. You would be right to begin judging this book by its cover. Maguire has ostensibly written an accessible and highly readable story about a hoarder but as the novel progresses, it becomes obvious that it is about so much more. In the hands of such a skillful writer, an ordinary life and banal circumstances are elevated to a deep introspection about familial bonds, loss, grief, betrayal and the role possessions play in filling up the empty spaces in our lives. It becomes a portrait of class as we gain ever widening glimpses into the situations of the characters – what they can afford, the decisions they must make to buy x over y, the choice to walk rather than catch the bus because that will mean an extra can of home-brand tuna, the fact that a rich girl can still look rich in second-hand clothes and grunge, but a poor girl in the same outfit just looks poor, and possibly homeless. It is about generational classicism; about expecting to be no better than your parents, and to have no more than they had, while others live in mansions and drive new cars and tip outrageously and give no more thought to whether they can afford food as to whether they might fly to the moon. The themes in this book are so wide-ranging and yet so deftly examined, and the characters so perfectly presented, that we become completely engaged in these people’s lives and very invested in the outcomes for every one of them.
Nic is 45, single, the most wonderful aunt to Lena and Will, a saviour of neighbourhood cats, an amateur nail artist and locked in a never-ending battle with her sister Michelle. Nic is also a hoarder (not that she would ever acknowledge that). She has decades’ worth of newspapers, bags and bags of new clothing bought from Kmart, pens and towels and fridges and sewing machines and gadgets and doohickeys and wigwams. She has SO MUCH STUFF. The most interesting thing about Nic and her precious belongings is her attitude towards the personal (used) items, whether they belong to her or have previously belonged to somebody else. Obviously she treasures her own ephemera, paraphernalia and collectibles…they are her memories made visceral. The red shirt she was wearing during an important kiss, a scrap of hair from her niece, a cookbook bought in the hope of preparing a meal for someone special. But it is her love for the objects of others that is really fascinating. She cannot pass by a single shoe, a hair ribbon, a doll’s bonnet, a figurine, a chair, a vase without imagining the life that object had before she obtained it, how much it was loved and used. She can picture the child holding the doll, the woman on a date wearing the shoes, the bottom that sat in that chair for years, the fresh flowers that used to grace the vase. She simply cannot bear that these objects have been separated from their owners, or worse, thrown away as unwanted and unloved. She feels an obligation, a duty, to take them in and care for them, to place them together with other scattered objects and to create a kind of family where nobody is alone and or lonely, in a place that feels safe and secure and comforting. She feels safe and comforted surrounded by these objects. They fill some deep need in her for belonging, for normality, for hope that one day she might allow others in to share her precious finds.
But of course that will never happen. On some subconscious level, Nic understands that her home is not open to visitors or to scrutiny. She babysits at other people’s houses but never in her own home. She has a weekly lunch date with her beloved niece Lena but always at a restaurant. Lena – the relative to whom she is closest – has no idea how bad things have become. She pictures her aunt Nic as she knew her in her childhood, with a welcoming home always ready for her and her brother to stay.
But one day, when Nic doesn’t show up for their regular date, Lena travels to her aunt’s house to make sure she’s okay. What she finds will shock both of them, and lead to uncomfortable and confronting days and weeks for them as they wrestle with the aftermath of the discovery.
Emily Maguire is known for her feminist writing and one thread of the story is woven tightly around the idea of consent, female desire, double standards for men and women, the culture of toxic masculinity, and the endless shame associated with sexual assault. It would be a spoiler to say too much about this aspect of the book, but the storyline that runs through the narrative on this topic is confronting, very timely, thought-provoking and heartbreaking.
The characters in this book launch from one catastrophe to another. Most of them live from day to day, in permanent survival mode. It is easy to forget that that is how life is for so many people, those who live in poverty or who are unemployed or suffer mental health issues or who are socially isolated or disadvantaged. They are simply getting by, from one difficulty to the next. And the overarching feeling of this novel is the compassion that we, as readers, feel for those characters and the situations in which they find themselves, whether or not they are of their own making. We understand their difficult decisions, their paucity of choices, their lack of agency. Maguire truly enables us to see through their eyes, and to comprehend the enormity of facing challenges when you have neither the resources nor the support nor the energy to be up to the task.
This is a book of tragedy and need, of desire and want and emptiness and brokenness. But it is also full of sparkle and wit, with funny dialogue and heart-warming relationships, with passion and tenderness and humour and trust and connection and belonging. It explores self-identity and shame, and the dynamics of how people struggle and cope, with a wise insight and a gentle and compassionate eye.
Nic is 45, single, the most wonderful aunt to Lena and Will, a saviour of neighbourhood cats, an amateur nail artist and locked in a never-ending battle with her sister Michelle. Nic is also a hoarder (not that she would ever acknowledge that). She has decades’ worth of newspapers, bags and bags of new clothing bought from Kmart, pens and towels and fridges and sewing machines and gadgets and doohickeys and wigwams. She has SO MUCH STUFF. The most interesting thing about Nic and her precious belongings is her attitude towards the personal (used) items, whether they belong to her or have previously belonged to somebody else. Obviously she treasures her own ephemera, paraphernalia and collectibles…they are her memories made visceral. The red shirt she was wearing during an important kiss, a scrap of hair from her niece, a cookbook bought in the hope of preparing a meal for someone special. But it is her love for the objects of others that is really fascinating. She cannot pass by a single shoe, a hair ribbon, a doll’s bonnet, a figurine, a chair, a vase without imagining the life that object had before she obtained it, how much it was loved and used. She can picture the child holding the doll, the woman on a date wearing the shoes, the bottom that sat in that chair for years, the fresh flowers that used to grace the vase. She simply cannot bear that these objects have been separated from their owners, or worse, thrown away as unwanted and unloved. She feels an obligation, a duty, to take them in and care for them, to place them together with other scattered objects and to create a kind of family where nobody is alone and or lonely, in a place that feels safe and secure and comforting. She feels safe and comforted surrounded by these objects. They fill some deep need in her for belonging, for normality, for hope that one day she might allow others in to share her precious finds.
But of course that will never happen. On some subconscious level, Nic understands that her home is not open to visitors or to scrutiny. She babysits at other people’s houses but never in her own home. She has a weekly lunch date with her beloved niece Lena but always at a restaurant. Lena – the relative to whom she is closest – has no idea how bad things have become. She pictures her aunt Nic as she knew her in her childhood, with a welcoming home always ready for her and her brother to stay.
But one day, when Nic doesn’t show up for their regular date, Lena travels to her aunt’s house to make sure she’s okay. What she finds will shock both of them, and lead to uncomfortable and confronting days and weeks for them as they wrestle with the aftermath of the discovery.
Emily Maguire is known for her feminist writing and one thread of the story is woven tightly around the idea of consent, female desire, double standards for men and women, the culture of toxic masculinity, and the endless shame associated with sexual assault. It would be a spoiler to say too much about this aspect of the book, but the storyline that runs through the narrative on this topic is confronting, very timely, thought-provoking and heartbreaking.
The characters in this book launch from one catastrophe to another. Most of them live from day to day, in permanent survival mode. It is easy to forget that that is how life is for so many people, those who live in poverty or who are unemployed or suffer mental health issues or who are socially isolated or disadvantaged. They are simply getting by, from one difficulty to the next. And the overarching feeling of this novel is the compassion that we, as readers, feel for those characters and the situations in which they find themselves, whether or not they are of their own making. We understand their difficult decisions, their paucity of choices, their lack of agency. Maguire truly enables us to see through their eyes, and to comprehend the enormity of facing challenges when you have neither the resources nor the support nor the energy to be up to the task.
This is a book of tragedy and need, of desire and want and emptiness and brokenness. But it is also full of sparkle and wit, with funny dialogue and heart-warming relationships, with passion and tenderness and humour and trust and connection and belonging. It explores self-identity and shame, and the dynamics of how people struggle and cope, with a wise insight and a gentle and compassionate eye.
May 9, 2021
I loved this book. I couldnt wait to have time to read it. The most important thing for me is I connected with the characters. Emily's writing style had me feeling like I was a part of their family. I have to tell the truth I really related to Nic ( the hoarder) . I have to confess I am a book hoarder and if anyone moved or touched my books it would be so devastating for me. This book is a family drama which centres on 3 characters. It is written with humour , and compassion. You know everyone is different and Lena thought she was doing the right thing in her mind. Highly recommend this book.
March 23, 2021
My review is published in the April edition of goodREADING magazine.
August 12, 2021
Love Objects is the sixth novel by Australian author, Emily Maguire. The audio version is narrated by Zoe Carides. While twenty-year-old uni student, Lena Harris is getting hot and sweaty with her crush, a wealthy country jock, in the borrowed college bedroom of one of his mates, her aunt, Nicole Miller is precariously balanced on her bedroom dresser.
When, some forty-eight hours later, Lena is discovering just how truly despicable a male can be, Nic is drifting in and out of consciousness, not replying to texts about her late arrival for a regular lunch date with her niece.
After the police have broken down the door to Nic’s house in Leichhardt, and Nic is taken away in an ambulance, Lena absorbs the extent of her aunt’s hoarding. Visits to the hospital provide a minor distraction from the avalanche of messages, dick-pics and foul comments that the online video of Lena’s single encounter in that bedroom generates. Against Nic’s clear objection, Lena occupies herself with getting the house into the state that the hospital’s social worker will deem acceptable for Nic’s return home.
In far north Queensland, Lena’s older brother, Will Harris is nursing pain both physical and emotional: sacked from his job, one ill-considered bender triggers his girlfriend’s marching orders (he’s so going to miss being a family, and her two sweet kids), he’s virtually skint, and he’s got a massively painful tooth abscess that he can’t afford to have treated.
The flood of texts and photos of artefacts his sister is unearthing at the Miller Family Home conjures up memories of his childhood, and draws him back to Sydney for the first time since he was released from prison. Both siblings are distracted by their ongoing problems, but the process of sorting through the house does not fail to stir up unresolved issues, even as Nic’s life is being thrown into a skip.
On her return, Nic’s overwhelming reaction is anger at the betrayal her niece and nephew have wrought. How could they callously discard items that mean so much to her?
The story is told from three perspectives (Nic, Lena and Will) without ambiguity, and the somewhat fraught history that these three have with each other is gradually revealed. Her characters easily draw the reader’s empathy; Maguire’s descriptive prose is often wonderfully evocative; and the story ends on an optimistic note: not Hollywood, but rather realistic and believable. Some readers may appreciate a trigger warning for expletives (including the c-word) and explicit sexual description.
With Nic’s chapters, Maguire easily puts the reader inside the mind of the person afflicted by hoarding behaviour, illustrating the rationale and the thought process that leads to collection, storage and the inability to discard. Nic’s connection to the inanimate objects she keeps, endowing them feelings and emotions, recalling their history or imagining a story for them, gives readers insight into this insidious and often-debilitating condition. With humour and heartache, this is a moving and thought-provoking read.
When, some forty-eight hours later, Lena is discovering just how truly despicable a male can be, Nic is drifting in and out of consciousness, not replying to texts about her late arrival for a regular lunch date with her niece.
After the police have broken down the door to Nic’s house in Leichhardt, and Nic is taken away in an ambulance, Lena absorbs the extent of her aunt’s hoarding. Visits to the hospital provide a minor distraction from the avalanche of messages, dick-pics and foul comments that the online video of Lena’s single encounter in that bedroom generates. Against Nic’s clear objection, Lena occupies herself with getting the house into the state that the hospital’s social worker will deem acceptable for Nic’s return home.
In far north Queensland, Lena’s older brother, Will Harris is nursing pain both physical and emotional: sacked from his job, one ill-considered bender triggers his girlfriend’s marching orders (he’s so going to miss being a family, and her two sweet kids), he’s virtually skint, and he’s got a massively painful tooth abscess that he can’t afford to have treated.
The flood of texts and photos of artefacts his sister is unearthing at the Miller Family Home conjures up memories of his childhood, and draws him back to Sydney for the first time since he was released from prison. Both siblings are distracted by their ongoing problems, but the process of sorting through the house does not fail to stir up unresolved issues, even as Nic’s life is being thrown into a skip.
On her return, Nic’s overwhelming reaction is anger at the betrayal her niece and nephew have wrought. How could they callously discard items that mean so much to her?
The story is told from three perspectives (Nic, Lena and Will) without ambiguity, and the somewhat fraught history that these three have with each other is gradually revealed. Her characters easily draw the reader’s empathy; Maguire’s descriptive prose is often wonderfully evocative; and the story ends on an optimistic note: not Hollywood, but rather realistic and believable. Some readers may appreciate a trigger warning for expletives (including the c-word) and explicit sexual description.
With Nic’s chapters, Maguire easily puts the reader inside the mind of the person afflicted by hoarding behaviour, illustrating the rationale and the thought process that leads to collection, storage and the inability to discard. Nic’s connection to the inanimate objects she keeps, endowing them feelings and emotions, recalling their history or imagining a story for them, gives readers insight into this insidious and often-debilitating condition. With humour and heartache, this is a moving and thought-provoking read.
October 28, 2021
Something a little bit different for Emily Maguire, although her usual subject matter (awful things that shouldn't happen to women do happen, and how they deal with them) is readily identifiable in one of the secondary story threads. I really enjoyed it, especially with Zoe Carides' narration. I didn't know much about hoarding disorder, but as I understand it, Maguire had expert help in developing a really authentic character and storyline, so now I feel a little better educated in this regard. Being inside Nicole's head (the hoarder) is confronting at times, but I'd guess that most of us could identify with at least some of her thoughts and actions, to an extent. On balance though, it was the other storyline - the 'something awful' one - that provoked a more emotional response from me.
A thoughtful and thought-provoking read from an Australian writer who always delivers.
A thoughtful and thought-provoking read from an Australian writer who always delivers.
August 9, 2021
2.5-3 stars
I have to mention the stunning cover of this book which perfectly depicts it's inner story of a woman totally consumed by her surroundings.
Nic is a middle-aged woman who has a whole consuming empathy for inanimate objects. She feels these objects have feelings of loneliness and rejection. Her obsession with collecting, or in her mind saving, these items has filled her home to the level that it is unsafe to live in.
Nic's niece Lena, at twenty, is experiencing life away from home, living in a Uni share apartment, when one disastrous relationship, with the Uni's hot jock, has her image plastered all over the internet.
Emily Maguire gives her readers two very different story lines. Nic's hoarding was well written with her emotions and thoughts being openly and sensitively portrayed. Maguire took us right into Nic's head and it was easy to feel empathy for her. Whereas Lena's predicament related more to a young adult audience. Her narrative was crass and sexually explicit. I felt her problem wasn't as overwhelming as she made it. Explicit images put on the internet is not uncommon and I think young women know how to deal with this. Change your phone number for a start!!
I could appreciate Maguire's connection between what Lena did to Nic and what happened to Lena as both of them felt violated but I don't think Lena saw that connection which should have been the whole point of the story.
There is also a third narrative of Lena's brother, Will, trying to restart his life after a stint in jail and a relationship breakdown.
I enjoyed the themes of class, family, moving on and compromise but I felt Lena's problem was all wrapped up too neatly.
I was after a story on the psychology of hoarding and although I did get this I wasn't particularly interested in Lena's or Will's stories.
I have to mention the stunning cover of this book which perfectly depicts it's inner story of a woman totally consumed by her surroundings.
Nic is a middle-aged woman who has a whole consuming empathy for inanimate objects. She feels these objects have feelings of loneliness and rejection. Her obsession with collecting, or in her mind saving, these items has filled her home to the level that it is unsafe to live in.
Nic's niece Lena, at twenty, is experiencing life away from home, living in a Uni share apartment, when one disastrous relationship, with the Uni's hot jock, has her image plastered all over the internet.
Emily Maguire gives her readers two very different story lines. Nic's hoarding was well written with her emotions and thoughts being openly and sensitively portrayed. Maguire took us right into Nic's head and it was easy to feel empathy for her. Whereas Lena's predicament related more to a young adult audience. Her narrative was crass and sexually explicit. I felt her problem wasn't as overwhelming as she made it. Explicit images put on the internet is not uncommon and I think young women know how to deal with this. Change your phone number for a start!!
I could appreciate Maguire's connection between what Lena did to Nic and what happened to Lena as both of them felt violated but I don't think Lena saw that connection which should have been the whole point of the story.
There is also a third narrative of Lena's brother, Will, trying to restart his life after a stint in jail and a relationship breakdown.
I enjoyed the themes of class, family, moving on and compromise but I felt Lena's problem was all wrapped up too neatly.
I was after a story on the psychology of hoarding and although I did get this I wasn't particularly interested in Lena's or Will's stories.
May 10, 2022
Such an incredible book, by a wonderfully talented Aussie writer.
Nic is a Sydney woman, a check out chick, never married, no kids, but has a very close relationship with her Niece Lena. In fact, Lena is like a daughter to Nic. They meet for coffee every weekend, to catch up.
Lena is a Uni student, trying to fit in, and find her own path in life.
Both of these ladies have their own secret lives, that they keep to themselves, and have not let, even the closest of friends and family in on their secrets.
Unfortunately for Nic her life comes crashing down around her when she has a fall at home. Luckily Lena finds her at home, and gets the assistance she needs, but is it the assistance that Nic wants?
This is an incredible book, it explores topics of hoarding, sex tapes, prison, betrayal, trust, and love. It shows life as an Australian.
The language is an eye opener, it is not something to be read in most books, but it helps portray the story well, to the point you can really feel and understand the story teller and the characters.
Please visit my blog and follow to see all of my past and future book reviews.
https://www.facebook.com/Kylies-Book-...
Nic is a Sydney woman, a check out chick, never married, no kids, but has a very close relationship with her Niece Lena. In fact, Lena is like a daughter to Nic. They meet for coffee every weekend, to catch up.
Lena is a Uni student, trying to fit in, and find her own path in life.
Both of these ladies have their own secret lives, that they keep to themselves, and have not let, even the closest of friends and family in on their secrets.
Unfortunately for Nic her life comes crashing down around her when she has a fall at home. Luckily Lena finds her at home, and gets the assistance she needs, but is it the assistance that Nic wants?
This is an incredible book, it explores topics of hoarding, sex tapes, prison, betrayal, trust, and love. It shows life as an Australian.
The language is an eye opener, it is not something to be read in most books, but it helps portray the story well, to the point you can really feel and understand the story teller and the characters.
Please visit my blog and follow to see all of my past and future book reviews.
https://www.facebook.com/Kylies-Book-...
April 12, 2021
Maguire writes fearlessly about life’s messiness, without letting it consume or overwhelm the reader. I was particularly taken with Maguire’s treatment of class and perception; it’s a theme that purposefully permeates every strand of this story. Love Objects is a frank and highly-readable novel about family, fear, and confrontation.
I posted my full review of Love Objects on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
I posted my full review of Love Objects on Keeping Up With The Penguins.
January 11, 2022
This book did not work for me. The interconnecting lives of the characters were so laden with important issues that the work labours under the weight of the subjects being covered. In other words this book was ambitious.
There was much hype about the author’s fine research into the mental illness disorder of hoarding. To me, it was a superficial attempt to cover an important topic. Certainly, many find the idea of storing rubbish, acquiring tea cups and shoes, or even being compelled to shop, a far cry from the need to possess or even collect, ‘love objects’. However, l felt that this was a connection the reader was implicitly expected to make. Yet one of the protagonists heartlessly ignores the hoarder’s feelings. Indeed, she brutally destroys the collection, all the while dismissing the advice of the experts as she does.
The other area of focus in this novel is sexual abuse on a university campus. Here the reader is witness to the way a consensual encounter has the potential, via various digital platforms, to destroy a young woman’s reputation, dignity and identity simultaneously. Yet, again, this did not work for me. Here the ‘love objects’ are an assailant from the monied world and a girl from the working classes who is initially enamoured with him. How original. Tess of the d’Urbervilles meets a contemporary misogynist rating system. The actual encounter contains sexually explicit language that would work well in a titillating soft porn piece and while the idea might have been to convey the still present double standards it was uncomfortably gross, as was the attempt at youth/teen vernacular. Is ‘cunty’ an adjective now?
The novel also contains denigrating comments about education, which to be fair, probably mirrors the attitude of many young people towards teaching: ‘the profession you entered because you didn’t get the marks to enter any of the good ones’. Ouch! And this is from the protagonist on the margins of society, who in this instance seems to have adopted the views of the upper-middle class.
Finally, the cover of this novel was a work of art: arresting, beautiful and thought provoking. Pity about the text.
There was much hype about the author’s fine research into the mental illness disorder of hoarding. To me, it was a superficial attempt to cover an important topic. Certainly, many find the idea of storing rubbish, acquiring tea cups and shoes, or even being compelled to shop, a far cry from the need to possess or even collect, ‘love objects’. However, l felt that this was a connection the reader was implicitly expected to make. Yet one of the protagonists heartlessly ignores the hoarder’s feelings. Indeed, she brutally destroys the collection, all the while dismissing the advice of the experts as she does.
The other area of focus in this novel is sexual abuse on a university campus. Here the reader is witness to the way a consensual encounter has the potential, via various digital platforms, to destroy a young woman’s reputation, dignity and identity simultaneously. Yet, again, this did not work for me. Here the ‘love objects’ are an assailant from the monied world and a girl from the working classes who is initially enamoured with him. How original. Tess of the d’Urbervilles meets a contemporary misogynist rating system. The actual encounter contains sexually explicit language that would work well in a titillating soft porn piece and while the idea might have been to convey the still present double standards it was uncomfortably gross, as was the attempt at youth/teen vernacular. Is ‘cunty’ an adjective now?
The novel also contains denigrating comments about education, which to be fair, probably mirrors the attitude of many young people towards teaching: ‘the profession you entered because you didn’t get the marks to enter any of the good ones’. Ouch! And this is from the protagonist on the margins of society, who in this instance seems to have adopted the views of the upper-middle class.
Finally, the cover of this novel was a work of art: arresting, beautiful and thought provoking. Pity about the text.
April 19, 2021
Three main characters inhabit this novel: Nic, a forty-five-year-old woman, single, working as a cashier in a shop; her niece, Lena, a twenty-year-old teaching student, and Lena's brother, Will, twenty-four, a kind person, who is lost and down on his luck.
Nic and Lena meet on Sundays for lunch.
When Nic suffers a fall inside her own home, the truth about her living conditions shocks Lena and her brother. Self-incrimination, guilt, accusations and a whole gamut of emotions come to the surface. Both Lena and Will have their own personal battles and stresses.
How easy is it to lose sight of those we claim we care about? Sometimes, it's easy to love someone from a distance, although, we all need someone to be a witness to our lives.
Written in an accessible way, Love Objects deals with issues regarding mental illness, loneliness, class, grief, and consent.
Nic and Lena meet on Sundays for lunch.
When Nic suffers a fall inside her own home, the truth about her living conditions shocks Lena and her brother. Self-incrimination, guilt, accusations and a whole gamut of emotions come to the surface. Both Lena and Will have their own personal battles and stresses.
How easy is it to lose sight of those we claim we care about? Sometimes, it's easy to love someone from a distance, although, we all need someone to be a witness to our lives.
Written in an accessible way, Love Objects deals with issues regarding mental illness, loneliness, class, grief, and consent.
July 21, 2021
I think I wanted more from this book. There are hints at why Nic hoards but I wanted more of a psychological exploration of it.
May 11, 2021
I absolutely loved this novel. I had the privilege of attending Emily Maguire’s event at the Sydney Writers’ Festival, which deepened my appreciation for Emily’s craft. She’s done a brilliant job with characterisation - I was completely invested in the characters from the beginning, particularly Lena who experiences a terrible incident at uni. Emily also writes compassionately about Lena’s aunt Nic, who suffers from hoarding disorder. This is where the research that went into the book really shines. I appreciate when fiction writers do research to make sure what they write (whether it’s character or place) is as authentically represented as possible. It is very obvious that Emily spent a lot of time researching hoarding disorder to support her character development, without coming across like non-fiction. Emily also does a beautiful job of examining class, especially via the character Will - Lena’s brother. As someone who has operated on dental abscesses in the public health system, I know very well the barriers to dental health care in Australia and really felt the pain and struggle of Will who was battling with a tooth infection and unable to find the care he needed. The ending for me was a bit too neatly tied together and a little abrupt, but overall I enjoyed this book so much and can’t wait to read the next book that Emily writes!
May 4, 2021
Love Objects explores hoarding, revenge porn, class divisions and the lifelong impacts of multigenerational trauma. Like Emily Maguire’s stunning last novel, An Isolated Incident, it is concerned with gender, power, complex familial bonds, and secrets. It is (appropriately) deeply suffused with love, but also with pain, cruelty, betrayal and ultimately redemption, all rendered with deep, heart-breaking empathy.
April 14, 2021
So, so good. The kind of book that makes me want to be a better writer. Exquisite characterisations that made me interrogate so many of my own prejuduces and assumptions. An idea in every word..
June 20, 2021
Enjoy the ephemeral while you can.
April 26, 2021
Sooooo amazing! Beautifully written, compelling, timely (notably, what happens to Lena) and so rich. Hope to return and write a proper review but just want to recommend this far and wide in the meantime!
December 15, 2022
*https://mrsbbookreviews.wordpress.com
Emily Maguire is the acclaimed author of An Isolated Incident, a novel that struck a chord with me due to the standard of Maguire’s writing. Love Objects is this teacher and mentor’s most recent release. A knowing tale that looks at the mixed emotions involved in issues of family, betrayal, compassion and assistance, Love Objects is a revealing contemporary novel.
Love Objects slowly unfurls the difficult life of a forty something woman who has her heart in the right place, but her actions are somewhat perplexing. Nic is a gentle woman who helps to rescue stray animals, but her life is in complete chaos. Nic’s home is packed to the brim with furniture, clothes and useless possessions. It is blindingly clear that Nic’s house desperately needs to be sorted out. Nic’s niece Lena loves her scatty aunt, and after one failed lunch date, Lena decides that she needs to help her aunt clean up her life. This act of salvation has a devastating impact on both. Love Objects is a story that raises many important issues about family, help, forgiveness, betrayal, loneliness, connection, values and morals.
I last experienced Emily Maguire’s writing back in 2016, so I was looking forward to reconnecting with this six-time author and essayist. Love Objects has such an aesthetically pleasing cover that I fell in love with this book just due to its exquisite outer shell. When I delved inside the pages of Love Objects, I was presented with a poignant, moving, but upsetting tale.
Voiced from three different corners, Love Objects follows Nic, Lena and Will. Told in four parts, Emily Maguire’s 2021 release is a strong character driven novel. We receive quite an insight into the feelings, emotions, decisions, fears and hopes of this trio. Maguire seems to successfully express the lives and inner worlds of these protagonists. I seemed to warm to Lena, as I could feel her love for her aunt and her intentions were honourable. In Will, I did struggle to appreciate his journey and Nic’s life really had me lost for words. Love Objects was a difficult and sad story to read in all honesty.
Maguire has clearly devoted plenty of research time to the main subject of Love Objects which revolves around hoarding. With social issues leading the floor in this one, Love Objects raises some important topics in regards to class, poverty, mental illness, relationship breakdown, incarceration, starting over, abuse, intervention, support, life mistakes and compassion. Maguire’s approach is full of understanding and sensitivity, but this one failed to ignite my full devoted interest. It did make me feel extremely sorry for the characters in this tale, as they were all inflicted by some psychological pain in this story.
Love Objects is a tempestuous tale that offers some essential insight into those who suffer from the affliction of accumulating goods and possessions to the brink of despair. Honest and high minded, this one has good intentions, but for me it didn’t completely fill the bill. Many others have appreciated this compassionate story so please do seek out these positive reviews.
*Thanks extended to Allen & Unwin for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
Emily Maguire is the acclaimed author of An Isolated Incident, a novel that struck a chord with me due to the standard of Maguire’s writing. Love Objects is this teacher and mentor’s most recent release. A knowing tale that looks at the mixed emotions involved in issues of family, betrayal, compassion and assistance, Love Objects is a revealing contemporary novel.
Love Objects slowly unfurls the difficult life of a forty something woman who has her heart in the right place, but her actions are somewhat perplexing. Nic is a gentle woman who helps to rescue stray animals, but her life is in complete chaos. Nic’s home is packed to the brim with furniture, clothes and useless possessions. It is blindingly clear that Nic’s house desperately needs to be sorted out. Nic’s niece Lena loves her scatty aunt, and after one failed lunch date, Lena decides that she needs to help her aunt clean up her life. This act of salvation has a devastating impact on both. Love Objects is a story that raises many important issues about family, help, forgiveness, betrayal, loneliness, connection, values and morals.
I last experienced Emily Maguire’s writing back in 2016, so I was looking forward to reconnecting with this six-time author and essayist. Love Objects has such an aesthetically pleasing cover that I fell in love with this book just due to its exquisite outer shell. When I delved inside the pages of Love Objects, I was presented with a poignant, moving, but upsetting tale.
Voiced from three different corners, Love Objects follows Nic, Lena and Will. Told in four parts, Emily Maguire’s 2021 release is a strong character driven novel. We receive quite an insight into the feelings, emotions, decisions, fears and hopes of this trio. Maguire seems to successfully express the lives and inner worlds of these protagonists. I seemed to warm to Lena, as I could feel her love for her aunt and her intentions were honourable. In Will, I did struggle to appreciate his journey and Nic’s life really had me lost for words. Love Objects was a difficult and sad story to read in all honesty.
Maguire has clearly devoted plenty of research time to the main subject of Love Objects which revolves around hoarding. With social issues leading the floor in this one, Love Objects raises some important topics in regards to class, poverty, mental illness, relationship breakdown, incarceration, starting over, abuse, intervention, support, life mistakes and compassion. Maguire’s approach is full of understanding and sensitivity, but this one failed to ignite my full devoted interest. It did make me feel extremely sorry for the characters in this tale, as they were all inflicted by some psychological pain in this story.
Love Objects is a tempestuous tale that offers some essential insight into those who suffer from the affliction of accumulating goods and possessions to the brink of despair. Honest and high minded, this one has good intentions, but for me it didn’t completely fill the bill. Many others have appreciated this compassionate story so please do seek out these positive reviews.
*Thanks extended to Allen & Unwin for providing a free copy of this book for review purposes.
April 26, 2021
‘Nic’s shoes had always worn unevenly.’
Forty-three-year-old Nicole (Nic) Miller lives on her own in Leichhardt, Sydney. She collects stuff: some because it needs a home, some because it might be useful and newspapers because they will increase her trivia-related knowledge. Nic cares for the local stray cats (which makes some of her neighbours angry) and works in a local store.
Nic’s niece, twenty-year-old Lena Harris, has moved to Sydney to attend university. She and Nic catch up over lunch each Sunday. Lena works shifts in a shop and lives in university accommodation. Lena’s had her eye on Josh for two months and looks forward to getting to know him more intimately. And she does.
On Sunday, when Lena goes to meet Nic for lunch, Nic doesn’t turn up. Nor does she answer her phone. Lena goes to her house. Lena is devastated to find Nic injured and unconscious under a mountain of stuff. She and the police manage to clear enough of a passage into Nic’s house for the paramedics to retrieve Nic, who is taken to hospital.
But clearing Nic’s house so that she can return to it is only one of the problems Lena has to deal with. Her encounter with Josh was filmed without her knowledge and has gone viral. Her phone keeps pinging with lewd photographs and comments. And then her brother Will turns up.
The story unfolds through chapters by Nic, Lena and Will. In Nic’s chapters, it is easy to see how (and why) she has become a hoarder. Nic is collecting memories and she does not see the objects she collects as inanimate. Each object has a story, a history. While Lena and Will are trying to clear Nic’s home to make it safe for her to return, Nc will be devastated. Through Lena’s chapters we see how dehumanising and devastating the video of her encounter with Josh is. She can keep herself occupied by clearing Nic’s home, but other aspects of her life are crumbling. And Will, who has lost his job and is coping with a relationship breakdown as well as physical pain from an infected tooth helps Lena but is caught up in his own issues.
Nic returns home, angry and upset about the amount of her precious stuff that Lena and Will have discarded. How can each of them move forward?
I found this a thought provoking read, with touches of humour and heartbreak. Each of the three characters was well developed, each of them came alive for me. Three people, caught up in family history, each needing to find a way ahead.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Forty-three-year-old Nicole (Nic) Miller lives on her own in Leichhardt, Sydney. She collects stuff: some because it needs a home, some because it might be useful and newspapers because they will increase her trivia-related knowledge. Nic cares for the local stray cats (which makes some of her neighbours angry) and works in a local store.
Nic’s niece, twenty-year-old Lena Harris, has moved to Sydney to attend university. She and Nic catch up over lunch each Sunday. Lena works shifts in a shop and lives in university accommodation. Lena’s had her eye on Josh for two months and looks forward to getting to know him more intimately. And she does.
On Sunday, when Lena goes to meet Nic for lunch, Nic doesn’t turn up. Nor does she answer her phone. Lena goes to her house. Lena is devastated to find Nic injured and unconscious under a mountain of stuff. She and the police manage to clear enough of a passage into Nic’s house for the paramedics to retrieve Nic, who is taken to hospital.
But clearing Nic’s house so that she can return to it is only one of the problems Lena has to deal with. Her encounter with Josh was filmed without her knowledge and has gone viral. Her phone keeps pinging with lewd photographs and comments. And then her brother Will turns up.
The story unfolds through chapters by Nic, Lena and Will. In Nic’s chapters, it is easy to see how (and why) she has become a hoarder. Nic is collecting memories and she does not see the objects she collects as inanimate. Each object has a story, a history. While Lena and Will are trying to clear Nic’s home to make it safe for her to return, Nc will be devastated. Through Lena’s chapters we see how dehumanising and devastating the video of her encounter with Josh is. She can keep herself occupied by clearing Nic’s home, but other aspects of her life are crumbling. And Will, who has lost his job and is coping with a relationship breakdown as well as physical pain from an infected tooth helps Lena but is caught up in his own issues.
Nic returns home, angry and upset about the amount of her precious stuff that Lena and Will have discarded. How can each of them move forward?
I found this a thought provoking read, with touches of humour and heartbreak. Each of the three characters was well developed, each of them came alive for me. Three people, caught up in family history, each needing to find a way ahead.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
September 20, 2021
ACT Library Bookclub - Too Busy Bookclub
First Book - September 2021
An engaging Australian contemporary family story. Three main narrators from the same family. All facing their own challenges of modern living, with not very much money to hand, especially for the two younger narrators. But at least they don't have the hoarder problem of their dear Aunt who lives alone in what was her Mother's house. Their interactions and the way they deal lovingly with their problems makes it a good read and a good one to discuss in a book group.
It's my first Emily Maguire and it was terrific hearing her talk about the book via a fb live video and spurs me on to want to read her backlist.
First Book - September 2021
An engaging Australian contemporary family story. Three main narrators from the same family. All facing their own challenges of modern living, with not very much money to hand, especially for the two younger narrators. But at least they don't have the hoarder problem of their dear Aunt who lives alone in what was her Mother's house. Their interactions and the way they deal lovingly with their problems makes it a good read and a good one to discuss in a book group.
It's my first Emily Maguire and it was terrific hearing her talk about the book via a fb live video and spurs me on to want to read her backlist.
July 8, 2023
3.75/5. Three family members affected by past and present trauma, shaping them slowly over time into the very flawed individuals they are today. It is an unusual story of family love (aunt and her niece and nephew) which covers a lot of ground - hoarding disorder and its aetiology, substance abuse, sexual violation. The pacing was quite slow initially, the characters sometimes frustated me with their fallacious behaviour (probably the point) and the ending was relatively abrupt after such a protracted first half. Bonus points however for the Sydney setting and the story, though told in non-florid language, did pack some emotional punches.
The narration is very working-class Aussie so I guess it lends quite an authentic voice or voices to the characters.
The narration is very working-class Aussie so I guess it lends quite an authentic voice or voices to the characters.
July 12, 2021
2 ☆
Finished reading … Love Objects / Emily Maguire ... 11 July 2021
ISBN: 9781760878337 … 389 pp.
The focus of the publicity for this book is on the mental illness that is hoarding. As such, it gives a real insight into the mind of a sufferer. We also get a good picture of the extended family to which she belongs, going back to her childhood. So far, so very good, but that's only 2/3 of the story.
What is rarely mentioned is that about 1/3 of the book is about the hoarder's niece being the victim of a sex episode being filmed (unknown to her) and uploaded on the internet where she is easily identifiable. The filmed incident is described in graphic detail and later references to the incident and related matters, while much briefer, are also quite explicit.
The two very different scenarios are worked in together skilfully. The solutions, such as they are, to both the hoarding and the published sex video problems are worked out neatly too, if perhaps a little wishfully.
The whole story line is good but the graphic sex is not my cup of tea (neither is graphic violence). It's a pity the potential reader isn't warned about that. Maybe it's my age, but I'm sure I'm not the only one.
If you don't mind graphic sex, this is a good, insightful read.
If, like me, you'd rather not, then give this book a miss.
If this is typical of Maguire, I won't be reading her again.
Borrowed from my local library.
March 20, 2021
With so much interest in minimalist lifestyles and only keeping objects that we love, what does it mean when there is so much around us that we can not live in our home, but we cannot bear to part with anything. Love Objects is the story of Nic and what happens when her obsession with collecting items gets out of hand.
Lena, her niece, must tidy the house so her aunt can come home. At the same time, Lena is coping with a video on the internet of her having sex with a guy. She is easily identifiable due to the scar on her arm and her phone is being bombarded by negative messages. She is trying to do the right thing by cleaning the house and throwing items out, but she is unaware of the distress that this is causing Nic.
The resolution at the end, where the family is once more united and there is some justice for Lena, is a little contrived. However, I would still recommend the book, for showing us how differently we all cope with trauma.
Lena, her niece, must tidy the house so her aunt can come home. At the same time, Lena is coping with a video on the internet of her having sex with a guy. She is easily identifiable due to the scar on her arm and her phone is being bombarded by negative messages. She is trying to do the right thing by cleaning the house and throwing items out, but she is unaware of the distress that this is causing Nic.
The resolution at the end, where the family is once more united and there is some justice for Lena, is a little contrived. However, I would still recommend the book, for showing us how differently we all cope with trauma.
April 19, 2021
I freaking LOVED this book! As you can tell from my reviews, I am obsessed with hoarding and clutter and associated issues. This is fiction, but I think it captured one part of hoarding - the personification/anthropomorphism of objects. I think I must have a touch of anthropomorphobia though, because those attachments really horrify me. The relationships were fascinating but the material-person relations were the stand-out. The character isn’t an extreme hoarder but still has a disorder.
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