Atavists: Stories In this richly nuanced portrait

In this richly nuanced portrait of Mark Twain

but when she looks up and sees his piercing green gaze directly on her

They can't stand to break their friends' hearts

or is Greg's life destined to be just another hard-luck story

Atavists: Stories In this richly nuanced portraitThe word atavism, coined by a botanist and popularized by a criminologist, refers to the resurfacing of a primitive evolutionary trait or urge in a modern being. This inventive collection from Lydia Millet offers overlapping tales of urges ranging from rage to jealousy to yearning a fluent triumph of storytelling, rich in ideas and emotions both petty and grand. The titular atavists include an underachieving, bewildered young bartender; a middle aged