Novel: Dinosaurs by Lydia Millet
Lydia Millet is nothing if not versatile, and Dinosaurs (2022) shows her in my favorite mode: a contemporary setting, strongly integrated environmental themes, and a keen eye for gender and …
The Glass Hotel by Emily St. John Mandel
I read Emily St. John Mandel’s The Glass Hotel (2020) so quickly I had to force myself to slow down to keep from running out of book at the wrong …
Novel: A Children’s Bible by Lydia Millet
Lydia Millet has firmly ensconced herself in my highest echelon of favorite writers, and A Children’s Bible (2020)—despite a title that, uh, wouldn’t otherwise lure me—is another outstanding, thought-provoking read. …
Collection: Fight No More by Lydia Millet
Regular visitors to this site may be familiar with my fondness for the writing of Lydia Millet, a Pulitzer-nominated author of literary fiction who also frequently edges into genre territory. …
Novel: Omnivores by Lydia Millet
Lydia Millet’s debut novel, Omnivores (1996), came out quite some time ago, but I’m glad I’m reading it now; twenty-odd years of life in a toxic patriarchy has increased my …
Novel: My Happy Life by Lydia Millet
Lydia Millet is so entrenched in the ranks of my favorite authors that I’m a little surprised it’s taken me so long to track down her early backlist. My Happy …
Novel: Sweet Lamb of Heaven by Lydia Millet
It’s tempting to say Lydia Millet’s done it again with her novel Sweet Lamb of Heaven (2016), but that wouldn’t be entirely true. She’s written a differently great book, just …
Novel: Mermaids in Paradise by Lydia Millet
For a while now, I’ve been enjoying the way Lydia Millet mixes clever satire, environmental themes, sociopolitical commentary about American behavior, and SFnal undertones. Mermaids in Paradise (2014) capably continues all …
Novel: Pills and Starships by Lydia Millet
I wouldn’t classify Lydia Millet’s wonderful adult novels as full-bore speculative fiction, but they do edge into that territory (Oh Pure and Radiant Heart), or read like mainstream novels that …
Novel: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler
Insightful, witty, and moving, We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (2013) by Karen Joy Fowler is a beautifully written novel about family, animals, society, and the environment. The protagonist, Rosemary …
Novel: We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler Read More »
Collection: Love in Infant Monkeys by Lydia Millet
Lydia Millet’s Love in Infant Monkeys (2009) is an interesting project, a themed collection of ten short stories, each one featuring both an animal and a celebrity. It’s a quirky …
Collection: Love in Infant Monkeys by Lydia Millet Read More »
Novel: Magnificence by Lydia Millet
Magnificence (2012) by Lydia Millet is the funny, moving, and insightful conclusion to the trilogy begun with How the Dead Dream. It’s a thought-provoking series that examines, with acid wit, American …
Novel: Ghost Lights by Lydia Millet
Man, can Lydia Millet ever write. Ghost Lights (2011) is the sequel to her brilliant novel How the Dead Dream, and continues to explore that book’s sociopolitical themes. The protagonist this …
500 Posts!
If you had told me three years ago that I would have gotten this blog to 500 posts, I don’t think I would have believed you. But here we are, …
Novel: How the Dead Dream by Lydia Millet
If you even remotely have an environmentalist bone in your body, believe me: moving to Los Angeles will fully convert you. Witnessing the clash of humanity and nature here in …
Novel: Oh Pure and Radiant Heart by Lydia Millet
This one’s been on my to-read shelf for a few years, and while I started it a couple times over that span, it never quite got its hooks into me. …
Novel: Oh Pure and Radiant Heart by Lydia Millet Read More »