Book Review: The Lives of Things
The Lives of Things. Stephanie Wilson Medlock. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, October 8, 2013, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 378 pages.
Reviewed by Sue Roupp.
The Lives of Things is a captivating story that follows 34-year-old Rebecca Katz as she works at Atherton’s auction house in New York City. With two doctorate degrees under her belt, Rebecca is well-known for authenticating difficult pieces and has risen quickly in the organization.
At the age of six, the creator of her Madame Alexander doll began to talk to her. Now, her secret life is quite different because from every piece of art, artifact, or sculpture she hears the voice from the soul of the creator. Her office at Atherton’s is white, with a Lucite desk, glass chairs, no artwork, only an Apple computer on her desk. This austere office provides the quiet she needs to do her work with no artifact voice to distract her.
Because she can talk to the creators of the artwork by transmitting thoughts to them and hearing their voices in her mind, she is, at times, overwhelmed by their demands. Fortunately, Rebecca can silence them. But when an Afghani dagger comes into her possession, the ancient creator of the dagger is angry, and Rebecca discovers this dagger carries a curse.
While Rebecca is transporting the dagger to Florida, she is abducted twice and released without harm. Through the dangers and adventure, we meet lively characters both good and bad. In Atherton’s Miami office, there is a suit of armor that even helps Rebecca hide from an abductor.
We are introduced to a number of great pieces of art, learning their history through the creator of the painting as it speaks with Rebecca. It is clear the author of this book did extensive research on each object, and we learn about the fascinating history of many great objects.
While in France in a large manor house owned by her friend, Francois, we are whisked away to the French villages surrounding the property. Francois has his own chattering collection of things and there may be a love connection between Rebecca and Francois. Rebecca begins to wonder if she is in France to find romance or to evaluate Francois’ collection of precious artifacts.
This is an entertaining read that many will enjoy. We root for our hero, Rebecca, as she encounters many challenges in putting the dagger up for sale. We want her to have a romance and look forward to the next book.
I wish the author had begun the story in Chapter 2, “Madame Alexander’s Doll.” The first few pages might set the location, but they are unnecessary, as the location is adequately made known later in the book.
In my research, I could discover books about people hearing voices, but none about hearing the voice of the creator of any object. I think Ms. Medlock’s market niche is secure and this book should do very well.