trashwolff 's review for:

Objects of Desire by Neil Blackmore

5.0

adventurous dark emotional funny informative mysterious medium-paced

Strong character development: Yes

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Well this book is just superb. Right up my street - queer, 20th century historical and some characters in it are real life figures. I love a fictionalisation of IRLs. It’s just so yummy to get that indulgent, imagined immersion into the lives of those who intrigue or horrify. And that Blackmore writes so beautifully, so wittily, so deliciously? His lead is fully formed, we are inside of his murky head the whole way. These literary figures who were caricatures of themselves in their own public performances are portrayed as delectably as one would want. And the story is great! So great. You can feel the air of each era (it covers forty years), each city, each apartment, restaurant, or street corner. The author has obviously done his research very thoroughly (we get a list of his sources at the end of the book), and chooses so well each morsel, bon mot, a turn of phrase, or mannerism and encapsulates them into the world of the novel so that we don’t doubt that it all happened, just like he tells us. Gorgeous, shocking, satisfying. Yes!