Objects of My Affection (Smolinski)

Objects of My Affection
Jill Smolinski, 2012
Touchstone Press
320 pp.
ISBN-13: 9781451660753


Summary
In the humorous, heartfelt new novel by the author of The Next Thing on My List, a personal organizer must somehow convince a reclusive artist to give up her hoarding ways and let go of the stuff she’s hung on to for decades.

Lucy Bloom is broke, freshly dumped by her boyfriend, and forced to sell her house to send her nineteen-year-old son to drug rehab. Although she’s lost it all, she’s determined to start over. So when she’s offered a high-paying gig helping clear the clutter from the home of reclusive and eccentric painter Marva Meier Rios, Lucy grabs it.

Armed with the organizing expertise she gained while writing her book, Things Are Not People, and fueled by a burning desire to get her life back on track, Lucy rolls up her sleeves to take on the mess that fills every room of Marva’s huge home. Lucy soon learns that the real challenge may be taking on Marva, who seems to love the objects in her home too much to let go of any of them.

While trying to stay on course toward a strict deadline—and with an ex-boyfriend back in the picture, a new romance on the scene, and her son’s rehab not going as planned—Lucy discovers that Marva isn’t just hoarding, she is also hiding a big secret. The two form an unlikely bond, as each learns from the other that there are those things in life we keep, those we need to let go—but it’s not always easy to know the difference. (From the publisher.)

Author Bio
• Birth—N/A
• Where—Troy, Michigan, USA
• Education—B.A., Central Michigan University
• Currently—lives near Los Angeles, California


Jill Smolinski is the author of the novels The Next Thing on My List and Flip-Flopped, as well as nine non-fiction titles on subjects including origami, travel games and supermodels. Her work has appeared in major women's magazines, as well as in an anthology of short stories, American Girls About Town. A transplanted midwesterner, she now lives in Los Angeles with her son (From the publishers.)

Extras
• At six years of age, Jill was invited to participate in a young authors conference because of a short story she wrote. From then on, she wanted to be a writer.

• She actually works, as June does, for a non-profit group that promotes carpooling or bus-riding. "Over the years, I've become somewhat of a rideshare expert—I can rattle off statistics and facts about carpooling in California so extensively...that I'm rarely invited to dinner parties anymore." (From the author's website.)

Book Reviews
Smolinski's (The Next Thing on My List) latest novel revolves around two completely different women brought together under unordinary circumstances. Lucy is broke and homeless, as she has sold everything to pay for her teenage son's rehab. Hired as a professional organizer to clean the home of the great artist Marva Meier Rios, Lucy soon discovers that Marva is difficult, withdrawn, and an incessant hoarder. Helping Marva sort through her possessions is a challenge made even more difficult when there is a fast-approaching deadline. As the two women work together, Lucy literally uncovers a secret that Marva is hoarding, and Marva learns a thing or two about the detached Lucy. Can the stubborn Marva make room for people in her overcluttered space before it's too late? Verdict: This is a pleasant and engaging novel with likable protagonists who evolve; however, the relationships among the book's other characters aren't as fully explored, and the resolution seems hurried and flat. —Anne M. Miskewitch, Chicago P.L.
Library Journal


A moving look at the dangers of holding on to both objects and one’s misconceptions, Smolinski’s third novel will draw readers in through her flawed but sympathetic characters.
Booklist


If things are not people, then why do they seem to matter so much? A hoarder and organizational expert clash in this light, amusing novel from Smolinski (The Next Thing on my List, 2007, etc.). Lucy Bloom...help[s] Marva Meier Rios clear her house of clutter.... Of course the reclusive artist makes the job impossible, forcing Lucy to debate the merits of every fork, candlestick and flamingo-shaped umbrella holder.... And Lucy may have let go of a lot of things, but she hasn't released the memories—some true, some misremembered—that bind her to Ash and Daniel. A charmingly breezy tone marks this warm appraisal of our addiction to stuff.
Kirkus Reviews

Discussion Questions
1. Lucy and Marva’s relationship gets off to a rocky start, and Lucy initially finds her new employer both intimidating and crass. In what ways did Lucy’s view of Marva change throughout the course of the novel? What were some of the turning points in their relationship? What was the most important one?

2. How do you think Marva’s hoarding tendencies developed? Do you believe she truly intended to clear out her house? Why now?

3. Lucy admits she initially refused to grasp the severity of her son’s drug problems. Why do you think that is?

4. Compare Marva and Lucy as mothers. Are they as different as they appear on the surface? What scares Lucy about Will’s relationship to Marva, and how does that affect Lucy’s approach to dealing with Ash?

5. When discussing how her house burned down years ago with Fillippe still in it, Marva states: “He always did have a flair for the dramatic.” Do you think Fillippe purposely set the fire? How did this event influence Marva’s future? Was it still realistic that she keep her promise to him?

6. Daniel and Lucy’s quest to rescue Grimm’s Fairy Tales from the storage warehouse is a rare screwball comedy moment for the otherwise serious Lucy. Is there anything you’d go to such lengths to rescue?

7. At the beginning of the novel, Lucy has sacrificed her home and virtually all of her belongings to send Ash to rehab. How did you feel when Lucy finds out Ash has checked himself out of the facility? Did you agree with her actions that followed? Would you have done anything differently if you were in Lucy’s position?

8. Lucy comes close to selling her cherished car, but at the last minute changes her mind, saying that it’s the idea of the car and how it makes her feel that is difficult to let go. Do you think Lucy’s refusal to sell her car is justified? Do you think that an object’s importance is related to the feeling that a person associates with the object, rather than the object itself? What is such an object in your life?

9. At the end of the book Marva is painting over her most famous painting, “Woman Freshly Tossed.” She says she is “giving it a second life.” Were you surprised by her actions? Do you think she did the right thing?

10. Lucy may be the organizing expert, but it soon becomes clear both of these women have something to teach the other. Other than how to de-clutter her home, what did Marva ultimately learn from Lucy? And were you surprised by what Lucy learned from Marva?
(Questions issued by publisher.)

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