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20th out of 50 books
—
152 voters
Magnificence (Trilogy #3)
by
Lydia Millet
Lydia Millet is one of the most acclaimed novelists of her generation (Scott Timberg, Los Angeles Times). This stunning novel introduces Susan Lindley, a woman adrift after her husband's death. Suddenly gifted her great uncle's Pasadena mansion, Susan decides to restore his extensive collection of preserved animals, tending to the fur and feathers, the beaks, the bones and...more
Hardcover, 256 pages
Published
November 5th 2012
by W. W. Norton & Company
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The thing that I love most about Lydia Millet is that she not only captures the moment where one's brain goes off the rails into crazy talk born of desperate unhappiness in a way that's familiar, she takes it perhaps even a step further than you'd expect.
There is a scene in Magnificence where its protagonist, Susan -- late to an important appointment, a serial adulterer with a now-dead husband, heiress to a dusty mansion of taxidermied animals -- starts thinking about how she "loves pornography...more
There is a scene in Magnificence where its protagonist, Susan -- late to an important appointment, a serial adulterer with a now-dead husband, heiress to a dusty mansion of taxidermied animals -- starts thinking about how she "loves pornography...more
When I started reading this novel, I had not realized that it is the third book in a trilogy by Lydia Millet. I have not read the first two books. Often I read books out of order and can piece together the narrative, but not so here. I finished this book because
I tend to finish books once I start them, but there were some confusing moments for me with this book.
"Magnificence" opens with the death of Hal, Susan' husband. Susan and Hal have an adult daughter, Cassie, who lost the use of her legs...more
I tend to finish books once I start them, but there were some confusing moments for me with this book.
"Magnificence" opens with the death of Hal, Susan' husband. Susan and Hal have an adult daughter, Cassie, who lost the use of her legs...more
Magnificence, Lydia Millet's final book the sequence she began with How the Dead Dream and followed with Ghost Lights is a strong book to finish on. Perhaps the strongest of the three, in fact.
The novel opens with its protagonist, Susan, heading to an airport with her daughter to met her husband, Hal, and her employer, T. She doesn't yet know the tragedy that has befallen Hal at the end of Ghost Lights, but soon will (as much as I'd like to avoid spoiling that for you, it is said on the jacket o...more
The novel opens with its protagonist, Susan, heading to an airport with her daughter to met her husband, Hal, and her employer, T. She doesn't yet know the tragedy that has befallen Hal at the end of Ghost Lights, but soon will (as much as I'd like to avoid spoiling that for you, it is said on the jacket o...more
i liked her run-up [ghost lights] to this novel better as the adventures, confusions, and ultimate death of hal, susan;s husband seemed more driving, weirder, but also more likely. in this followup, susan, who fucked her way though her 20's, 30's and 40's and eventually getting caught by her husband hal, pretty much leading to his death, makes susan reel and question her guilt. she was already feeling down as her daughter is a paraplegic due to a car accident, and is a difficult daughter most of...more
This is a book I love because of its flaws. So many things go wrong here––the last 1/3 is rushed, the prose is full of excess and indulgence, the plot is thin and incomplete, there are overly convenient solutions to the problems the protagonist encounters, but it doesn't matter. A great writer can get away with these things. I really loved these flaws. I don't think women writers are allowed to be indulgent nearly enough. The writing is so lush and the protagonist, Susan is so human, so honest,...more
13 likes · like · see review
Of Lydia Millet's L.A. Cycle, this is definitely the odd man out. Of the three, it's the only one where the crisis and catharsis isn't set on foreign soil. It's the only one with a female protagonist.
My impression of it is also that its language is somewhat less... elevated, may by the best way of phrasing it. The central metaphoric device is also the most blatantly obvious of the three novels.
It's a more prosaic work than its compatriots.
None of this is to suggest that this novel isn't up to Ms...more
My impression of it is also that its language is somewhat less... elevated, may by the best way of phrasing it. The central metaphoric device is also the most blatantly obvious of the three novels.
It's a more prosaic work than its compatriots.
None of this is to suggest that this novel isn't up to Ms...more
Well, crap. I messed this one up: reading a series out of order is something I just DON'T do. But I'd never read anything by Lydia Millet and somewhere picked up the mistaken notion that although this book was third in a trilogy it was also "stand-alone" (that reading the first two novels wasn't essential). So I downloaded an audio version and didn't read any reviews or background on the book - just blithely listened over 3 runs and a bout of insomnia in the wee hours.
I really did like Magnific...more
I really did like Magnific...more
3 likes · like · see review
After reading other reviews I'm curious what people found so despicable about the protagonist. She was just honestly human, the way I see it.
In any case, I thought this book was really great. Sort of a commentary about life and death, about being remembered and being forgotten, about love returned and love unrequited. In addition to the story being compelling in an undercurrent sort of way, it was sprinkled throughout with sentences that either reflected my own sentiments or were just simple and...more
In any case, I thought this book was really great. Sort of a commentary about life and death, about being remembered and being forgotten, about love returned and love unrequited. In addition to the story being compelling in an undercurrent sort of way, it was sprinkled throughout with sentences that either reflected my own sentiments or were just simple and...more
I didn't know this was part of a series, so I read it and it didn't make much of a difference to me. I don't think I will go back and read the first two either. Not now anyway.
This book was inventive: original plot, new setting and very much like Kurt Vonnegut, as one of the reviewers (on the back of the book) suggested. In its' oddities and idiosyncratic nature. I wished there was about one hundred more pages and I am hopeful that there will be a follow up to tell us more about this bizarre wor...more
This book was inventive: original plot, new setting and very much like Kurt Vonnegut, as one of the reviewers (on the back of the book) suggested. In its' oddities and idiosyncratic nature. I wished there was about one hundred more pages and I am hopeful that there will be a follow up to tell us more about this bizarre wor...more
Lovely little book, beautifully written. I was a bit put off by the self-described "sluttery" of the main character, Susan, early in the book. She learns she is a widow early in the book, views herself as the murderer, and inherits a strange large mansion populated by a huge cast of taxidermied specimans from armadillos to lions and birds.
Her daughter, previously rendered paraplegic in an auto accident, is an important character, although her paraplegia is simply her condition, not a major point...more
Her daughter, previously rendered paraplegic in an auto accident, is an important character, although her paraplegia is simply her condition, not a major point...more
LOVE Lydia Millet (read both Love in Infant Monkeys & George Bush, Dark Prince of Love) recently. This book was IMMEDIATELY engaging and hard to put down. BUT I found it frustrating that while this book was really engrossing, and the characters were interesting...the plotting excellent...the ending bummed me out. I found it unresolved and dissatisfying as a result. It wasn't really clear to me why the character finding all the business in the basement was the right moment to end on. And then...more
This book features one of the more interesting female characters I've read. Susan is certainly not totally likable, in fact is pretty annoying at times as she deals with her guilt around her husband's death (yes, it's part of her grieving process and I should be more sympathetic, so sue me).
But part of what I enjoyed about this book was what an odd series of circumstances she finds herself in and how she deals with obstacles. This book spends a lot of time in her mind as she mulls things over, m...more
But part of what I enjoyed about this book was what an odd series of circumstances she finds herself in and how she deals with obstacles. This book spends a lot of time in her mind as she mulls things over, m...more
The biggest flaw I found in this book was the lack of backstory on several main characters. At times, I felt as if I had stumbled into the middle of the narrative. I realized, two-thirds through, that "Magnificence" was written as the concluding book in a three book "cycle." Having not read the first two books, I'm not sure now I would go back to read them, since this book was very conclusive. Also, honestly, I'm afraid they would not be as good.
I loved this book, although some may find it murky...more
I loved this book, although some may find it murky...more
I previously read Ghost Lights, which I understand is part of a trilogy that Magnificence completes. I did not read the first book. I liked Ghost Lights, and in my review I mentioned wanting to read more from Lydia Millet. But this continuation of the story was not as good as the previous novel. I started off liking it, but about half-way through it, I began losing interest. When Susan Lindley inherits a large mansion with a vast collection of taxidermy, I appreciated how this could change the c...more
First, I did not realize that this was the third book in a trilogy. That goes a long way toward explaining the background that is missing here.
Second, another reviewer characterized it as inert. I'd agree; there is way too much of Susan's rambling internal thoughts that go nowhere. Things do happen but the author's style puts everything at a distance so it seems to just mosey along.
Third, taxidermy is not one of my favorite topics and there is much too much talk of the great-uncle's house filled...more
Second, another reviewer characterized it as inert. I'd agree; there is way too much of Susan's rambling internal thoughts that go nowhere. Things do happen but the author's style puts everything at a distance so it seems to just mosey along.
Third, taxidermy is not one of my favorite topics and there is much too much talk of the great-uncle's house filled...more
Won this book through First Reads.
So what's the plot? Sexually adventurous women in her forties looses the husband she loved yet cheated on, then inherits a mansion from her dead uncle, which is filled with dead animals, a taxidermist's dream. She decides to live there, among the preserved creatures, while worrying over her wheelchair-bound daughter, finding contentment in a new relationship that begins through adultery, and battling intense guilt over her role in her husband's death. Oh, and...more
I was very intrigued by how Millet handled the narrator's stream of consciousness, which it seemed true (to me) to the way minds wander from topic to topic without necessarily making a point or coming to a conclusion. Drifting foci of attention. A strange story that effectively builds a case for everyone's complicity in the lives and deaths of everyone around us, including the animals. At first when she inherited the mansion full of hunting trophies I assumed she would just get them out of there...more
I am one of the few reviews who is reading this novel alone and not as part of a trilogy, so maybe I don't know what I've missed.
Magnificence is detailed view of a mind's inner workings of passions and regrets aligned over the intimacy of death and dying. I loved the quirkiness of characters along with the odd twist and turns that make up the plot.
The main character,Susan's honesty and confusion is refreshing . When she inherits a sprawling mansion filled with an extensive taxidermy collection...more
Magnificence is detailed view of a mind's inner workings of passions and regrets aligned over the intimacy of death and dying. I loved the quirkiness of characters along with the odd twist and turns that make up the plot.
The main character,Susan's honesty and confusion is refreshing . When she inherits a sprawling mansion filled with an extensive taxidermy collection...more
plodding end to the trilogy (though admittedly I only picked up the series starting with Ghost Lights , which I found too [Cholesterol-laden] Heart of Darkness). Lydia writes in a smooth conversational cadence replete with inner turmoil and exasperated repartee, but ultimately the serendipitous widow was too unsympathetic of a character and emotionally childish. this is buoyed and somewhat rescued by the strength and the fierce rhythm of the ending, which really starts to draw out the possible...more
I was quite taken by this book. I started it last night and finished it several hours later. It was actually rather breathtaking. However, I just saw on here that this is the last in a trilogy. Oh crap. I doubt that I'll go back and read the first two. If I'd known, I'd have definitely have read them in the right order. However, since this has a definite ending, I'm not very interested in going backward. Really, an exquisite book. Living in Southern California, I loved the sense of place. I was...more
Why such a low rating? Susan the main character really irked me throughout 95% of the book. I found her a wee bit better towards page 232 and then came the ending and I disliked her once again! I would enjoy a conversation with a reader that really liked the book and found Susan Lindley likeable. There was one passage within the book that I really loved and could relate to but even that was not enough for me to recommend this book or rate it higher, :(
I won't even begin to share my thoughts and...more
I won't even begin to share my thoughts and...more
This is the final book in a trilogy, and in many ways the best of the three. If you have not read the first two, be warned that this review contains spoilers for those books. The book opens with Susan dealing with the practicalities of widowhood (her deceased husband Hal was the central character in book 2) and dismantling her boss T's commercial real-estate empire after he turns his attention to loftier things (see book 1). While the first two books focused on two (albeit quite different) men,...more
Lydia Millet is an amazing writer; I'm on a hunt for her books so that I can read everything she has ever written. That said, I did not like Magnificence quite so much as the first two books in the sequence, perhaps because I found it difficult to relate to Susan, and that may say more about me than it does about the book (apply grain of salt as needed).
There are some wonderful moments and a lot of astonishing and delightful digressions. My favorite is a bit of 'inner thought' about men wearing...more
There are some wonderful moments and a lot of astonishing and delightful digressions. My favorite is a bit of 'inner thought' about men wearing...more
The book's beautiful cover image reflects the story; it goes round and round without substance. Large events swirl around the emotionally vacant main character, about whom there is nothing heroic or admirable. Her egotism and uncanny capacity for destructive behavior appear infinite. Magnificence projects her thin character onto a series of fantastic plot events, endlessly illustrating that she is, yes truly, that shallow.
Didn't love the character. Found it utterly ridiculous that at her darkest hour she inherits a rambling Pasadena mansion filled with taxidermy from a rich, mysterious uncle she met only once. Maybe that's supposed to be a joke? Great writing helped mitigate the character's repetitive ramblings about death and guilt - i know she's supposed to be flawed and obsessed but it's dull to behold and could have used some editing.
I won this book in a First Reads Giveaway.
I have given this three stars because I liked the writing style. It was simple and elegant, yet descriptive, but I really couldn't get into the story. Much of it seemed stereotypical to me, like I had read a story like this before (woman loses husband and moves into eccentric house in order to find herself beyond her husband). Much of the characters struck me as stereotypes such as the boss, T., who is a successful, young entrepreneur that really has no...more
I have given this three stars because I liked the writing style. It was simple and elegant, yet descriptive, but I really couldn't get into the story. Much of it seemed stereotypical to me, like I had read a story like this before (woman loses husband and moves into eccentric house in order to find herself beyond her husband). Much of the characters struck me as stereotypes such as the boss, T., who is a successful, young entrepreneur that really has no...more
This series of novels is amazing. I got a sneak peek at 'Magnificence' and it's the perfect literary triptych. Millet wraps the story of grief in a comfort of wit. While the characters in each book ('How the Dead Dream' and 'Ghostlights') navigate the bizarre behaviors that come from profound loss and death, the meta-narrative of humanity's abandonment of the natural world becomes more about the grief that connects us all.
What’s the catch? Perhaps that is the question Susan Lindley, the damaged but easily likeable protagonist of , should have asked when she inherited her distant uncle’s massive Pasadena estate. In her case, the catch isn’t taxes or finances but taxidermy — the house is packed with preserved specimens, from quail to lion.
Read more at: http://literarylotus.com/2012/12/12/d...
Read more at: http://literarylotus.com/2012/12/12/d...
are you out of your mind? Great set -up with a weird death in a foreign country, a bereaved (but barely) widow, and her inheritance of a house full of taxidermy. But shit, Lydia does nothing with it! We just read placards of the animal types - who cares? what we want to know is how it changes her. it doesn't change her at ALL.
how can a book with no antagonist be so highly acclaimed?
how can a book with no antagonist be so highly acclaimed?
More than anything else, Magnificence is an exquisite balancing act: the surreal improbability of the plot against the acutely observed detail of everyday minutiae; the laughing indictment of human absurdity vs. the moments of almost lyrical self-knowledge - all combined into a strangely haunting meditation on mortality.
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Born in Boston in 1968, Lydia Millet moved to Toronto, Canada with her Egyptologist father and teacher/librarian mother two years later. She received a Master's in Environmental Policy at Duke University and moved to New York in 1996, where she worked as a fundraiser for the Natural Resources Defense Council. In 1999 she went freelance and moved to Tucson, where she now lives and writes full-time...more
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updated Mar 25, 2013 04:58pm
Mar 25, 2013 05:13pm