Fight No More: Stories by Lydia Millet

Fight No More: Stories Reviews

• 
  da AL

  At the start, I worried that the characters weren't compelling enough to keep reading about, but I'm glad I did. In these short stand-alone stories, Millet refers often to real estate. Like bricks, one by one the book builds into the story of how our best families are often the ones we make. The audiobook performer is excellent.
• 
  Karin

  Not so much a short story collection but a novel with a different character narrating each chapter. Lydia Millet is a master of controlling the reader's emotions throughout, and you'll find empathy in places you'd never expect.
• 
  Dawn

  I just love Lydia Millet.
  That's all.
  She can do no wrong for me.
• 
  Conor Ahern

  I don't know how I became aware of this book, but I didn't love it. It started off whimsical and funny, engaging. But the story (which is told through a series of characters who are connected to the protagonist, a SoCal realtor) was just kind of fluffy and not very interesting. It ended abruptly and without much effect.
  
  It's short but I still think it's worth skipping.
• 
  Amy

  Exactly what I want in connected stories. One of these was so creepy! I’m still feeling it. Great writing, I will definitely read her again.
• 
  R.

  You've added 12 copies of Fight No More to Your Checkout Cart: People Who Purchased This Item Also Purchased The Very Best of the Smiths Box Sets: The Box Set and a potpourri mix that promises bliss
  
  This generation's Visit from the Goon Squad. Read the first two short stories - OK, not terrible, passed the time. I imagine there will be a big audience for this collection, namely that sweet spot where "housewives" and "real estate agents" meets on the Venn, so I don't feel bad giving up: this book will be read by many others, I'm sure, and passed around the office and Sheila will all order us a copy on her Amazon Prime for the next book club. I bounced around the remainder of the book, was disappointed to see a Mercedes SUV described as a "gas-guzzler". There was another chapter about vampires (but unreal undead: the mocked guest on a Geraldoesque TV talkshow variety). It was OK, but I read it quick, without savoring. Page 101 has a great prose-poem about how Rocky Horror Picture Show fans eventually grow up: "Back then they went to watch a film about transvestite aliens, humanoid scientists in drag who made beautiful Frankenstein monsters...ate the body of Meatloaf out of a coffin. ...sang along to songs about unbridled lust...Later they turned into...gas station attendants and divorce lawyers." I chopped it up, here, because the full paragraph is a thing of beauty and you should at least, if you want to read it in full, take a look at a library copy or ask to borrow Sheila's when she's done. She's got it sitting there on the coffee table with a bookmark sticking out to let you know, full well, she's reading it and, hell or highwater, she'll be done by next Tuesday.
• 
  William Mego

  A set of stories which like many good stories, devastate you. After the first two, I pined at the thought that I desperately wanted to know what would happen in the characters lives. Delightedly, we find out. But for every sweet joy, a gut-punch. Unabashedly I say this is brilliant writing, and I’m in love.
• 
  Bonnie G.

  3.5 rounded up because Millet has moments of profound insight and my gurl can write!
  
  This is a series of linked short stories, all brought together by Nina who is a realtor is Southern California who is selling or has sold the homes of central characters in each story, and who is friends with other characters. These are high end residences, but behind the gates and the bougainvillea terraces there is ugliness, there are countless mistakes, some regret, a lot of wistfulness, and a fair bit of evil. The stories are really smart. They are packed with moments of clear and heartbreaking truth, and are also often quite funny. My problem is that some of the characters are molded according to a modernized Freudian script -- Modernized because it is most often the fathers rather than the mothers who are to blame for "ruining" their kids. One example: The teen whose father walks out to shack up with a sweet but incredibly stupid younger woman whom he knocked up acts out through self-sabotaging often vaguely sexual behavior. Another example: A teen who drops out of school and launches an online sex site because her stepfather molested her. Don't worry, everyone worthy will be saved by love, clean living, and a sense of worth. So much of this is rich and surprising and canny and all of the very good highlights the parts that are crafted based on watching old troubled teen Lifetime movies and reading confessional YA and Psych 101 texts. Even with the clunk, this is a very worthwhile collection.
• 
  Laura Hill

  Publication date: June 12, 2018
  Writing: 4 Plot: 4 Character: 4
  
  A set of 13 interlocking stories about individuals loosely coupled through L.A. real estate transactions. A wide variety of topics - a depressed musician in a pool, a house whose owner swears little men have moved in to do all the work, a phone sex worker who lands a gig as a nanny, surprising new loves, an old woman giving up her home - each story is a told from the perspective of a single person reflecting on some aspect of their life.
  
  I’m not a short story fan in general, but I quickly warmed to these stories, especially as characters reappeared and were allowed to develop. I found the women to be written with more depth and perception than the men. The men are either scumbags or saints (plus one teenage boy trying to choose between the two). For me the collection got better as it went on - the first few stories were OK but by the time I got to the 4th or 5th story I was hooked and they just kept getting better and better. The last story was my favorite.
  
  These are intimate portraits of individuals of all ages and backgrounds, and while not a novel with a clear narrative arc, characters do continually brush up against each other, sometimes with impact and sometimes not. A clear reminder that while each person is the center of their own story, those near by are busily starring in their own.
  
  Great for fans of Ellen Gilchrist
• 
  Suesaroo

  Satisfying collection
• 
  Melinda

  Realized I was hate reading so my friend convinced me to stop - DNF @50%
  
  The homophobic and ableist remarks/slurs completely took away from whatever narrative was attempting to be told in these short stories and I just couldn't continue
• 
  Mark

  Excellent story collection. My favorite of Millet's work to date. 4.5 stars
• 
  Jerrie

  3.5⭐️ rounded up. This book is a collection of interconnected short stories that revolve around a real estate agent and the people whose houses she sells. The stories have a very modern feel and encompass issues of race and poverty vs wealth. The characters are widely varied from wayward teens to older Holocaust survivor. Each is told from the perspective of a different character and the individual voices ring true. More of a character study than a story.
• 
  Dave Harmon

  thats three in a row. my favorite unappreciated author.
  this is listed as short stories but its actually more of a novel broken up into more discreet pieces. it works very well as a coherent whole with several different stories woven together. good characters and good stories and good writing. its also a short quick read. so it ticks every box.
• 
  Katie

  Why on earth is Lydia Millet not a more well known author? These stories are truly wonderful, engaging, and just a little off kilter. So enjoyable. I loved Sweet Lamb of Heaven, and now that I've also loved this, I'm tempted to go back and read the entirety of her work.
• 
  _nuovocapitolo_

  Èsempre affascinante entrare in un romanzo americano. I paesaggi, gli oggetti e soprattutto i pensieri. Sono i pensieri, e le parole con cui vengono espressi, a fare una cultura. E l’immaginazione. Che ha tanta parte in Prendere o lasciare, romanzo di Lydia Millet che svela qualcosa dell’America che forse sappiamo e forse no, ma che è importante tenere presente.
  
  La protagonista del romanzo si chiama Nina e fa l’agente immobiliare a Los Angeles. Tratta dimore incredibilmente costose per clienti incredibilmente ricchi. La prima casa che vediamo con lei è una villa con piscina aggrappata a un canyon scosceso, sulle colline dietro Los Angeles. Vista imperdibile sulla città. Piscina dall’illuminazione psichedelica. Le 120 giornate di Sodoma nascoste in un cesto nel bagno padronale.
  
  I primi acquirenti sono un giovane con un berretto di finto leopardo, accompagnato da altri due giovani, uno che guida la macchina e l’altro che sembra fare da guardia del corpo. Il giovane non ha chiesto un mutuo e ha detto che paga tutto subito. Forse anche per questo Nina si immagina sia un dittatore africano. Di quelli che hanno accumulato genocidi e ricchezze in pari quantità. Il presunto dittatore, mentre gli altri due fanno il giro della casa e vengono invitati a guardare le finestre e i particolari, si ferma davanti alla piscina. E in un attimo in cui nessuno guarda, nella piscina cade, o si butta, e resta dentro, immobile. Ma per fortuna i due accompagnatori sono veloci, lo tirano fuori, e con grande sforzo lo rianimano. Nina chiama l’ambulanza. Tutto si risolve per il meglio.
  
  Ma il tempo breve in cui tutto questo si consuma è sufficiente per svelare che il giovane presunto dittatore caduto nella piscina è un musicista, e le presunte guardie del corpo e autista sono i musicisti della sua band. Ed è sufficiente perché il presunto autista, (Lenny) un nero maestoso, parli con Nina e la affascini con la sua voce oltre che con i rami di ciliegio che ha tatuati sul petto, con i fiori bianchi. Lenny e Nina si telefonano, escono insieme e si innamorano. Lenny è gentile, delicato, quasi a compensare la sua stazza. Nina riscopre quanto sia bello amare, con slancio e semplicità.
  
  Intanto, nelle altre ville di L.A. oggetto di compravendita, altre vite si spostano e cambiano. La vecchia signora che lascia una casa molto amata per trasferirsi nella dependence della villa del figlio. La baby sitter improvvisata che riesce finalmente a sfuggire agli abusi del patrigno. L’adolescente che ha provato di tutto per evitare la vendita della lussuosa casa dei genitori che si sono separati. La vampira che tiene scoiattoli e altri animali nel congelatore e cerca una/un vampiro a cui vendere la proprietà. E la signora che pensa di abitare con i sette nani, purtroppo ormai cresciuti e diventati troppo invadenti.
  
  Un catalogo di bizzarrie che certo attingono all’immaginazione ma che altrettanto certamente hanno radici nella vita reale e nella reale stranezza delle persone. Soprattutto in una società come quella americana che, pur essendo rigida e categorica come poche altre, ha un’infinita tolleranza verso le stramberie individuali. Purché restino individuali, e non vadano a intaccare il business e i soldi. Anzi se business e soldi se ne avvantaggiano, ben vengano. Anche se molto spesso, per non dire sempre, quelle stranezze sono il vestito di fragilità, ferite, sofferenze e inadeguatezze che non hanno trovato un altro spazio e un ascolto. Quando del tutto per caso lo spazio e l’ascolto si aprono, insieme al dolore e alla sensibilità emergono gentilezze, delicatezze, tenerezze e dolcezze preziose e bellissime. Che vanno anche a compensare un uso dell’immaginazione che è personale fino al parossismo e che è così privo di valori e conoscenze da vagare nel vuoto e disorientare ulteriormente. Mentre l’immaginazione che ci può salvare, che ci fa costruire il futuro, è quella guidata, condotta con rigore e disciplina. Quella che poggia su valori, saperi e approfondimenti.
  
  Lasciar razzolare l’immaginazione in totale libertà rischia di farci perdere. E il totale disorientamento dei personaggi rispecchia sicuramente la realtà. La rispecchia anche involontariamente. E anche se proviamo affetto e comprensione verso di loro, ci resta il senso di una sprovvedutezza, di un’inconsapevolezza un po’ pericolosa. Ma poi ci sono le case. Le case che sono tante e diverse come le vite. Quelle amate e rimpiante, lasciate per cause di forza maggiore; quelle felicemente fuggite insieme agli abusi che vi si consumavano; quelle pensate e mai realizzate; quelle fredde come chi le abita, e quelle accoglienti. Le case che anche se passano di mano in mano in fretta, quasi fossero abiti, conservano la storia di chi ci ha abitato, e ne lasciano una traccia per chi arriva dopo.
  
  Le case che possono raggiungere delle cifre impensabili, in certe zone degli Stati Uniti. In California i loro prezzi sono una delle cause dell’aumento del numero di homeless. Ci sono homeless che lavorano ma non guadagnano abbastanza da potersi permettere un’abitazione. Ci sono anche homeless impiegati nelle start up della tecnologia, nella Silicon Valley e dintorni: dormono in macchina perché la casa che di possono permettere dista due o tre ore di strada dal luogo di lavoro. Le case sono quindi anche il luogo dell’ingiustizia sociale, del grande divario tra ricchi e poveri, sempre più incolmabile e sempre più generatore di effetti perversi.
  
  Ecco, anche da un romanzo che non ha intenti particolari, che indaga nell’animo e nell’intimità delle persone, che mette a confronto la realtà e l’immaginario in una dimensione appunto del tutto privata e individuale, anche da un romanzo “innocente” appare il ritratto di un’America alla deriva, prigioniera dell’estremizzazione e della nemesi di quegli stessi valori che l’hanno fatta grande e l’hanno resa irresistibile. E quindi oltre alla bellezza della lettura, della scrittura, della delicatezza e dell’umanità che pervadono le pagine, possiamo concederci anche qualche riflessione in più. Che si sa, è il mestiere della letteratura.
• 
  Brita

  I didn't realize these stories were linked until the third or fourth one - a pleasant surprise. Judging by the Goodreads opinions of her last two novels - both of which I thoroughly enjoyed - Millet is a divisive figure. Some reviewers find her "too clever," which seems weirdly offensive to me. This collection is front-loaded with some mildly obscene material that sensitive readers may find off-putting, but I would urge them to push through, as the stories become increasingly subtle. My two favorite pieces come from the perspective of an extremely self-aware older woman, whose bittersweet insights on aging seem spot-on to me. ("She'd held it as an article of faith that distance gave you insight. But distance gave you distance.")
• 
  Marybeth

  One of the best short story collections I've read in a long time. The stories are linked through Nina, a real estate agent, and all the stories deal directly or indirectly with the idea of home -- what makes a home comfortable, meaningful, how attached we get and how that attachment brings out both the best and worst in us. Millet is especially adept at characterization, both with characters that make your skin crawl (Pete...but you can't stop reading) to characters that seem like a lost cause but have more depth and compassion than you realize (Jem and Lexie). Highly recommended.
• 
  Michele Harrod

  Wow. I grabbed this at the library - possibly because of the tag in the front that proclaimed it was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Maybe because I thought some short stories would be a nice distraction to dip into, between other books. Ha! By the third story the characters had me by the throat and I’ve barely been able to put this down. I love how all the stories cleverly link together. Acerbic genius! With characters to love and loathe. I’m going straight from here to order up all her other work.
• 
  Janice

  One of the easiest 5-star ratings I’ve given. Ms. Millet continues to amaze! No spoilers here, just kudos for writing at its best, when you forget you’re even reading a book because you’re so caught up in the lives of the characters. And boy, does she know how to end a story! This book may look like a collection of short stories, but they are connected, so it’s probably best to read them in order. My favorite one, though, is “The Fall of Berlin.” Outstanding!
• 
  Lauren Taylor

  Not my cup of tea. The book floats from different character's perspectives and it was a struggle to track what was going on chapter to chapter. Also, while some of the stories were interesting, some were super odd? There's literally a lady who think she has seven dwarves renovating her house.
• 
  julie

  I have so many feelings about this book that I am entirely unable to unpack, but keep stumbling over them as I try to discuss. That said - I cannot wait to Millet’s other books.
• 
  Constance

  interconnected stories from pov's of characters from wildly different socieconomic circumstances and dysfunction whose lives intersect in varying degrees. At turns, bleak and hopeful. brilliant.
• 
  Mary

  Short stories loosely woven around a relator in California. Millet is adept at drawing her characters. I felt I was in each story.
• 
  Joy D

  In this collection of thirteen linked short stories, Nina is a Southern California real estate agent. She sells houses and otherwise interacts with the other characters. The first two stories include multiple references to pornography and the Marquis de Sade. I was not expecting any of this, so it did not get off to a good start.
  
  A set of stories involves Aleska, an older widow who sells her house and moves in with her son, his much younger pregnant second wife, and teenage grandson. “The Fall of Berlin” and “Oh Child of God,” both featuring Aleska, are my favorites of the bunch, and I enjoyed this set. Another group focuses on Lexie, an eighteen-year-old young woman, fleeing from a sexually abusive stepfather. The segment told from the perspective of her abuser is extremely disturbing.
  
  Themes include freedom, death, materialism, and art. It is philosophical in terms of posing questions about life and following characters that choose to either fight or yield. Lydia Millet is one of my favorite authors, and I am in the process of reading her back catalogue. These stories are well-written, but the content does not appeal to me.
  
• 
  Lily

  I wanted to stop reading this book so many times, and only continued because I am away travelling without other options.
  Unlikeable characters twinned with unremarkable writing does not inspire persistence. Thankfully, it improved in the last third or so, making it a passable 2*s.