Lydia Millet
Encyclopedia
Lydia Millet is an American
novelist. Her third novel, My Happy Life, won the 2003 PEN-USA Award for Fiction. Her fifth novel, Oh Pure and Radiant Heart was short-listed for the 2007 Arthur C. Clarke Award
. Her most recent work, a collection of short stories entitled Love in Infant Monkeys was one of three finalists for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize.
, Canada
. She holds a BA in Creative Writing with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
and a master's degree from Duke University
.
novel, in which a young girl in Southern California
is tormented by her megalomaniac father and invalid mother and finally sold in marriage to a real estate
agent. Her second, George Bush, Dark Prince of Love (2000), is a political comedy about a trailer-park
woman obsessed with the 41st American President.
Brief but weighty, her third book, My Happy Life (2002), is a poetic, language-oriented work about a lonely misfit trapped in an abandoned hospital, who writes the poignant story of her life on the walls.. It is narrated by, as the Village Voice glowing deems her, “an orphan cruelly mistreated by life who nevertheless regards her meager subsistence as a radiant gift.” Despite the horrors that amount to her life, she still calls herself happy. Jennifer Reese of The New York Times Book Review
commented on Millet’s new approach to the treatment of the literary victim, saying “Millet has created a truly wretched victim, but where is the outrage? She has coolly avoided injecting so much as a hint of it into this thin, sharp and frequently funny novel; one of the narrator's salient characteristics is an inability to feel even the mildest indignation. The world she inhabits is a savage place, but everything about it interests her, and paying no attention to herself, she is able to see beauty and wonder everywhere.”
Millet's fourth novel, Everyone's Pretty (2005), is a picaresque
tragicomedy
about an alcoholic pornographer with messianic delusions, based partly on Millet's stint as a copy editor at Larry Flynt
Publications. . Sarah Weinman of the Washington Post Book World called it “both prism and truth” “With a sharp eye for small details, a keen sense of the absurd and strong empathy for its creations,” Millet creates a kaleidoscope of quirky characters. The New York Times Book Review
called her fifth novel, Oh Pure and Radiant Heart (2005), an “extremely smart…resonant fantasy.” Short listed for the Arthur C. Clark Award, it brings three of the physicists responsible for creating the atomic bomb to life in modern-day New Mexico
, where they acquire a cult following and embark on a crusade for redemption.
How the Dead Dream (2008) “a frightening and gorgeous view of human decline,” according to Utne Reader. It features a young Los Angeles real estate developer consumed by power and political ambitions who, after his mother's suicide attempt and two other deaths, begins to nurture a curious obsession with
vanishing species. Then a series of calamities forces him from a tropical island, the site on
one of his developments, onto the mainland where he takes a Conrad
-esque journey up a river into the remote jungle. Eye Weekly
summarized this black comedy, noting “American culture loves its stories of hubris, downfall and ruin as of late, but it takes a writer of Millet's sensitivity to enjoy the way down this much.”
Millet's most recent work, Love in Infant Monkeys (2009), was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize—a short story collection featuring vignettes about famous historical and pop culture icons and their encounters with other species.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
novelist. Her third novel, My Happy Life, won the 2003 PEN-USA Award for Fiction. Her fifth novel, Oh Pure and Radiant Heart was short-listed for the 2007 Arthur C. Clarke Award
Arthur C. Clarke Award
The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. The award was established with a grant from Arthur C. Clarke and the first prize was awarded in 1987...
. Her most recent work, a collection of short stories entitled Love in Infant Monkeys was one of three finalists for the 2010 Pulitzer Prize.
Biography
Millet was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. She holds a BA in Creative Writing with honors from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
and a master's degree from Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
.
Career
Millet is best known for her dark sense of humor, stylistic versatility, and political bent. Her first book, Omnivores (1996), is a subversion of the coming-of-ageComing of age
Coming of age is a young person's transition from childhood to adulthood. The age at which this transition takes place varies in society, as does the nature of the transition. It can be a simple legal convention or can be part of a ritual, as practiced by many societies...
novel, in which a young girl in Southern California
Southern California
Southern California is a megaregion, or megapolitan area, in the southern area of the U.S. state of California. Large urban areas include Greater Los Angeles and Greater San Diego. The urban area stretches along the coast from Ventura through the Southland and Inland Empire to San Diego...
is tormented by her megalomaniac father and invalid mother and finally sold in marriage to a real estate
Real estate
In general use, esp. North American, 'real estate' is taken to mean "Property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals, or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this; an item of real property; buildings or...
agent. Her second, George Bush, Dark Prince of Love (2000), is a political comedy about a trailer-park
Trailer park
A trailer park is a semi-permanent or permanent area for mobile homes or travel trailers. The main reasons for living in such trailer parks are the often lower cost compared to other housing, and the ability to move to a new area more quickly and easily, for example when changing jobs to another...
woman obsessed with the 41st American President.
Brief but weighty, her third book, My Happy Life (2002), is a poetic, language-oriented work about a lonely misfit trapped in an abandoned hospital, who writes the poignant story of her life on the walls.. It is narrated by, as the Village Voice glowing deems her, “an orphan cruelly mistreated by life who nevertheless regards her meager subsistence as a radiant gift.” Despite the horrors that amount to her life, she still calls herself happy. Jennifer Reese of The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
commented on Millet’s new approach to the treatment of the literary victim, saying “Millet has created a truly wretched victim, but where is the outrage? She has coolly avoided injecting so much as a hint of it into this thin, sharp and frequently funny novel; one of the narrator's salient characteristics is an inability to feel even the mildest indignation. The world she inhabits is a savage place, but everything about it interests her, and paying no attention to herself, she is able to see beauty and wonder everywhere.”
Millet's fourth novel, Everyone's Pretty (2005), is a picaresque
Picaresque novel
The picaresque novel is a popular sub-genre of prose fiction which is usually satirical and depicts, in realistic and often humorous detail, the adventures of a roguish hero of low social class who lives by his wits in a corrupt society...
tragicomedy
Tragicomedy
Tragicomedy is fictional work that blends aspects of the genres of tragedy and comedy. In English literature, from Shakespeare's time to the nineteenth century, tragicomedy referred to a serious play with either a happy ending or enough jokes throughout the play to lighten the mood.-Classical...
about an alcoholic pornographer with messianic delusions, based partly on Millet's stint as a copy editor at Larry Flynt
Larry Flynt
Larry Claxton Flynt, Jr. is an American publisher and the president of Larry Flynt Publications . In 2003, Arena magazine listed him as the number one on the "50 Powerful People in Porn" list....
Publications. . Sarah Weinman of the Washington Post Book World called it “both prism and truth” “With a sharp eye for small details, a keen sense of the absurd and strong empathy for its creations,” Millet creates a kaleidoscope of quirky characters. The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review
The New York Times Book Review is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to The New York Times in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely read book review publications in the industry. The offices are located near Times Square in New York...
called her fifth novel, Oh Pure and Radiant Heart (2005), an “extremely smart…resonant fantasy.” Short listed for the Arthur C. Clark Award, it brings three of the physicists responsible for creating the atomic bomb to life in modern-day New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
, where they acquire a cult following and embark on a crusade for redemption.
How the Dead Dream (2008) “a frightening and gorgeous view of human decline,” according to Utne Reader. It features a young Los Angeles real estate developer consumed by power and political ambitions who, after his mother's suicide attempt and two other deaths, begins to nurture a curious obsession with
vanishing species. Then a series of calamities forces him from a tropical island, the site on
one of his developments, onto the mainland where he takes a Conrad
Joseph Conrad
Joseph Conrad was a Polish-born English novelist.Conrad is regarded as one of the great novelists in English, although he did not speak the language fluently until he was in his twenties...
-esque journey up a river into the remote jungle. Eye Weekly
Eye Weekly
Eye Weekly was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the Toronto Star, and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following week, Torstar launched a successor publication, The Grid.-...
summarized this black comedy, noting “American culture loves its stories of hubris, downfall and ruin as of late, but it takes a writer of Millet's sensitivity to enjoy the way down this much.”
Millet's most recent work, Love in Infant Monkeys (2009), was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize—a short story collection featuring vignettes about famous historical and pop culture icons and their encounters with other species.
External links
- Author site
- HarperCollins Canada
- Video trailer for Oh Pure and Radiant Heart