Lydia Millet’s Atavists: stories In a somewhat deceptive title.
Is it full of stories? Yes. But they share characters, themes, concerns and even a plot-intrigue about looking at a certain type of pornography on the living room computer. So, is it a novel in the news? Something like that. But it is also a book which seems to have a foot planted very firmly on certain ideas, on certain questions and observations and hot subjects, which – mixed with the lively eye of millet and with net prose – leads to passages which seem to have been picked from more important tests. In short, a lot of things happen here – and most are great.
As an author, I know the difficulties of trying to adapt a universe in the decor which is a rear cover copy. In the case of AtavistsAny quick summary would leave a lot away, so it is easier to think of its elements as a simple frame and context. The stories follow a recurring distribution of characters who understands a young woman trying to make a difference, a bodybuilder incel with Patrick Bateman Vibes, a mother of average age who thinks that his son-in-law is addicted to geriatric porn, and a selfish teacher with a book of popular non-fiction whose career could be derailed by the accusation of plagiarism to a newspaper article published more than the derade.
The characters mentioned above interact and have small dramas and few peccadilles, which are their own. Millet is like a projector operator, moving his light to illuminate different characters one at a time. Each quarter of work, the voice and the focus change, which dropped the readers of very short rabbit holes.
Not all stories are strong, but they work well together. Millet is a talented storyteller capable of writing breathtaking passages, and this talent is fully exposed here. However, it seems that writing often suggests a subject or briefly tackles something to quickly move away, leaving readers wondering why it was mentioned. Sometimes there are real discussions on things like plagiarism, but most of the time it will be a rapid mention of something – racism, social media, cancellation of celebrities – before moving on.
As I mentioned above, most of what is here is great, and therefore fans of great writing should certainly read this book. However, it is not without defects. The biggest is perhaps the lack of point. The writing is always clear, but not always with a reason or a direction. There is a criticism that I often hear students of literary fiction – that “nothing happens” – and there are a few cases here.
Perhaps the story that best sums up everything that millet does here is “futuristic”, which focuses on Keith, the haughty professor accused of plagiarism. History has the kind of intellect that includes the philosopher Gilles Deleuze in a conversation, partly because the millet is brilliant and partly as a sending of the university world. At the beginning of the story, we deeply dive on the views of the main character. As she attracts us in her thought, millet begins to write pure poetry:
“His personal exegesis of the Lord, his theory of eternity, subsumed the human and the organic in the position of the ascent of energy. As a fuel and dynamic, but also as the very definition of life. In which all the categories of the way in which the flow of life was not yet the object of life.
The writing remains like this for about two pages. Then Keith’s partner sums up: “Jesus, Keith. WhatNever.” And many readers will echo the same feeling. Keith is intelligent, but plagiarism is plagiarism and optics counts – unless you have power and money, in which case there is always a way out. It is a good – and there, I mean scathing – criticism of the academic world and a story that echoes the rest of the collection by highlighting an important problem – the race, in this case – but never letting this light stay there and reveal anything.
Eventually, Atavists is an interesting and complex collection that accomplishes a lot, but it is also sometimes self-indulgent and aimless. Humor shines and prose is a delight, but dialogue is often winding. And although they have brief cameos, things like “cultural wars” and bitcoin seem to have been attracted to stories without any reason than to make them in a timely time.
Despite his faults, Atavists is a strong collection in which MIL proves that it has a great idea of what makes people vibrate. Millet likes to play with major themes and ideas, and although everything does not land, the bits that make are really great.
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