Overview

The word atavism, coined by a botanist and popularized by a criminologist, refers to the resurfacing of a primitive evolutionary trait or urge in a modern being. This inventive collection from Lydia Millet offers overlapping tales of urges ranging from rage to jealousy to yearning-a fluent triumph of storytelling, rich in ideas and emotions both petty and grand. The titular atavists include an underachieving, bewildered young bartender; a middle-aged mother convinced her gentle son-in-law is fixated on geriatric porn; a bodybuilder with an incel's fantasy life; an arrogant academic accused of plagiarism; and an empty-nester dad determined to host refugees in a tiny house in his backyard. As they pick away at the splitting seams in American culture, Millet's characters shimmer with the sense of powerlessness we share in an era of mass overwhelm. A beautician in a waxing salon faces a sudden resurgence of grief in the midst of a bikini Brazilian; a couple sets up a camera to find out who's been slipping homophobic letters into their mailbox; a jilted urban planner stalks a man she met on a dating app. In its rich warp and weft of humiliations and human error, Atavists returns to the trenchant, playful social commentary that made A Children's Bible a runaway hit. In these stories sharp observations of middle-class mores and sanctimony give way to moments of raw exposure and longing: Atavists performs an uncanny fictional magic, full of revelation but also hilarious, unpretentious, and warm.

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9781324123552

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Reviews

[Millet] knows how to put a story together. How to pace drama and consummate tension, when to turn up the volume and when to leave us alone with what she's put in motion.--Fiona Maazel ""New York Times"" A deliciously digestible and of-the-moment read.--Marion Winik ""Minneapolis Star Tribune"" Each story in this stellar collection comes with a label--therapist, artist, optimist--and a perspective from a linked cast of Los Angeles-area characters.-- ""Christian Science Monitor"" In this interconnected collection of short stories, Pulitzer Prize finalist Lydia Millet offers various slice-of-life vignettes that capture the alienation of modern life for families, couples, and communities. The characters that populate these stories feel utterly familiar, and the worlds they inhabit also reflect the chaos of our own, from reflections on post-pandemic life to the digital age.--Chelsea Sanchez ""Harper's Bazaar"" Sharply observed, beautifully rendered, and heartbreaking.-- ""Kirkus Reviews (starred review)"" Very few writers can make the apocalypse hilarious and sentimental. Millet is the kind of contemporary genius who should be at every book festival and on every creative writing course.--Stuart Kelly ""The Scotsman"" Millet's deftly told tales--in Atavists, as in her other novels and collections--demonstrate how a narrative framework creates meaning for human life...Stories are the sign. Atavists begs us to keep reading.--Heather Scott Partington ""Los Angeles Times""

""Millet’s deftly told tales…demonstrate how a narrative framework creates meaning for human life."" -- Heather Scott Partington - Los Angeles Times ""Millet is a talented storyteller…and that talent is on full display here."" -- Gabino Iglesias - NPR ""In the hands of the Pulitzer and National Book Award finalist these characters arrive fully formed, complex and warm."" -- Maria Crawford - Financial Times ""[Millet] knows how to put a story together. How to pace drama and consummate tension, when to turn up the volume and when to leave us alone with what she’s put in motion."" -- Fiona Maazel - New York Times ""A deliciously digestible and of-the-moment read."" -- Marion Winik - Minneapolis Star Tribune ""Each story in this stellar collection comes with a label—therapist, artist, optimist—and a perspective from a linked cast of Los Angeles-area characters."" -- Christian Science Monitor ""In this interconnected collection of short stories, Pulitzer Prize finalist Lydia Millet offers various slice-of-life vignettes that capture the alienation of modern life for families, couples, and communities. The characters that populate these stories feel utterly familiar, and the worlds they inhabit also reflect the chaos of our own, from reflections on post-pandemic life to the digital age."" -- Chelsea Sanchez - Harper's Bazaar ""Sharply observed, beautifully rendered, and heartbreaking."" -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

""Millet’s deftly told tales—in Atavists, as in her other novels and collections—demonstrate how a narrative framework creates meaning for human life...Stories are the sign. Atavists begs us to keep reading."" -- Heather Scott Partington - The Los Angeles Times ""[Millet] knows how to put a story together. How to pace drama and consummate tension, when to turn up the volume and when to leave us alone with what she’s put in motion."" -- Fiona Maazel - The New York Times ""A deliciously digestible and of-the-moment read."" -- Marion Winik - Minneapolis Star Tribune ""Each story in this stellar collection comes with a label—therapist, artist, optimist—and a perspective from a linked cast of Los Angeles-area characters."" -- Christian Science Monitor ""In this interconnected collection of short stories, Pulitzer Prize finalist Lydia Millet offers various slice-of-life vignettes that capture the alienation of modern life for families, couples, and communities. The characters that populate these stories feel utterly familiar, and the worlds they inhabit also reflect the chaos of our own, from reflections on post-pandemic life to the digital age."" -- Chelsea Sanchez - Harper's Bazaar ""Very few writers can make the apocalypse hilarious and sentimental. Millet is the kind of contemporary genius who should be at every book festival and on every creative writing course."" -- Stuart Kelly - The Scotsman ""Sharply observed, beautifully rendered, and heartbreaking."" -- Kirkus Reviews (starred)

Author Information

Lydia Millet is the author of A Children’s Bible, a finalist for the National Book Award and a New York Times “10 Best Books” of the year. Her first collection of short fiction, Love in Infant Monkeys, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She works at the Center for Biological Diversity and lives outside Tucson, Arizona.

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