Objects of Desire - Clare Sestanovich

Genre: Short Stories

Release Date: Expected 22nd July 2021

Publisher: Pan Macmillan - Picador

Having being hailed as a 'Mostly Anticipated Book of 2021' by Lithub and The Millions, Objects of Desire definitely has a certain unique charm about it, a voice that is sure to make it's mark on the literary world.

Featuring eleven stories that delve into the hidden world of womens desires and wants, their interior thoughts that are rarely brought to the surface. From childish yearning to aching desire, this looks into the many facets of life from relationships and envy, to motherhood in all it's incarnations, to growing older and growing up.

From a young woman who spends her days imagining what it would be like to be pregnant with her married lover, to a sucessful graphic designer trying to celebrate her sons wedding while dealing with sexual assault allegations, to a woman who hasn't seen her old lover since she had an abortion many years ago until she suddenly bumped into him and a young girl talking to an old teacher about trying to understand herself as a whole person - this collection spans eleven very different lives joined together with one unique voice. Stand-outs for me were Security Questions and By Design in particular.

This collection was written in a somewhat dream-like prose to me, very atmospheric and thoughtful. Each with a very delicately uneasy aura and dryly amusing observations, each story felt very cleverly crafted as being so different yet familiar at the same time. I felt that some of the stories fell slightly short, and while I know not all stories need an ending, it felt as though many of them ended mid-sentence without the time for the reader to fully absorb the characters and their meanings.

Objects of Desire is definitely a wonderful debut, I'm very curious to see what Sestanovich does next.

RATING: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

Thank you to Clare Sestanovich, Pan Macmillan and netgalley for this ARC in return for an honest review.

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