Review: Compelling
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 09 8, 2013
I spotted this book on an advance notice of publication and put in on my wish list.  Something about it called to me, even before it was released. Perhaps because the only episode of the TV show "Hoarders" I ever watched featured a gay man. Perhaps because an older gay friend of mine slipped into hoarding several years before his death in a convalescent home. He languished for two years in the convalescent home because his own home had become uninhabitable and he was no longer physically or emotionally able to handle cleaning it out and he vehemently refused the help of friends and professionals to make it right again. Perhaps it called to me because I am retired but once made my living as a mental health therapist and, later, a social worker who made home visits and occasionally stumbled into a hoard.Jaspar, the identified hoarder in this novel, is a really likable guy and I must admit that I was grateful his hoarding was of books, newspaper and other paper products and not some of the worse things that can be hoarded to create awful health hazards.  I had to get past my own professional ethics regarding never getting sexually involved with clients to fully enjoy the book but I did let go of making too much of it and just allowed myself to take it at face value. I found myself savoring the book, reading it over several days, rather than bursting through it from start to finish like I do many books of this genre. Perhaps this was because of the memories stored in me of my, now deceased, friend and the various hoards I stumbled into as a home visiting social worker. I found that I  needed  to mentally and emotionally sort some of those memories while reading the book.  I have been in Lewis' shoes, trying to get someone to clean up their mess and it can be really overwhelming. I really liked that Lewis was self-aware enough to know his own psychological flaws and shortcomings.  If Jasper had transference, then Lewis had counter transference.This book was a very different backdrop to an m/m romance novel than any I have read so far.  I truly enjoyed it and also cleaned out a couple of closets and hauled away all of my, no longer used, professional attire during the reading of this book!  Since I retired two years ago, have gained some weight and have no desire to hang on to things I don't really have use for, this book actually spurred me into action.  Thank you, Ms. Myles!  My closets are clean, Jasper's house is cleaned and sorted, Lewis has finally found his permanent love and all is right in the world. LOL.