From the publisher
A fast-moving, heartbreaking collection of linked stories that evokes the joy and alienation between generations and classes in the era of mass overwhelm.
From Lydia Millet—“the American writer with the funniest, wisest grasp on how we fool ourselves” (Chicago Tribune)—comes an inventive new collection of short fiction. Atavists follows a group of families, couples, and loners in their collisions, confessions, and conflicts in a post-pandemic America of artificially lush lawns, beauty salons, tech-bro mansions, assisted-living facilities, big-box stores, gastropubs, college campuses, and medieval role-playing festivals.
The various “-ists” who people these linked stories—from futurists to insurrectionists to cosmetologists—include a professor who’s morbidly fixated on an old friend’s Instagram account; a woman convinced that her bright young son-in-law is watching geriatric porn; a bodybuilder who lives an incel’s fantasy life; a couple who surveil the neighbors after finding obscene notes in their mailbox; a pretentious academic accused of plagiarism; and a suburban ex-marathoner dad obsessed with hosting refugees in a tiny house in his backyard.
Notables
- A Harper’s Bazaar “Best Book Coming Out This Spring” pick.
- One of Literary Hub’s Most Anticipated Books of 2025
Praise
“”Atavists” begs us to keep reading.”
– The Los Angeles Times
“Very few writers can make the apocalypse hilarious and sentimental.”
– The Scotsman
“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)