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Fight No More: Stories
by
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
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Paperback, 224 pages
Published
June 18th 2019
by W. W. Norton Company
(first published June 12th 2018)
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Showing 1-30
Start your review of Fight No More: Stories
Apr 06, 2019
da AL
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
audio-books,
modern-literary
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.
Interconnected short stories that I couldn't stop reading. Finished the book in two days. Some are gut punching but all are amazing. Moved to read other books by this author. What a talent!
Nov 30, 2018
Conor Ahern
rated it
it was ok
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
author-female,
short-stories
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.
It's short but I still think it's worth skipping.
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 ...more
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 ...more
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.
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.
I just love Lydia Millet.
That's all.
She can do no wrong for me.
That's all.
She can do no wrong for me.
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 ...more
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 ...more
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.
Satisfying collection
Excellent story collection. My favorite of Millet's work to date. 4.5 stars
Home. Is there a more relatable device, a more oft-trodden path in literature – and music, and movies, and, well, everything – than that of home? Home is, as they say, where the heart is, even for those whom are heartless. Home is, as they also say, where I want to be, even if they’re already there. In the case of Lydia Millet’s excellent Fight No More, home is a feeling, a state of being, a beating, pulsating heart – ironic given that the stories that make up this collection (is it a
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This was one of my favorite books this year. Each short story was complete. How each story related to the others was masterfully done. I wanted to keep reading but did not want to finish the book.
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.
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I'm hesitant to say that I really liked this book. I was turned off by the treatment of the black character in the first story. He comes back. But, while all of the other characters were able to grow and be developed, the black character in the first story was just a prop. And, the way that Nina made assumptions about his background was certainly off putting. I think that's what's hard about being a black woman and reading white authors write about black characters. They're never fully developed
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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
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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
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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!
I really enjoyed this book. I've never read any of Linda Millet's work before, but I plan to get acquainted with her backlist. I don't usually read many collections of short stories, but this book received lots of good press, and I liked that the stories were connected by a real estate theme. The writing was descriptive without being fussy, and the characters didn't sound alike.
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.
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.
Short stories loosely woven around a relator in California. Millet is adept at drawing her characters. I felt I was in each story.
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.
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.
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
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A satisfying collection. Unlike many short story collections, these were all connected by a central character. I found that element unique, well developed and interesting.
Great collection of interconnected stories.
So beautifully heartbreaking. These characters will live with me for a long time!
This was really more of a novel or novella than a collection of stories, I think, and I think it hangs together pretty well. I'm not sure why it's presented as a story collection.
Mar 24, 2019
Kathy
rated it
it was amazing
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
fiction,
short-stories
An excellent book of closely related short stories, each one focusing in on a person who is in some tangential or direct way connected to real estate in Southern Calif. In entering their houses and their lives, Millet does an impressive job of showing how very disparate lives can unexpectedly cross over each other and even occasionally connect in interesting ways.
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