About book Important Artifacts And Personal Property From The Collection Of Lenore Doolan And Harold Morris, Including Books, Street Fashion, And Jewelry (2009)
A fairly ordinary relationship arc, elevated to interest purely through unique presentation, its mapping entirely onto things: collections, gifts, ephemera. Through an auction catalogue of discarded possessions -- items and desciptions -- we see the entire development of the mutual life of two people, from meeting to breakup. How much do our possessions really us? Some things not others. The inclusion of personal notes allows insight beyond just likes and dislikes (maybe a little bit of a stretch, but if we treat these people as celebrities, then sure, each little note and shopping list is of some kind of valid auction interest). Of course, they aren't. They, and their story, is essentially as mundane as the piles of possessions they leave behind. Form fitting content, or some such. But it does build a kind of portrait. And their are some interesting inferences lurking amid certain of the entries, shadings of backstory we can't ever really see in full. (Brooklyn library impulse read)Later: docked one star for its overwhelming bourgieness and the general disinterest of its characters. They do read good books though, in nice vintage editions. Obviously I'm just jealous. Loved it! Expected it to be flimsy and gimmicky. Expected to be irritated by the bourgeois New York-iness of it. But it grabbed me right from the letter in the preface. It is an account of a relationship told through artifacts - photos, postcards, gifts, books etc. Have never read anything like it and loved its originality. Characters grab you from the start, and although it is disappointing that Hal turns out to not only have control issues but is a commitment phobe to boot - well, hey-ho, it isn't the first time a metrosexual male has fallen into both categories...
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Interesting book to read, really liked the way "story" was told.
—hongreen
Their "stuff" was fun to see. Especially the stuffed squirrel.
—LuizaIonela
