Review: Unearthing Cole
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 29, 2013
Cole knew what his parents were like, but after their deaths he's alone and facing the family home, which seems too much to cope with. They were compulsive hoarders, and his father a mechanic, so they filled every room and shed with junk. He intends to sell his inheritance but first he'll have to make it habitable, and he's out of money. Then Jeremy arrives, a good-looking antique dealer, and picks out a bike frame worth a hundred dollars. He offers to help Cole sell goods on commission.In the background of Cole's mind however looms a guy he met in college, a former boyfriend and control freak who has been stalking him. Jeremy offers to contact collectors and dealers, hold an auction or a yard sale, and tells how donating clothes can get a tax write-off, usable food can go to a food bank. Embarrassed and sad, Cole doesn't want a lot of people around, but this does seem expedient. But what if publicity enables the stalker to find his location? And does that copy of 'Out' magazine lying around in Jeremy's apartment mean what Cole thinks it does?For anyone who finds hoarding TV shows compulsive viewing, or who has dispersed a deceased relative's goods, UNEARTHING COLE hooks from the start. The sheer physical hard work, the piles of trash and unopened purchases, make us wonder how we would cope with this excessive collecting mania in a loved one. Cole has come out of a violent relationship, and finds it hard to trust anyone. Cole's nervous reactions and panic attacks are gently related by AM Arthur, so we feel outrage at his former partner's behaviour. This is an adult romance between two decent young men, but it has something for everyone.