{"product_id":"atavists-stories-9781324074410b","title":"Atavists: Stories","description":"\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eFinalist for the 2025 Story Prize\u003cbr\u003eA \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eKirkus \u003c\/span\u003eReviews and Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2025 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eOne of \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eNPR's \u003c\/span\u003e\"Books We Love\" for 2025 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eA \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eChicago Public Library\u003c\/span\u003e Must-Read Book of 2025 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eAn \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eElectric Literature\u003c\/span\u003e Best Short Story Collection of 2025 \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eA \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/span\u003e Best Summer Book of 2025\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe word atavism, 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn its rich warp and weft of humiliations and human error, \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eAtavists \u003c\/span\u003ereturns to the trenchant, playful social commentary that made \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eA Children’s Bible\u003c\/span\u003e a runaway hit. In these stories sharp observations of middle-class mores and sanctimony give way to moments of raw exposure and longing: \u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eAtavists \u003c\/span\u003eperforms an uncanny fictional magic, full of revelation but also hilarious, unpretentious, and warm.\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cspan style=\"font-weight: bold;\"\u003eA fast-moving, heartbreaking collection of short fiction from \"the American writer with the funniest, wisest grasp on how we fool ourselves\" (\u003cspan style=\"font-style: italic;\"\u003eChicago Tribune\u003c\/span\u003e).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"W. W. Norton \u0026 Company","offers":[{"title":"Bargain","offer_id":42821106040912,"sku":"9781324074410B","price":9.49,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0592\/8173\/5760\/files\/9781324074410-l.jpg?v=1785882360","url":"https:\/\/bookoutlet.com\/products\/atavists-stories-9781324074410b","provider":"Book Outlet","version":"1.0","type":"link"}