Rare Objects, Kathleen Tessaro
Rare Objects, Kathleen Tessaro
5 Rating(s)
List: $27.99 | Sale: $19.59
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Rare Objects
A Novel

Author: Kathleen Tessaro

Narrator: Susan Bennett

Unabridged: 13 hr 28 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 04/12/2016


Synopsis

In Depression-era Boston, a city divided by privilege and poverty, two unlikely friends are bound by a dangerous secret in this mesmerizing work of historical fiction from the New York Times bestselling author of The Perfume Collector.Maeve Fanning is a first generation Irish immigrant, born and raised among the poor, industrious Italian families of Boston’s North End by her widowed mother. Clever, capable, and as headstrong as her red hair suggests, she’s determined to better herself despite the overwhelming hardships of the Great Depression.However, Maeve also has a dangerous fondness for strange men and bootleg gin—a rebellious appetite that soon finds her spiraling downward, leading a double life. When the strain proves too much, Maeve becomes an unwilling patient in a psychiatric hospital, where she strikes up a friendship with an enigmatic young woman, who, like Maeve, is unable or unwilling to control her un-lady-like desire for freedom.Once out, Maeve faces starting over again. Armed with a bottle of bleach and a few white lies, she lands a job at an eccentric antiques shop catering to Boston’s wealthiest and most peculiar collectors. Run by an elusive English archeologist, the shop is a haven of the obscure and incredible, providing rare artifacts as well as unique access to the world of America’s social elite. While delivering a purchase to the wealthy Van der Laar family, Maeve is introduced to beautiful socialite Diana Van der Laar—only to discover she’s the young woman from the hospital.Reunited with the charming but increasingly unstable Diana and pursued by her attractive brother James, Mae becomes more and more entwined with the Van der Laar family—a connection that pulls her into a world of moral ambiguity and deceit, and ultimately betrayal. Bewitched by their wealth and desperate to leave her past behind, Maeve is forced to unearth her true values and discover how far she’ll to go to reinvent herself.

About Kathleen Tessaro

Kathleen Tessaro is the author of Elegance, Innocence, The Flirt, The Debutante, The Perfume Collector, and Rare Objects. She lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband and son.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Laura on August 16, 2016

A really enjoyable historical fiction novel set in the bustling diverse community of Boston in the 1930's. What I liked primarily about this novel is the author chose to feature her protagonist as someone who is, in a sense, completely ahead of her time. Straggling the line between social and cultur......more

Goodreads review by Denise on March 02, 2017

Rare Objects is a historical fiction novel set in post depression Boston. The reader is introduced to two main characters: Maeve (May), a young Irish woman living at home who is frustrated and desperate with her station in life and Diana Van dear Laar, a deeply flawed, smart, rich young lady. Their......more

Goodreads review by Patricia on February 24, 2024

This was an excellent book, very good story. I loved the main character, May (Mae) and the two men she worked for. The only reason I"m giving it 4 stars instead of 5 is because this book has one of my "pet peeves", no chapters. Second book in a row with no chapters. It's so hard to be able to stop r......more

Goodreads review by C.W. on January 04, 2019

This was my Christmas-doesn't-exist escape book. Having worked in fashion / retail for so many years in my earlier days, Christmas and I just don't get along. However, Kathleen Tessaro's mesmerizing RARE OBJECTS was just the first-class ticket I needed to all the destinations I love: the early 1930s......more

Goodreads review by Kelly on April 10, 2016

I absolutely adored this book. It's set in the 1930s (a great time for historical fiction, I think) and it's insanely well-written. I had such a sense of unease while reading it. I didn't know what would go wrong, but I was sure that something horrible would happen to Mae or to Diana or to both. I l......more