{"product_id":"9781324123552","title":"Atavists: Stories","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFinalist for the 2025 Story Prize\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA \u003cem\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/em\u003e Best Book of 2025 * One of NPR's \"Books We Love\" for 2025 * A Chicago Public Library Must-Read Book of 2025 * An \u003cem\u003eElectric Literature\u003c\/em\u003e Best Short Story Collection of 2025 * A \u003cem\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/em\u003e Best Summer Book of 2025\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\"Very few writers can make the apocalypse hilarious and sentimental.\" -Stuart Kelly, \u003cem\u003eScotsman\u003c\/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA fast-moving, heartbreaking collection of short fiction from \"the American writer with the funniest, wisest grasp on how we fool ourselves\" (\u003cem\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/em\u003e).\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe word \u003cem\u003eatavism\u003c\/em\u003e, 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAs 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn its rich warp and weft of humiliations and human error, \u003cem\u003eAtavists\u003c\/em\u003e returns to the trenchant, playful social commentary that made \u003cem\u003eA Children's Bible\u003c\/em\u003e a runaway hit. In these stories sharp observations of middle-class mores and sanctimony give way to moments of raw exposure and longing: \u003cem\u003eAtavists\u003c\/em\u003e performs an uncanny fictional magic, full of revelation but also hilarious, unpretentious, and warm.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Norton, W. W. \u0026 Company, Inc.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43085005324349,"sku":"9781324123552","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0603\/0838\/9949\/files\/9781324123552_p0.jpg?v=1775251208","url":"https:\/\/www.tatteredcover.mom\/products\/9781324123552","provider":"Tattered Cover","version":"1.0","type":"link"}