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3.5 

Fight No More

By Lydia Millet
Fight No More by Lydia Millet digital book - Fable

Publisher Description

New York Times Book Review Editors’ Pick
A Library Journal Best Book of 2018

“Full of joys on every scale.” —NPR

This wonderfully original collection proves once again that Pulitzer Prize finalist Lydia Millet is “the American writer with the funniest, wisest grasp on how we fool ourselves” (Chicago Tribune). In Fight No More, Nina, a lonely real-estate broker estranged from her only relative, is at the center of a web of stories connecting a community through the houses they inhabit. With crackling satire and surprising tenderness, Millet introduces an indelible cast of untidy teens, beastly men, and strong-minded women whose stories begin to outline the fate of one particular family being torn apart by forces they recognize but cannot control. Millet’s intellect and beautiful prose deliver profound insight into human behavior, from the ordinary to the bizarre, and draws startling contrasts between house and home.

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Fight No More Reviews

3.5
“❝As she got older she was drawn to men with heft; you didn’t want a slight man as the years wore on. You knew the world better now than when you were young, you knew your own weakness. A fortress could help.❞ ❝Fear could turn you into a statue. Some people were statues all their lives. They feared the freedom of others, that others’ freedom could hurt them. A person might want to be free to do something to you, often. One man’s freedom was another man’s aggravated assault. But then, if you stood like that, you couldn’t go anywhere. And was it fair to blame the libertines for moving? The libertines dined at a long table, drink until they were drunk. They spun and danced and deflowered virgins, while all around them, stricken, stood statues, imposes of humility and confusion.❞ ❝Can you feel the pain that resides in all beings? What would she say to her mother now? No, mama. And neither could you. The pain you felt was all your own.❞ ❝She’d held it as an article of faith that distance gave you insight. But distance gave you distance.❞ This collection is actually 13 interconnected short stories that focus on a community with a lonely real estate broker, Nina, at the center. Some of the stories have a dreamlike quality, while others are (sometimes horrifically) firmly in the recognizable world. It highlights the vulnerability of people, but also shows how awful men can be and the complicity from women that enables them on. It’s about grief, connection, and a life spent on things we thought were worthwhile. Lydia Millet is very good at inserting these profound observations into her stories. Sometimes they are simple and other times they get your brain itching, but quite effective. A couple of things to note, this collection won’t be for everyone. Not only are the stories “a bit weird” the r-word is used a couple of times which is just a turn off. In the first instance it made sense for the character but in the second, I don’t know, not so much. And one of the stories is told from the POV of a pedophile. There is a reason for this, and I don’t think it was gratuitous, but it was uncomfortable to read and I didn’t expect it. I did really enjoy this collection but was surprised to see those things present. I’ll continue to pick up her novels, I think she really shines, for me, in that format.”
“I think my hopes were too high after loving "A Children's Bible" so much; also might've enjoyed more if I didn't have to speed through for class!”

About Lydia Millet

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 in 2010; her second, Fight No More (2018), won an American Academy of Arts and Sciences short fiction award. Ativists is her third work of short fiction. She lives outside Tucson, Arizona.

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