Atavist by Lydia Millet: book review
Overview: In this collection of short stories, Lydia Millet constructs a Los Angeles neighborhood where each story follows a different neighbor or someone vaguely attached to the neighborhood. The characters show up across each other's stories in surprising ways, filling in a background role where they were once the main character. This creates a rich tapestry and a good reminder of how truly interlinked we all are. Overall: 4.5
Characters: 4 Millet writes about a complex group of characters from many different backgrounds . Some of them are good people trying really hard through bad circumstances. Sometimes they're about awful people who triumph despite it all. There's teenagers and young adults trying to figure out how to be people and parents becoming empty nesters who are thrown back into a similar journey. We only get one point of view story from each character, but they become richer as the collection goes on and they make background appearances in other stories that answer questions presented in their own. It all felt painfully real, and Millet isn't shy about confronting the natural contradictions that arise in people and the uglier shades.
Plot: 5 I'm so impressed by this collection. Usually, short story collections are deeply hit or miss where there's maybe 2/10 stories I love and maybe half that are disappointing and then some that are just fine. There's almost always at least one story I skim through because I lose sight of the point of reading it. That's not the case here. Millet has taken the form of the short story collection and done fascinating work with it. Each story holds weight by itself. They all qualify as stand-alone, but the transference of the characters and the Los Angeles setting also add a greater sense of meaning and weight. There was a greater reward for the deeper investment which propelled me through the stories I didn't like as much, similar to the experience of reading a novel. And, honestly, there were very few of them that I didn't really enjoy—mainly "Pastoralist" and "Optimist" weren't as strong on their own, but their place in the larger narrative somewhat makes up for it.
Writing: 5 It was Millet's writing that grabbed me from the opening line. I was immediately immersed in her world of sharp, exacting language deconstructing the modern world. The prose is just superb, and it delivers everything I look for in literary fiction. Then, experimenting with what a short story collection can be and so subtly making a really stunning point about human connectedness made this a pretty breathtaking read. I've been searching around for 2025 releases that have really impressed me, and this is one of the first that's leapt off the shelf and captured my heart.
More on Reading, Writing, and Me:
Caragh Maxwell Sugartown Event
The Wardrobe Department review
Comments
Post a Comment