Get Discount 5% Off
Subscribe to our newsletters now and stay up-to-date with new arrivals, updates and deals.
Atavists: Stories
The word atavism, coined by a botanist and popularized by a criminologist, refers to the resurfacing of...
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
SKU:
9781324074410
Product Type:
Books
Please hurry! Only 756 left in stock
Couldn't load pickup availability
The 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.
The 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.
As 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.
In its rich warp and weft of humiliations and human error, Atavists returns to the trenchant, playful social commentary that made A Children's Bible a runaway hit. In these stories sharp observations of middle-class mores and sanctimony give way to moments of raw exposure and longing: Atavists performs an uncanny fictional magic, full of revelation but also hilarious, unpretentious, and warm.
Author: Lydia Millet
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Published: 04/22/2025
Pages: 240
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.75lbs
Size: 8.40h x 5.80w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781324074410
Review Citation(s):
Library Journal 11/01/2024 pg. 3
Kirkus Reviews 03/01/2025
Booklist 04/01/2025 pg. 29
Publishers Weekly 05/19/2025
About the Author
Millet, Lydia: - Lydia Millet is the author of A Children's Bible, a finalist for the National Book Award and a New York Times Top Ten book of the Year. Her first work of short fiction, Love in Infant Monkeys, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. She lives outside Tucson, Arizona.
Returns Policy
You may return most new, unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund. We'll also pay the return shipping costs if the return is a result of our error (you received an incorrect or defective item, etc.).
You should expect to receive your refund within four weeks of giving your package to the return shipper, however, in many cases you will receive a refund more quickly. This time period includes the transit time for us to receive your return from the shipper (5 to 10 business days), the time it takes us to process your return once we receive it (3 to 5 business days), and the time it takes your bank to process our refund request (5 to 10 business days).
If you need to return an item, simply login to your account, view the order using the "Complete Orders" link under the My Account menu and click the Return Item(s) button. We'll notify you via e-mail of your refund once we've received and processed the returned item.
Shipping
We can ship to virtually any address in the world. Note that there are restrictions on some products, and some products cannot be shipped to international destinations.
When you place an order, we will estimate shipping and delivery dates for you based on the availability of your items and the shipping options you choose. Depending on the shipping provider you choose, shipping date estimates may appear on the shipping quotes page.
Please also note that the shipping rates for many items we sell are weight-based. The weight of any such item can be found on its detail page. To reflect the policies of the shipping companies we use, all weights will be rounded up to the next full pound.
Related Products
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Recently Viewed Products
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
Example product title
- $42.92 AUD
- $42.92 AUD
- Unit price
- per
- Choosing a selection results in a full page refresh.