Forty-five-year-old Nic seems to be on top of it all. She is living in her inherited family home (much to the chagrin of her estranged sister), has a stable job in a local supermarket which she has held for over thirty years and appears happily resigned to a single life. But things are not quite as they seem. Her thin veneer of calm hides a multitude of sins. Her family history is a mix of lies, too-soon deaths and criminal endeavours. She clings desperately to her relationships with niece Lena and keeps herself happy by saving ‘love objects’. She is a hoarder. When she has a fall in her house, as a result of the piles of rubbish and tat, everything unravels as her secret life is made public.
But Nic is not the only one whose personal life has been put out there for all to see. Lena, a twenty-year-old university student has struggled to get into university. She scored a scholarship to cover her course fees and student through sheer grit and determination and by reworking her school grades through the TAFE system. She has no cash, some great friends and is struggling to maintain her GPA. When she falls for a handsome jock, she is lured into having sex with him in another student’s room. Within days of the event, a secret video of the encounter is splashed all over the internet. Lena stops attending Uni, quits her job, and ploughs her energies into cleaning out Nic’s place so that she can return home from the hospital.
Will, Lena’s bother, the final character in the trio, is not long out of prison. He stuck in Mackay, recently retrenched, and his personal relationship is in tatters. He moves to Sydney to help Lena with Nic, and hopefully find a way to rebuild his life and restore his shattered dreams.
“Love Objects” is a story about fractured family relationships, mental illness and trying to find one’s place in a world when you don’t really seem to fit. It is challenging and beautiful all at once. The characters are endearing, and each offer relatable characteristics and situations in at least some parts of their individual stories.
The story unfolds using third-person narration, with the point of view switching between Nic, Lena and Will. The plot flows smoothly, seamlessly interweaving between the character’s stories. The chapters are well set out and easy to read for those who read on the go. My only criticism is that the story resolves a little too quickly and a bit too neatly, considering the depth of the family issues and psychological trauma covered in the stories.
Emily Maguire has written three non-fiction books and six other novels, including “An Isolated Incident”. ( )

Emily Maguire is one of Australia's most dynamic writers: she tackles difficult contemporary topics in fiction which is engrossing, sensitive and deeply satisfying to read.

Love Objects is the story of a single woman whose independence is under threat because she has a hoarding disorder. Nic is only forty-five, but when she has a fall, triggered by the chaos of treasured possessions in her home, she lies unable to move for days. Help does not come until her niece Lena realises something is wrong when Nic doesn't turn up for their usual Sunday lunch. The ambos can barely get into the house because the corridors are stacked to the ceiling with old newspapers and magazines, and Lena, who—despite her close relationship with her aunt—hasn't been inside the house for some years, is horrified by the state of it. She's appalled by the social worker's suggestion that Nic might not be 'allowed' to return home, but is immediately conflicted by the promise she makes to Nic that she won't throw anything out. To get Nic home involves betrayal.

Lena is guilt-stricken that she didn't know about the situation, but she has a serious problem of her own. A casual sexual encounter with another student who she really likes, turns into a nightmare when without her knowledge or consent he shared a video of it and it went viral. Though her face is obscured, she's easily recognisable by a distinctive scar on her arm, and a barrage of disgusting messages and revolting comments on her phone ensue. It turns out that this video was premeditated by a cohort of these privileged students, with cameras set up beforehand. It was carefully edited so that he can't be identified and uploaded to a site where her appearance and performance are 'rated'. All sorts of problems arise because Lena is so overwhelmed and distressed by this that she keeps her phone turned off most of the time.

Maguire writes about class in Australia with discernment, and the background of this family is complex. Lena's college accommodation is dependent on her fulfilling the terms of her enrolment, which adds to her problems when she has to drop everything to help Nic, skipping classes and an important appointment. Although she's obviously intelligent, she's not a great student, and she feels out of her depth socially and intellectually. Aunty Nic became the mother Lena wanted to have because her home offered fun and laughter and not taking things too seriously... but as Lena finds out about the complex psychological issues involved in hoarding, she begins to realise that the hoarding is a response to some distress that she didn't know about.

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2021/05/11/love-objects-by-emily-maguire/ ( )